This week, I reflected on my Professional Learning Network. After mapping out my network, I realized that it feels small, but is actually larger than I realize. My PLN is made up of the people, places, and tools I use as resources to enhance my work (academic and professional). If you take a look at my map, you can see that due to my age/ life experience, my network looks different from someone in their 20th year of their professional career. This may seem like a disadvantage, but I look at it as an opportunity for growth. One advantage of me being at the beginning of my professional career is I have a lot of chances to network and avoid “socially narrowing” as described by Tanya Menon (2017). Menon describes social narrowing as not taking the daily chances to expand your network. For example, I have a daily routine, as do most people, and I seldom stray from it out of convenience. As Menon suggested, by going to a different coffee shop I could avoid social narrowing. Reflecting on this early in my career, I can take the opportunity to expand my network daily. One disadvantage I notice when I look at my map is that it is very limited to the resources my peers and professors have introduced me to. James Paul Gee (2004) discussed “affinity spaces” and the advantages of expanding them. He defines affinity spaces as “a space in which people interact”. My affinity spaces have felt limited to my professors and peers up until this point. Acknowledging my limitations/ knowing the constraints that this places on my learning, I have recognized that by expanding my affinity spaces to different online learning communities, I could not only grow my network but also enhance and deepen my learning. Resources: Abb, M. (2022). My Professional Learning Network [Photograph]. Padlet. https://padlet.com/abbmorga/n6l8dbvd8dx335zq Gee, J.P. (2004). Situated language and learning: A critique of traditional schooling. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/lib/michstate-ebooks/reader.action?docID=200413&query= Menon, T. (2017, March). The secret to great opportunities? The person you haven't met yet [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/tanya_menon_the_secret_to_great_opportunities_the_person_you_haven_t_met_yet/transcript
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