The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

As a language arts teacher and lover of words, one might think that I would have been well acquainted with blogging and even have an established blog. Although I have heard of it, I've never taken out the time to read a blog. As I prepare to establish myself as a reputable instructional designer it is imperative that I join professional communities from which I can both acquire as well as contribute knowledge.

The field of instructional design is one that seems to be universal, as designers are needed in nearly every aspect education and corporate training. I began researching blogs specific to K-12 education only to find that I was limiting myself because there is a vast wealth of knowledge within every realm of instructional design.

As a virtual educator and student I was drawn to Ferninand Krauss's, IDEAS: Instructional Design for E-learning Approaches blog (http://ideasblogs.com/) because its primary theme is distance education for professionals. Although in this case, the professionals are in the field of medicine, which is so far removed from my background as an educator. However, it is not the site's target audience that grasped my attention, but its rich content and reflective insights on e-learning and instructional design technology. There is very little information that I will be able to contribute to this site, but it will serve as an excellent resource for supplementing my professional growth.

With research and joining professional learning communities in the field of instructional design being the focus of this task I was drawn to Michele Martin's, The Bamboo Project (http://michelemartin.typepad.com, because its primary focus is career development, technology. and learning strategies for lifelong professional growth. The material found in this blog epitomize the founding principles of professional learning communities. It is dedicated to assisting its subscribers in using the best practices and social media tools to develop both as individuals and organizations. This site offers blogging for knowledge sharing, learning and training, personal learning, productivity, and professional development. Unlike the IDEAS blog, this site is not as specific, so contributing to it does not seem to be so far removed from my future plans, in addition to the knowledge that I anticipate gaining from it.

Christy Tucker's, Experience E-Learning (http://christytucker.wordpress.com) blog, was perhaps the most relevant to my professional needs. This site focuses on instructional design techniques for K-12 learners, design techniques for project-based learning, and instructional design techniques for online learning. As a secondary virtual English teacher, the content offered in this blog seems to address every question and interest that may come about. As a graduate student who has conducted a great deal of research on learning theories and style, I am particularly interested in reading the blogs that both defend and debunk the validity and reliability of learning styles research. Although I have subscribed to and will continue to follow each blog, I believe Experience E-Learning will be the one where I will spend the most time searching for answers and supplemental knowledge, as well as contributing thoughtful posts.