personalized learning Network
A Personal Learning Network is an informal learning network that consists of the people, websites, or apps a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in a personal learning environment. The purpose of a PLN is to help a learner obtain knowledge about their passions and interests.
Some of the specific goals I have for my PLN;
Here are some of the sources I use in my Personal Learning Network;
Some of the specific goals I have for my PLN;
- I want to learn and understand as many theories of the universe (relativity, string, etc) as I can, and begin to create my own.
- I want to stay up to date on astronomical discoveries, events, new theories, and launches.
- I want to become more efficient at managing my time in order to leave more room for learning, in the form of reading books, watching videos, and contacting experts on my passions.
Here are some of the sources I use in my Personal Learning Network;
- My first resource is my old teacher, Mr. MacKirdy. He provides me with piles of books about the stuff I love, such as phi, black holes, dark matter, and the origin of the universe. He also tags me in tons of posts on facebook about the most recent scientific research on astronomical findings and theories.
- My second resource is Pinterest. I have an Astronomy board that is shared with about 50 other users, all of which have a passion for astronomy just like me. On here, I can keep up with pictures and descriptions of discoveries in space.
- My third resource is Nasa's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" app. This app provides me with a beautiful astronomical picture every day, along with a long description of what the picture is of exactly, and what this means to the society of astronomers across the world.
- My fourth resource is my sisters doctor, Pat. She has several phd's, and worked for Nasa for a number of years. Because of this, she has many connections to people still working for Nasa. Since she knows my passion for astronomy, she often gives me packets of Nasa's most recent, un-publicized studies.
- My fifth resource is my space encyclopedia. Basically the great big book of everything about space, within which I can look up facts on nebula
- My sixth resource is wikipedia. I can look up nearly anything I want to know about my interests, which helps me tremendously in conducting research and learning about astronomy.
- My seventh source is ASTRONOMY Magazine. They send me a magazine every month which has the updates on exoplanet research, new telescopes, and columns written by the astronomers who are leading research in America and across the world.
- Another source I like to use for learning about space is youtube. On here I look up videos on a certain topic, and the visualization really helps me learn and memorize more about space and the universe. I am subscribed to many accounts on apologetics, theories of the universe and our solar system, etc.
- My ninth source is a blog on astronomy called Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait. This is regularly updated on what Phil has recently learned, his opinion on controversies about new theories or old ones being discredited, stories from his childhood about being a nerd, and news on new discoveries.
- My tenth source is an app on my phone called Sky Guide which allows you to look at any star, constellation, galaxy, cluster, or nebula, at any time or place. It also allows you to learn anything about it such as how far away from earth the astronomical object is, the visual magnitude and more.
- Another interest of mine is one day going to Norway, and along with this, learning Norwegian. So, one of my resources to help me learn, is an app on my cell phone called Norsk which has over 1200 Norwegian words and phrases that are translated into English, and even have the Norse pronunciation.
- Although this source is not incredibly accurate, I also use Google Translate to aid me in my learning of Norwegian.
- My thirteenth source is a YouTube channel called Discovery Space Videos. This channel has dozens of computer animated videos of space objects such as black holes planets or galaxies, which are very informative.
- My fourteenth source is a Christian website named Answers in Genesis. This website has articles to help you defend your faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. They focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.
- My last source, is another YouTube channel called Vsauce. This channel has hundreds of videos answering everyday questions such as "What color is a mirror?" or "Is there such a thing as a ten-second role?". Although these seem like rather silly questions, I learn a lot from these videos, and most of the facts in his videos can be helpful.