Graphical Representation of CoP, PLN, and Connectivism

In my course this week, I was tasked with creating a graphical representation of Communities of Practice, Personal Learning Networks, and Connectivism.  I will start of by saying that I am not an artist by nature and I tried my best to create an image that captured my learning and will help me recall the ideas.  The image is below is what I came up with and my explanation of the concepts are below.

Communities of Practice

The image of the man at the bottom is a teacher. A community of practice often involves members "who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly," (Strofberg, A.).  As such they may be in the same role (a grade 2 teaching team) or similar roles across division (a team of divisional technology integrators and coaches).  This aspect of the CoP is represented by the two teachers on the upper left hand side.  While they are all clearly educators, their specific roles may differ as is the case with my CoP.   

Personal Learning Network

A Professional Learning Network (PLN)is broader in it's scope and is less formal.  It may contain people associated with your particular profession or others (Carrion, C.).  For example, you may be a technology integrator/coach, and have students who are interested in learning more about how technology is helping find solutions for the pandemic.  In your PLN, you have a scientist that has just posted an article about this that you decide to share with your students.  This idea is represented by the scientist and the farmer in the middle of the image.

Many educational users of PLN use social media as a way to connect to others (Carrion, C.). Which is represented by YouTube and Twitter icons on the right hand side of the image.

Connectivism

Connectivism is a theory that explores how the internet (again symbolized by the Twitter and YouTube icons on the right) have provided a shift in how we learn.  Within a connectivist environment participants " seek out information on their own online and express what they find," (Connectivism (Siemens, Downes)).

Putting it altogether

The ideas the come from the CoP, PLN, and Connectivist learning are represented by the lines leading into the thought bubble (notice the colours) of the educator in the centre of the image.  While some of the ideas may be used as it, the person receiving may mix and match two or more of the ideas together to come up with a new way of approaching an issue that they are experiencing.  This is symbolized by the use of the Venn Diagram in the thought bubble.  The colours remain separate in some parts but are blended together in others indicated the merging of multiple ideas to create new ones.

Finally, the last part of the graphic is inspired by the importance of sharing within a PLN (and indeed a CoP) (Chattopadhay, S., 2016).  In the image three of the lines are headed to the share icon.  The represent the educator sharing some of his new learning to either of CoP, PLN, or posting it in a blog for others to discover.

References

Carrion, C. (n.d.). Professional learning networks in education: Why diversity matters. NEPRIS. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.nepris.com/blog/stories/details/professional-learning-networks-in-education
Chattopadhyay, S. (n.d.). Why build professional learning networks. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/build-personal-learning-networks
Connectivism (Siemens, Downes). (n.d.). Learning-theories. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.learning-theories.com/connectivism-siemens-downes.html
​Stofberg, A. (n.d.). Community of practice – A tool for reflection on intercultural learning. Spaces for Intercultural Learning. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from http://www.intercultproject.com/community-of-practice