VIDEO LINKS

1. https://www.fractuslearning.com/education-twitter-profiles/  (5 Education Twitter Profiles You Really Can Learn From)
2. https://www.fractuslearning.com/pln-twitter/  (5 Tips To Building A Healthy PLN With Twitter) 

3. https://technologyembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/twitter-101/ (Personal Learning Networks (PLN) 101: Twitter)

4. https://technologyembedded.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/deepen-your-digital-footprint-a-beginner-to-intermediate-guide-to-increasing-online-traffic-and-web-presence/ (Deepen Your Digital Footprint: A Beginner to Intermediate Guide To Increasing Online Traffic and Web Presence)
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uOaIw1e4U (Walden University DBA Residency 2 Group E- Atlanta -May 2015)
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb0FRIRHAAQ (Walden University Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Residency 2 Paris July 2015)
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9quIr0HRE (Walden University New Orleans DBA Residency August 2014)
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ffowtWtEc (DBA Group A – Walden University Residency – March 2014)

Assignment: The Power of Connection: Building a Personal Learning Network
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals who can go it alone.
Margaret Wheatley, Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future

The rise of social media and its power to instantaneously connect people to others is a testament to just how interconnected the world has become. Social media has become an important way to form and maintain relationships. Many people use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. Businesses search for new ways to connect with current and future customers. How many people, however, have recognized the potential of social media as a powerful learning tool?

Forward-thinking educators have begun purposefully building online social networks, known as Personal Learning Networks (PLN)s, of colleagues and experts in the field. Rather than see social networks as an annoyance or way of wasting time, these educators have made them an invaluable means of personal and professional growth. Business professionals can benefit from following their lead. Creating a PLN often is a guide for professionals and committed lifelong learners to help build relationships with others from all over the world. With careful work and commitment to building and maintaining a PLN, the possibilities for connection are endless.

To prepare for this Assignment, review the materials in the Learning Resources and consider novel ways in which you might use technology to foster new connections and seek information and advice.

By Day 7
Submit a 3- to 5-page paper in which you create the plan for your PLN. Your paper should include the following:

A description of what networks and tools you will use to create your PLN, including a brief rationale for each
Information you will present in your professional profile (which may be placed on one or more social media platforms), including specific text you will use to identify yourself and your interests for those who might be interested in following you or joining your PLN
A categorized, annotated list of at least 5 people or groups that you might add to your PLN (through their Twitter feed, blog, LinkedIn page, etc.), including the following for each person or group:
A brief (12 paragraphs) rationale for why you would include the person or group in your PLN
A brief (1 paragraph) description of the process by which you found the person or group you added to your PLN, e.g., by browsing a groups Twitter feed and then deciding to add it to your own PLN, by locating another person the groups feed follows, by finding a group on Facebook and deciding to send a friend request to an individual within that group, etc.
Support your work with a minimum of two specific citations per page from this weeks Learning Resources and/or additional scholarly sources.
Be sure to use the APA Course Paper Template (6th Ed.) to complete this Assignment. Also, refer to the Week 4 Assignment Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work. Please Note: For each page of your paper, you must include a minimum of two APA-formatted scholarly citations.

Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Assignment using the naming convention WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension) as the name.
Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to View Rubric for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension) and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

VIDEO LINKS

1. https://www.fractuslearning.com/education-twitter-profiles/  (5 Education Twitter Profiles You Really Can Learn From)
2. https://www.fractuslearning.com/pln-twitter/  (5 Tips To Building A Healthy PLN With Twitter) 

3. https://technologyembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/twitter-101/ (Personal Learning Networks (PLN) 101: Twitter)

4. https://technologyembedded.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/deepen-your-digital-footprint-a-beginner-to-intermediate-guide-to-increasing-online-traffic-and-web-presence/ (Deepen Your Digital Footprint: A Beginner to Intermediate Guide To Increasing Online Traffic and Web Presence)
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uOaIw1e4U (Walden University DBA Residency 2 Group E- Atlanta -May 2015)
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb0FRIRHAAQ (Walden University Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Residency 2 Paris July 2015)
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9quIr0HRE (Walden University New Orleans DBA Residency August 2014)
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ffowtWtEc (DBA Group A – Walden University Residency – March 2014)

Communities are, in essence, places where members are bonded to one another by mutual commitments and special relationships, where they share a set of ideas and values that they feel compelled to follow.
Thomas Sergiovanni, Small Schools, Great Expectations

From the time they are born, people learn from otherslong before they are aware of it. In many cultures, small family units gradually widen into larger communities, including communities of formal education that include teachers and independent scholars. In addition, within these larger communities, people often join smaller communities, such as sports teams, organizations, and informal friendship groups. As people progress through higher education, they make additional conscious choices about the communities of which they become a part, including those specifically geared toward learning and growth.

As a DBA independent scholar at Walden, you are not alone. You have made a conscious, self-directed decision to become part of the Walden learning community. Of course, at times it may be tempting, as you sit at your computer, to think of your pursuit of your degree as a solitary effort. It will take conscious commitment to engage as an active member who both learns from and contributes to a learning community.

As you watch and listen to others talk about the experience of being part of the Walden learning community and attending residency, reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities that exist for you. Consider your support strategy as you prepare your analysis.

To prepare for this Discussion, review this weeks readings and view the media Being Part of a Learning Community and Attending Residency. Also, listen to the insights offered by Walden DBA independent scholars in the interactive media piece Voices of DBA Students. Focus on the students explanations of what it means to be a part of the Walden learning community and their descriptions of their residency experience. Consider the weeks literature, along with your SWOT analysis, and assess your support needs.

By Day 3
Post an analysis of your role in your new learning community, including the support you require to complete your doctoral degree. In your analysis, be sure to do the following:

Detail the steps you will take to establish your role in your new learning community.
Categorize by your goals the individuals that are or will become members of your learning community.
Assess how these individuals will support you in achieving your goals.
Evaluate when and how you will reach out to your learning community to share your goals and needs.
Identify challenges to building your learning community.
Analyze your goals for residencyin particular, what you hope to contribute and what you hope to gain from spending time with others in your learning community.
Be sure to support your work with a minimum of two specific citations from this weeks Learning Resources and one or more additional scholarly sources.

Refer to the Week 4 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.

Read a selection of your colleagues postings.

By Day 5
Respond to at least two of your colleagues postings in one of the following ways:

Propose how you might support your colleague in meeting his or her goals for being part of the learning community and residency.
Provide an analysis of how your colleagues views of his or her role in the learning community resonate with your own.
Offer suggestions to minimize challenges when building a learning community.
Please note that, for each response, you must include a minimum of one appropriately cited scholarly reference.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what insights you gained as a result of reading the comments your colleagues made.