Years ago, at one point in my tenure at JESNA, I was the director of the National Educational Resource Center (yes, NERC), a forerunner of today’s Sosland Resource Center at JESNA.  NERC housed published and teacher-made curricular resources which we made available or provided citations for, as appropriate. We regularly received requests from central organizations of Jewish education and others for resources.  One of the most popular topics was “Jews Around the World.”

I was reminded about how different things can be these days while reading the post,  “Information Literacy…Authentic Conversation..Globalize Curriculum…” by educator and  blogger, Silvia Tolisana, aka Langwitches.

Inspired by Alan November, Silvia designed a collaborative “Jewish Communities Around the World” project with her sixth graders, their social studies and Hebrew teachers.  Instead of using the Internet to collect information, they are taking advantage of the social value of global online opportunities to connect with other Jews in more personal ways, sharing stories, making connections, and becoming connoisseurs of new media as they learn and create together.

Rather than go to a centralized resource center, Silvia took advantage of her personal learning network (PLN) to tap into partners and resources.  Personal learning networks and understanding the culture around them are key to how we function as learners and professionals today.  PLNs serve as our own customized resource centers … and they are so much more.  I, for one, am thankful for my PLN.  Stay tuned for more thoughts on PLNs…!  Meanwhile, be sure to read Silvia’s post.  But why stop there?