Professional Collaboration Networks #PCN

I have spent a lot of time writing on this blog, publishing in the literature, and teaching about New Media Literacies. I’m not going to go into why these skills are so incredibly important right now, even though they are, but instead I wanted to share just a bit about how I have been working with a fantastic group of scholar/educators on the concept of a Professional Collaboration Network (PCN). We just published our fourth blog post in a series where we define what PCN is, how to develop one, and why PCN’s are important. The fourth blog post focuses on Academic & Professional Blogging and discusses the idea of how blogging can help develop and nourish your PCN. I hope you go visit Laurel Iverson Hitchcock’s blog and read the entire series because it is really amazing information.

I did want to tie in the idea of PCN’s to digital and media literacies because so many of the skills we use today relate to the development and of rich PCN. Creating and curating content to share with your network. Offering support and leaning on others. Engaging in informal mentorships to learn and share knowledge. The participatory culture of a Professional Collaboration Network is important and necessary to achieve personal and professional goals. It’s incredibly exciting to be able to have these tools that we can leverage for positive social change.