A debate of internet semantics recently exploded in tweets and blogs.

A few days ago Tom Whitby, founder of the innovative website, The Educator’s PLN, found himself at the center of a heated argument over internet semantics. In this discussion, Whitby found himself under personal attack for using the word “the” to describe his NING social network. Whitby responds on his personal blog, My Island View, by explaining the personal nature of this network and why he created it in the first place. Whitby discusses how he built his own personal learning network over time, and how The Educator’s PLN is different for everyone depending on the resources they need in their own network.

The hot topic of this discussion seems to be the use of the word “the” in Whitby’s title. The word “the” seemed to mislead people to think that his Educator’s PLN was the absolute authority and the only resource available. However, another key word in this title is “Personal.” A “Personal Learning Network” is something that belongs to the user, and is different for everyone. No one can claim authority of another person’s “personal” website. As Whitby says in his blog, “There is NO ‘The PLN’ if there were it would be ‘The LN.’”

The Educator's PLN

The term “PLN” has only become popular in the last five years as the need for Web 2.0-aware educators grew. The words are really a large umbrella term for using the internet to collaborate, communicate and learn. From social networking to social bookmarking, the avenues of sharing ideas across the web are immense and overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to have model websites like Whitby’s Educator’s PLN as a guide for building your own network.

As a nationwide school fundraising company, we need to pull together with educators, administrators and parents to enhance learning and collectively educate on why participation in fundraisers is critically important. We believe without proper fiscal reform, it is our duty to provide schools with ways to make up for budget shortfalls – effectively. Our PLN discusses advice, tips and tricks to schools so they will succeed at their fundraisers. We believe a PLN surrounding fundraising is critical to the reform of education. When we titled our blog The Fundraising PLN, it was intended to be a place for discussion and free resources. We don’t claim to be the single authority, and we are certainly not the only website out there providing fundraising ideas. Just one example is the PTA Great Idea Bank, a NING website with a special group for fundraising ideas. There are countless resources out there.

In the end, everyone takes a position.  By way of example, when 7UP named the lemon-lime soda ‘The Un-cola’ sales skyrocketed.  There were hundreds of other lemon-lime soda’s on the market.  Ultimately, 7UP was ‘The Un-cola’ and the hundreds of competitors were not.  When it comes to The Fundraising PLN, well it is ‘The’ only attempt at a learning network of its kind – and it is what it is.  We believe the same goes for Whitby’s website.  It is The Educator’s PLN. Any other attempt can be anything it wants and compete naturally as with any marketing effort but it won’t be The Educator’s PLN.

It’s not clear who threw the first stone in this argument, but Whitby is putting his foot down. He says, “If we keep arguing about the little stuff and not the ideas, it will take a long time to get from where we are to where we need to be in education.” And that’s what really needs to be said. While it’s great to think critically about word usage on the web, it’s more important to move forward with bigger picture discussions.

We here at Believe would like to hear your thoughts on Personal Learning Networks.