Being rather practically minded, I often have trouble in understanding some of the theories & models I come across in my studies. If their language is very academic, I often miss the point, and need to find a tangible way to gain meaning out of it.
I had this problem at first with the PKM model created by Harold Jarche – Personal Knowledge Mastery, and the accompanying framework of Seek, Sense & Share. To me it was really just a lot of words, that didn't connect to my rather basic understanding. I couldn't see how it had any relevance to what I was learning, let alone how it was supposed to help.
So I tried looking at others' interpretations of PKM. I really liked Brooke Walker's take on it, “taking control of our professional development”, as it sounded really promising for the future. But I still had trouble understanding how it was relevant to me in the here & now.
And then, the Lightbulb Moment!!
I realised that it's exactly what i've been doing all along, even outside my education studies. I research history as part of my hobby, medieval re-enactment, pretty cool really. By linking with a personal interest such as this, learning history (which can be pretty droll) becomes incredibly fun & engaging.
So anyway, to recreate anything, a 12th century dress, an 8th century Viking sword, etc, I have to SEEK the information first. I look all around for the information which might help me. Some old haunts, new museums that have just come online, books at the library, Facebook groups, mailing lists, etc.
Then, I go through all the information gathered, and decide if it's all rubbish, creative fiction, or real factual data which is going to help me on my quest. Making SENSE of it all.
And then after I use the information to create my medieval pretty, I get to use it, display it, or write an article about it, to SHARE that knowledge and information with others, so that they too might get to learn from it, or make it, or drool over it, or whatever else they wish to do with it.
How simple is that? I've been using PKM all along and never knew.
And of course, as the efficient educators that we all are, we are forever collecting information for our future vocations as teachers as well. SEEKING information from many various sources to use for assignments, or to gain further understanding of course content. Making SENSE of it to decide if it's useful or not, and where & how to use it. Then SHARING it through inclusion in assignments, discussing it with colleagues and fellow students, etc. Even storing for later use could be considered a form of sharing, whether it be now or later. Such as the huge store of textbooks, teacher resources and bookmarked education websites that I'm saving for that rainy day.
So there you have it: a belatedly discovered personal connection with PKM.
Personally, I knew it would take me a while to master this. ;-)
I had this problem at first with the PKM model created by Harold Jarche – Personal Knowledge Mastery, and the accompanying framework of Seek, Sense & Share. To me it was really just a lot of words, that didn't connect to my rather basic understanding. I couldn't see how it had any relevance to what I was learning, let alone how it was supposed to help.
So I tried looking at others' interpretations of PKM. I really liked Brooke Walker's take on it, “taking control of our professional development”, as it sounded really promising for the future. But I still had trouble understanding how it was relevant to me in the here & now.
And then, the Lightbulb Moment!!
I realised that it's exactly what i've been doing all along, even outside my education studies. I research history as part of my hobby, medieval re-enactment, pretty cool really. By linking with a personal interest such as this, learning history (which can be pretty droll) becomes incredibly fun & engaging.
So anyway, to recreate anything, a 12th century dress, an 8th century Viking sword, etc, I have to SEEK the information first. I look all around for the information which might help me. Some old haunts, new museums that have just come online, books at the library, Facebook groups, mailing lists, etc.
Then, I go through all the information gathered, and decide if it's all rubbish, creative fiction, or real factual data which is going to help me on my quest. Making SENSE of it all.
And then after I use the information to create my medieval pretty, I get to use it, display it, or write an article about it, to SHARE that knowledge and information with others, so that they too might get to learn from it, or make it, or drool over it, or whatever else they wish to do with it.
How simple is that? I've been using PKM all along and never knew.
And of course, as the efficient educators that we all are, we are forever collecting information for our future vocations as teachers as well. SEEKING information from many various sources to use for assignments, or to gain further understanding of course content. Making SENSE of it to decide if it's useful or not, and where & how to use it. Then SHARING it through inclusion in assignments, discussing it with colleagues and fellow students, etc. Even storing for later use could be considered a form of sharing, whether it be now or later. Such as the huge store of textbooks, teacher resources and bookmarked education websites that I'm saving for that rainy day.
So there you have it: a belatedly discovered personal connection with PKM.
Personally, I knew it would take me a while to master this. ;-)