StewartbDIS9322E_Dissertation Proposal
61
how the network can directly and indirectly influence the individual. Knowing how and when connections form help lead to a particular type of complex network formation that lends itself to how individuals learn in a sociotechnical environment; that is, how connections do not randomly connect but rather are scale-free (Crook, 2009; Barabási, 2003). In effect, the small-world phenomenon is a unifying feature of diverse networks found both in nature and in technology (Strogatz, 2003). But understanding the true complexity of a PLN embodies not only the direction of the relational tie (i.e., unidirectional or bidirectional) but also the strength of the relational tie itself. Network connections that make up a PLN can vary. The ties educators form with others can be referred to as either strong or weak (Granovetter, 1973). The author terms strong ties as those friends or colleagues who are in close contact – i.e., within one degree of separation – and those who share a strong bond whereas weak ties are friends of friends (or friend of a friend of a friend) that one may know but have little contact with. To leverage a PLN around ongoing professional learning requires a holistic understanding of strong and weak ties that connect with nodes – which are networks themselves - that provide the greatest potential for learning. The potentiality of learning or agency then is not inherent within the actor or node, but rather in the associations that relate to the actor or node (Fenwick & Edwards, 2010). Recognizing directional ties that exist between network nodes provides insight into network topologies that exist in social interactions. Choosing the network nodes that best make up a PLN is not a random event. If educators formed a random PLN, it would be illustrated as a normal distribution, or bell-shaped curve