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This blog explains what creative commons is, why it matters within the classroom, and spells out the ins and outs of what teachers and students should and should not use for resources.

This is a great infographic to explain Creative Commons. Especially useful, I think, is the information on how to cite from CC.

This resource explains copy right and fair use rules regarding images on the web. It discusses the problems associated with using copyrighted work and talks about the Creative Commons. This is a great reference for educators and students to use in an effort to avoid copyright infringement.

This is a more technical site that better describes CoPs.  It talks about what a CoP is and what the requirements are.  I particularly like that the it states that the learning is not necessarily the primary reason for the existence of a CoP.  It also gives some sources for further study.

This article is an outline of Communities of Practice with description of relevant terminology outlined and defined. Identifies the three components of CoPs - domain, community and practice. This article says that the central component of this learning theory is to draw participants deeper into the community through the attractiveness of developing skills relative to the domain.

This one I didn't summarize, only because I really had a hard time grasping the three elements of the CoP, and I thought this site encapsulated it nicely. Incidentally, my creative assignment for this week was inspired by the reference to Star Trek fans in this post. Here are the three elements make up CoP, and again, this information below is taken straight from the source (long quotes), because the definition is so good: 1. There needs to be a domain. A CoP has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest (e.g. radiologists, Star Trek fans, middle school history teachers, Seahawks football fans, etc.); it's not just a network of people or club of friends. Membership implies a commitment to the domain. 2. There needs to be a community. A necessary component is that members of a specific domain interact and engage in shared activities, help each other, and share information with each other. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. In this way, merely sharing the same job does not necessitate a CoP. A static website on hunting in itself is not a community of practice. There needs to be people who interact and learn together in order for a CoP to be formed. Note that members do not necessarily work together daily, however. Wenger points to the example of Impressionist painters who sometimes met in cafes to discuss their painting styles. He indicates that even though these men normally painted alone, these kinds of interactions were essential to making them a CoP. 3. There needs to be a practice: A CoP is not just people who have an interest in something (e.g. sports or agriculture practices). The third requirement for a CoP is that the members are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources which can include stories, helpful tools, experiences, stories, ways of handling typical problems, etc. This kind of interaction needs to be developed over time. A conversation with a random stranger who happens to be an exp

This article discusses communities of practice from a business perspective, which I found interesting because CoPs truly to exist in all professions; they aren't strictly and education trend. The merit of CoPs, according to the author, is that people share their experiences and knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to solving problems. They discuss the various benefits of CoPs and then examine why they aren't more prevalent, concluding that though the concept has been around for centuries, it hasn't been widely accepted yet and therefore companies (and education) haven't spent a long time cultivating them and helping people learn to effectively develop them. They refer to CoPs as the new frontier and predict that they will become a more and more important part of knowledge acquisition for professionals in the future.

This is a great resource that focuses specifically on the use of communities of practice in business environments. However, the information is easily transferred to other areas of industry or academia. It addresses the fact that CoPs are different than the traditional approach of working in teams in that their success and usefulness can be difficult to measure. The author gives tips for how to evaluate the success of a CoP through the sytematic gathering of anecdotal evidence.

This is a great resource for businesses to gain insights into the use of Communities of Practice. In this article, Wenger and Snyder discuss Communities of Practice and their value for organizations.

December 17th, 2012 by Claire The Internet is a bountiful place, full of information, wonder, and an endless supply of heart-melting puppy videos. But what may sometimes seem in short supply are fantastic, free photos to easily-and legally-use for your presentations or blog slideshows.

This page defines the creative commons licenses and shows us how to properly attribute CC work.

If you can't find Public Domain images that fit your needs, you can also use Creative Commons-licensed content and the sources below make finding these images, and properly attributing them, quick and easy.

The World's easist way to search for safe, creative commons images and cite them.

The World's easiest way to search for safe, creative commons images and cite them. Downloaded photos are already attributed, saving time and effort.

More free images usuable under the creative commons license

Creative and engaging activities and resources for junior and senior high school mathematics aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

I like this infographic for several reasons: 1) it's an infographic, and 2) it's Creative Commons Attribution licensed, which means anyone can use it, change, it, share it, or make it even better, as long as attribution is given! One of the key points made here is that connectivism allows for cross-generational learning, challenging the notion that learning can only be acquired through transmission from our elders.

At first I thought this visual was very overwhelming and chaotic, but as I looked at the individual parts that make up the whole I gleaned a lot of new information about the way personal learning networks work. The visual also made it very distinct that not only cross-generational learning occurs, but also cross-cultural learning. I feel this is important because learning across cultures can be highly beneficial in showing various points of view. Great source!

A great resource for students and teachers. Great tool for searching for images and other web resources that are under certain copyright laws and restrictions. Students and teachers can learn to be more aware of copyright and how to effectively use and cite their sources.

Find openly-licensed images that you can use and remix in your own work. Searches multiple archives/repositories at once.