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This book was written by Stephen Downes. Although it is very lengthy, there are many visual representations of connectivity and portions of the book that are very informative. It is broken into chapters that stand independently allowing the reader to pick and choose what they need information on.

Connectivism by Stephen Downes, anything you want to know about connectivism in this 600+ page pdf.

George Siemens gives a TED Talk on connections. Education is shutting down connections. "Connected learning is transparent learning." The video is about 20 minutes, but worth watching. He has some fascinating examples from his childhood to when he was exposed to more in the world.

Abstract from Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger theories on Communities of Practice.

This is a short video that may help one grasp Connectivism and how it applies to students in the classroom.

I like how this worked with a specific student and gave an example of how Connectivism helped that student. I also found it helpful to see Connectivism compared to Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructionism.

Explaining connectivisim, the simplified version. This video makes understanding connectivism very easy.

I bookmarked this as an extra site. It does not appear to be currently updated, but is George Siemens' personal website. There is a good link to a PDF of his book, Knowing Knowledge (2006).

The site didn't seem all that informative, but the links to the PDF books make up for what the page is lacking. These two books should provide some good reference materials.

This article examines PLEs with a working definition of "a combination of social media-enabled systems, applications, and services which help learners to take control of their learning by aggregating, manipulating, and creating digital contents and learning artifacts, and sharing them with others." It advocates for an atmosphere of learning that is far different than the traditional sense; one that is driven by student-led activities and exploration.

This article discusses the University of Tazmania's drive to emphasize and encourage peer learning and communities of practice to help their students achieve more and be prepared for a life time of learning. The article explains that a CoP is a community of people with the same interest working together to learn and build knowledge.The article discusses how this strategy for learning can help in the higher Ed. The article also includes a worksheet to help brainstorm ways to start a new CoP.

This blogger shared ideas on how as an educator you can embrace the learning theory of Connectivism. She states that connectivism revolves around creating online networks of learning. Through these networks, knowledge is shared. She states that Web 2.0 tools encourage this learning theory by default. Just by using Facebook, Twitter, creating digital portfolios and blogs to discuss and share education, you are on the right path to discovering the benefits Connectivism.

I stumbled across the video that a former student created that shows the differences of CoPs, Connectivism, and PLEs. What is cool is that the author uses only pictures, music, and written text to define them - no dialogue.

I watched this because it was made by a former student. It was nice because it was different - the no words was a nice touch. I wasn't really a fan of all the images and I think they only made sense because I am watching this last. If I watched this first, I am not sure I would be much wiser. Not a criticism of the video per se, just didn't do a lot to further my rather limited knowledge. Sorry Matt! ;-)

I watched the video and now need to go improve my presentation. The student did a great job of finding images that exemplified the topic. Even knowing this was for module 2, I kept waiting for words, not because I didn't get the message but I think people (teachers and students alike) are just so used to having words to rely on.

Edublogs Teachers. This has a Step by Step process of how to create a PLN in just a few weeks. Very useful information given here.

Who can't use a step by step guide for PLNS? This is great. I can use guides for everything! I love quick breakdown and references that are presented in this blog. Thank your for sharing... I may be borrowing this into my diigo library! I think I now officially have a PLN to do list. Thank you for this find.

I love the step-by-step ease of this blog. Bookmarked this and definitely going to use it to my benefit!

This textbook provides a solid foundation on integrating technology into the classroom. It provides, research-based methods, case studies, and additional resources (websites & tools) to guide educators.

This is the textbook for the course EdTech541. The goal of this textbook is to describe how to integrate technology to it's fullest advantage using learning theory, tested teaching practices, matched learning and teaching needs, old and new strategies, and a combination of technology, pedagogy and content knowledge.

Marbleslides are great activities that allow students to practice applying their knowledge of equations. They must create graphs that allow a launched purple ball to collect all the yellow stars.

PD and workshops for those interested in furthering their knowledge on assistive technologies.

This is a list of trainings with a synopsis of each training given by Google. The site breaks down the trainings by knowledge level, tool, and certification.

Voicethread allows users to create videos and share with others.

Transforming media into collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text commenting.

Voicethread is a great way for students to add narration to their presentation slides. Simply upload graphics and images to the slides then record narration over it. Great for presentations you wish to share with others and students can receive feedback from the Voicethread community.

A look at the "basics" of communities of practice. This text does a great job of answering the basic questions that make the concept a little fuzzy. It discusses the evolution of CoP's from its inception to today's practice.

The article discusses the traditional learning theories and expands on the concept of connectivism. The author explains the way students gather and retain knowledge is constantly changing and the need to connect what they learn each day is necessary.

A contrasting look at constructivism, behaviorism and cognitivism and how antiquated these principles are in education, with the introduction to technology. This article discusses the impact that technology has on education today.

This article explores the classroom as a community of practice and examines the role classroom activities have in students' collaborative learning. The study uses a graduate-level public administration course as the case.

This article discusses the use of a university classroom as a community of practice. The survey showed how leadership played an important role in increasing collaboration among the students. Learning took place during engaging and reflecting class activities. Classroom activities that were designed for social interaction promoted learning. Collaboration occurred through a diverse set of ideas leading to a common goal. Students stated that including activities that encourage students to learn from their peers by connec classroom knowledge with real-world examples creating a community of practice.