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This site describes reasons for using tech in educational settings and provides examples of its use.

Pedagogy in Action tackles spreadsheets and why they are valuable in classrooms. Research and resources linked.

This website explains why spreadsheets are important teaching (and learning) tools. They cite research based studies and give examples of how they can/are being used.

SUMMARY: MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are designed to take advantage of social networks and track the learning of specific topics and specific users across tools, sites, apps, and more. MOOCs can be a part of your PLE, or your PLE can be an integral part of your MOOCs. Either way, Connectivism is at the heart of every MOOC.

Cate - After watching this video, I found MOOC to be very similar to what we are doing in this class. Engaging in the learning process and connecting/collaborating with one another. However, there are differences, such as - we do pay for this course! Overall, great social networking tool for learners. Thanks for sharing.

Cate, I liked this post. It was nice to get to listen instead of read, read, read. I found the information interesting. I had never heard of a MOOC or at least not identified as one. It fit perfectly with the connectivism. I found his comment about promoting life long network learning valuable. We are there, might as well take advantage of the opportunities.

The DiRT Directory provides lists of tools that address a multitude of needs, from document annotations to visualizing data. If you need a digital research tool, you can almost always be assured you'll find something in the DiRT Directory.

This article is about how different social networking tools can be used to support learning activities. Of particular focus in the article was which tools could be used to foster an attitude of lifelong learning. The article also explains the major principles of connectivism and how the role of a learner is continuously changing in a connectivist environment.

This is a guest written article about creating a PLN. It has very good graphics illustrating a PLN. It also describes the different components of a PLN including information aggregation tools and the social media connections. It even shows the step for a beginner to get started including resources to use and also blogs to follow. Short and sweet and to the point.

Hi Cinnamon! Great resource! I really thought some of the graphics and links included in the article were helpful. The section on information aggregation and social media connections at the end of the article was especially helpful.

This article provides a snapshot of how personal learning networks work and their benefits. Torrey Trust explains that PLNs allow for professional development to be catered to your specific needs at that moment. Educators can seek instant feedback for questions or ideas they may share. She also outlines the main tools that make PLNs work, information aggregation and social media. It is a good article to for educators new to PLNs. It provides a good understanding of why PLNs are important to professional development and also explains the ways in which the information is shared.

This is a link to a paper about building online communities of practice with social networking tools. It details the CoP model introduced by Wenger, McDermott & Snyder: that is comprised of members and continually changes, that it is mutual engagement that binds members together, and that there is a shared set of resources that develops over time. The domain of CoP is is common ground that created a community. Practice comes from the resources that are created. The authors lead of of this into their proposed phases of the learning process in a CoP: Context, Discourse, Action, Reflection, and Reorganization.

This paper shows how members of communities of practice can increase their learning through social networking tools. They discuss how social networking is the forum for the domain (common ground) where people can discuss their ideas. This helps create personal meaning. This happens with a community which is a group of people who want to learn and interact together. The practice is the knowledge that the group develops. Within the article, he discusses how different social networks enhances communities of practice.

Great list of helpful teacher tools on the web.

Nearpod is a tool that enables teachers to use their devices to manage content on students' devices. It combines presentations, collaboration, and real-time assessment tools, allowing teachers to embed polls, quizzes and drawings, as well as video and other content, into slides in Nearpod.

Another great list of Web 2.0 tools. There are a few that should be added in the Augmented Reality section like Aurasma and Daqri 4D, but still lots of good resources. There are also several different choices for Productivity Software.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter®-II (KTS®-II) is a personality and career assessment tool that will make suggestions on careers that fit the students personality traits as answered in the assessment.

This is a great tool for students to create their own "multimedia scrapbooks" online by using the creation tools and templates on this website. Students can then share their work with others.

"backchan.nl is tool for involving audiences in presentations by letting them suggest questions and vote on each other's questions"

Microsoft DreamSpark contains free downloads for students. These are mainly software development tools, but educational techies may find some tools extremely useful.

This article was originally published in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education. It reviews three resources Edmodo, The Educator's PLN and Classroom 2.0. The article begins by describing what a PLN is and talks about the social media connections and the tools that are used to aggregate all the information. It also discusses some of the difficulties associated with PLN's including information overload, figuring out the social norms and learning to use the tools. The article goes on to describe and compare the three PLN platforms. The article even highlights the types of topics that are discussed on PLN's.

This link is a slideshare. The slideshare begins by describing what a PLN is and the benefits of creating one including the facts that are flexible, personal and practical. It also talks about them happening in real time, allowing instant access to people and information and also giving access to expertise in any field. It goes on to describe the two types of PLN's collaborative tools and information gathering. The article then provides a list of possible tools and good resources to be included in your PLN.