Here is Wikipedia's definition for a personal learning network. The explanation begins by explicitly stating that a personal learning network is an "informal learning network," which I think is an excellent distinction. The personal learning networks that we establish are for us to learn and grow as educators. I know Wikipedia sometimes gets a bad rap, but it came with references. :)
I know, I know. Wikipedia. In an educational context. I have been a Wikipedia editor since 2012 and I have found it to be a rewarding experience. More than my anecdotal experience, there is increasing evidence of Wikipedia's increasing acceptance in academia. There are even Wikipedians in residence at major universities. This article on connectivism is a great overview and a good starting point for understanding the concept and some of its intellectual underpinnings.
Community of Practice evolving encyclopedic resource keying in on history, examples, benefits, with a variety of additional references and additional readings
Defines CoPs, explains theoretical reasoning behind CoPs, describes the evolution of the idea of CoPs, provides best practices, and gives examples of CoPs
I chose to share this link for two reasons: 1) It describes communities of practice, ways to support CoPs through networking, social learning, and online identities. 2) It's presented via a wiki, which is a platform that embodies the spirit of SNL, CoPs and PLNs.
Angela another great pick. I think the biggest key to this resource is a practical demonstration of a PLN for us to utilize. As information is presented we should not only be able to explain but use the resources! Living the theory is just as important as knowing it.
This is a very thorough breakdown of what makes up a community of practice. Also some good links in there (though a few were broken which I find common in Wiki's). Thanks to you posting this site/CoP which I had never heard of http://www.tappedin.org/.
Angela, While doing the research I came across this site as well but did not incorporate it my finds. I'm a big fan of Wikipedia and use it quite a bit for definitions and attaining public domain images. This Edutech Wiki is very complete with definitions and examples. A great resource.
I've never seen the edutech wiki site. I will have to remember this. I also like using wiki from the basics like definitions. This has some great definitions and break down of communities of practice.
I found this site to be very informative in a brief way! I find sites such as this a nice way to get started on something...find out enough so you know where to go next!
I appreciate the comment in this wiki about communities of practice developing a common store of knowledge. When I first heard the term, communities of practice, a few years ago, I thought they were simply referring to a group of people with something in common, not necessarily a group with a common purpose or goal toward which they are actively working.
Obviously the search continues to update as time passes, but this is a great way to do some quick research and get some leads when looking into a new topic like connectivism. Time for Wikipedia to share the road!
Mathematica is a computational software program used in many scientific, engineering, mathematical and computing fields. It was conceived by Stephen Wolfram and is developed by Wolfram Research of Champaign, Illinois.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram_Mathematica
ipl2 is the result of a merger of the Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians' Internet Index (LII)
It contains trustworthy links to online reference materials for a variety of ages and subjects... great place to send your kids to look for information! (Usually better than using Google or Wikipedia)
Historically, Luddites were people who fought against technology. The modern neo-Luddites have similar beliefs regarding the integration of technology in education.
The earliest recorded use of the concept of personal learning environments is by Goldstein and Miller in 1976. The next mention arises in 1998 when the first version of Future Learning Environment, a web-based learning environment designed to support learner and group centered work that concentrates on creating and developing expressions of knowledge, is mentioned. After that, the PLN begins to take off and becomes a common term.
YouTube is a video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States. The service was created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. In November 2006, it was bought by Google for US$1.65 billion. Wikipedia
Founded: February 14, 2005, San Mateo, CA
CEO: Susan Wojcicki
Headquarters: San Bruno, CA
Acquisition date: November 13, 2006
Parent organization: Google
Founders: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim