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Much has been written recently about the impact of social networking tools in teaching and learning and how educators can build on the skills of their students in using these tools. But if educators only integrate the ability of students to connect and socialize, deeper points of learning will be missed.

This article identified a massive discrepancy between educational researchers and educational practitioners (i.e. teachers) and called for a new collaborative approach to research in which the two factions work together to build communities of practice "based on collective expertise and designed to scrutinize and improve education." CoPs are a new way to promote dialogue and inquiry on current educational issues and topics, taking the former idea of CoPs as primarily for PD to a new level.

I am a big believer in the power of social media to grow and power a PLN - especially Twitter. This article provides a great starting point for learning how Twitter can be used to connect educators.

The article discusses the reasons you may want to "tweet" and what the process is for using twitter as an educator. I like how simple it is, and think it is helpful for someone who has never used twitter before (like myself.)

This article presents an argument on PLNs and CoPs in the sector of public affairs education. It states that in order to strengthen PLNs and CoPs, emerging technologies must be used to accurately connect students with proper practitioners, which in turn---will enhance knowledge and present various new learning opportunities. This includes a major shift in practitioner delivery systems so that emerging technologies are adequately integrated.

This paper discusses how Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) integrate formal and informal learning and help students self-regulate learning in "higher education contexts" through social media. Connectivism has given rise to the idea that "the community is the curriculum", so institutions should foster the creation of communities among their students to allow them a more personalized education. PLEs are the tools, services and communities that learners choose to use as they pursue knowledge. PLEs are an attempt to deliberately unify formal and informal learning, especially in e-learning situations. PLEs specifically address social media use and the creation of a cultivated online identity to enhance learning in the learner's chosen arena. In order to fully leverage PLEs via social media, students must use personal knowledge management (PKM) skills. S involves "creating, organizing and sharing digital content and information" and balancing contexts, among other skills. Students cano sumo mine their PLEs, but this requires knowledge management and self-regulation.

I like how this article views PLNs from the angle as if the user already has a social networking account. Most of the article I've come across have a list of steps that a person has to follow and sites that they need to sign up for, but this article assumes the reader has these log ins (because they probably do). It shows how to take what you are probably already using and turn it into a PLE to foster and grow knowledge.

This article explains the theories behind the connections between massive open online courses and connectivism. It is described that connectivism is the pedagogical approach behind MOOCs, but something is missing. The author goes on the explain how cultural psychology is the factor that makes up for the missing basis for learning that connectivism fails to explain.

Retirees maintain personal interests---just as commonly as non-retirees. The love of learning and being a part of community does not disappear once one has retired. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people 65 and older spend at least 2 hours per day undertaking leisure activities. This article explores the idea of shifting from professional communities of interest to personal communities of interest in retirement and discusses PLNs in retirement that usually consist of friends and family members. The author focuses on the usage of social media for retirees to keep connected with one another.

This SlideShare explains networks and nodes,their patterns and relationships, and how they relate to Connectivism and the Connectivism learning model.

This is an interesting approach to explaining connectivism. I like that it's in a SlideShare format, and gives a different viewpoint of how the connections happen within different groups. I did find myself a little lost, and wouldn't be able to explain it using this diagram, however I can appreciate it's uniqueness.

I very much appreciated this slideshow for its explanation of a network. "Every entity is composted of addition entities." Downes 2007. This quote sums up this process beautifully. Also, the image regarding updating student's concepts regularly makes a lot of sense. If I were to try and explain all of this content in several months without update and review, it would most certainly lack important dynamic quality.

Discusses the importance of students learning through social networks and how teachers can leverage students' experience with social networks to develop the skills necessary to be an independent learner.

This is a great article because it addresses the needs for PLNs for students as well as for teachers. I couldn't agree more, especially since our students are growing up in a highly connected world - it only makes sense for them to learn via PLNs of their own.

The internet has allowed educators to create more diverse personal learning networks than ever before. This article addresses the idea of making our learning networks more diverse through intercultural outreach. This is an idea that is only possible through the use of educational technology.

I like that this article shows the components of Personal Learning Networks and talks about the fact that a shared learning interest is the basis for connections with others in a PLN. The discussion of the six stages of connectivism is valuable in that it shows what is involved in a true 21st Century Learning Education.

Found in this article, author, William Bauer, shares an anecdote of a teacher that is seeing the value in becoming connected via Web 2.0 tools. In these tools, Bauer discusses their importance as they relate to developing a PLN in the teaching profession. Descriptions and focus are given to RSS, blogs, Podcast, Wikis, Twitter and News sites. Bauer suggest that educators should "get started with your technology-assisted PLN by setting up a newsreader and subscribing to resources of interest. Both you and your students will be the beneficiaries."

This is a resources describing the effect of connectivity in a PLN. "If I surround myself with people doing great things, then I am going to benefit." This video explains PLNs and how these networks cause exponential creative growth.

This video really describes PLNs and CoPs in a nutshell. It shows how valuable these networks are to education and learning in general. As the video states, "there is no way I can be the best at everything." It takes a network to benefit from the knowledge of many others. No longer do we, as teachers, have to to know all of the facts.

In this study from the University of Central Florida, the researcher focuses specifically on how classroom activities drive student learning towards the CoP model, most notably collaboration. The researcher uses a graduate public administration level class to conduct her study, which is important because all student participants share the same learning and degree outcome---essential to the effectiveness of CoPs. One finding this study presents is the concept of building 'friendship networks' in CoPs. The study shows that friendships were "greatly strengthened" throughout the course and there were no "weakly connected individuals" at the end of the semester (Napucu, 2012). Furthermore, in this study, emphasis is placed on the facilitator (in this case, the professor) of this CoP and how that facilitator structured the course to fulfill the learning needs of the students in the created CoP. *Note, you'll need to log in to Albertsons Library to read the article in full.

Welcome Educator! Connect and collaborate around the world and gain easy access to lessons created by educators for educators.

Keek is the easiest way to share video updates with friends. You can upload video status updates ("keeks") using your webcam or the Keek app for Android and iPhone. Connect with friends, share funny videos and more.

Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here.

While this presentation does contain some how-tos and examples of a course in connectivism, it gives an easy-to-manage view of connectivism as a theory and why social networking is so valuable. It also explores personal learning environments and has many good visuals that help explain it all.

A great slide show with images and short descriptions of how an individual uses online resources for his own personal learning as well as the definition of connectivism.

Fantastic find, there is a lot in this power-point to suggest a transformation via connectivism.

This 1916 Dewey classic is packed with theory. He covers the fundamental meaning of education as a collective process that involves one's own experiences and the experiences of others. No one is an island when it comes to learning and sharing experiences.

This article explained what actually is done in a CoP and it helped me to connect it to PLNs and Connectivism. In a CoP, communities of people that have common goals and interests are sharing, collaborating and discussing ideas, solutions, and problems that have to do with their particular interest/goals. Through these interactions, new knowledge is formed and they are able to continue to gain more insight and advance in their endeavors. A CoP is a PLN and uses Connectivist theory to enhance the learning and networking.

Communities develop through a variety of ways. A table is provided with many examples that help to clarify these ways. Some include problem solving, requests for information, seeking experience, reusing assets, and discussing developments. It is very easy to apply these examples to a variety of personal and professional CoPs.