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This page has many case studies that point to successful use of Facebook with college students. This is a page from a company so you can have some idea as to the motivation. To put this into perspective this is the only company that is financially supported by the Gates foundation. In my opinion they are motivated by more than profit but by helping schools and students make connections. 

This post is from a student perspective about how using social media while studying abroad help keep them connected with students at the home institution. The article does not touch on the possibility of these tools acting as an insulator, keeping the student from interacting with the culture they are visiting. The assumption has to be that while they are in country, they are actively seeking out these interactions. A little focus from the study abroad program could help achieve both objectives. 

This article shows how to engage students and improve learning and comprehension of subject material, without the traditional lecture.  I will need a little latitude with this article and the assignment of social media in the classroom. This article does not focus on the use of social media but explains how systems can be used to prime students prior to coming to class and at the same time inform the instructor what areas students are having difficulties with at the time.  This is great because instructors and students do not have to go over information that has already been learned. Social media can be the vehicles used for this type of communication. 

This site has a variety of different EDTECH articles for professional development, I particularly found the different uses of twitter interesting.

Summary: The authors of this article clearly prove that a learner who is in control of h/her own learning will benefit the most, especially if h/she designs and navigates h/her own network. A learner will learn whether the connection is strong or weak as long as h/she has: 1) a choice in what network is joined, 2) a true passion or interest, and 3) a flexible method of communication (could be in person or via technology).

This clearly follows the belief that personalized learning is beneficial to the learner. By getting to create your PLN you are strategically picking who to network with and the topics you want to be involved in.

In this article, the discussion of personal learning networks surrounds working professionals and how they manage their professional network. The article presents a model of personal professional networking with the goal of creating a personal learning network.

This article mainly summarizes the work of Etienne Wenger concerning CoPs. Additionally the article has an included video discussing the benefits of CoPs in the workplace.

This post discusses George Siemens 2005 article Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age and examines the limitations of this theory as well as its relevance to teaching and knowledge management practices. The relationship of connectivism to learning in a MOOC is described. It is suggested that widespread adoption of connectivism in formal learning will face resistance because of its stance that 1) the network is more important than content 2) knowledge is a process rather than an artifact 3) and knowledge can be retrieved rather than memorized.

This source is actually a summary/review of a different article, but it provides some good insight. The author argues that the explosion of technology and internet sources has changed the way that we acquire knowledge. Different pieces of information are accessible by tapping into different sources. The author also discusses how connectivity can be used in the classroom and how some people may resist the use of the connectivity theory.

I found it valuable to go through Siemen's fundamental principles of connectivism. Siemens considers connectivism as a significant departure from previous learning theories because connectivism includes learning occurring outside of the learner, within the network. I also found it valuable to go through the applications of connectivism in classroom and managing knowledge.

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 website is monitored by edublogs and geared towards teachers who are wanting to create professional learning networks. Step 1 provides a detailed examination of what a pln is, which includes videos, images, and other media to convey content. From this page teachers can move forward in creating their own pln.

Great share Courtney! I love the videos explaining what a PLN is (very simple and to the point). The video about connected educators is one I want to share with my district on my proposal to get social media active. It discusses why educators need a PLN and how beneficial it can be!

A PLN is personal because you choose who is in your group and if you want to lurk or comment. A PLN is what you want when you want it- reminds me of the Burger King slogan- "your way right away"

Great way for kids to practice using a variety of activities.

Study anything for free. Even has a Quizlet app for iPad, iPhone, and iTouch. This is a great program for teachers or for students to create their own quiz as part of a larger project.

Simple and easy flashcard tool for students. They can build their own list, access teacher lists, or find pre-made lists to study and play games with.

This page has great articles for teaching literature.

I didn't realize that they had a section for grants. Thanks for sharing!

Communities of practice are made of people who share a passion or interest and want to improve their knowledge of it; for real learning to occur, it must take place in a community of learners who are also interested and learning; the relationship between knowledge and practice is explored

This provides a nice overview of CoPs. I enjoyed the annotation feature too.

This site gives an overview of communities of practice and discusses the viewpoints of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, who are well known proponents of the idea. This site provides a basic rationale for communities of practice and describes how we are all involved in them in various aspects of our lives, whether we realize it or not.

Education affects society as a whole; when society fails, education is often to blame; education is a social-sorting tool that affects societies and culture; social networks allow education to take place anywhere

PLN have been around forever but now we use technology to help increase those who can be involved. Most of the Personal Learning Networks are online and we can communicate with others from around the world. This article gives examples of how to use a PLN and how to build your own.

I liked the video clip that showed how networking can be beneficial. Simple video that explains it for people like me who are new the world of PLN's.

I like the chart of resources. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of the social media tools available out there on the Internet, so the chart in this blog post is helpful. Thanks!

This webpage from the US Department of Education describes how Communities of Practice can improve education.

SUMMARY: The DOE gets behind CoPs as potential answer for achievement gap and underperforming teachers and leaders. Money, time, and resources were thrown at this initiative to see if online CoPs could become the missing link in the instructional shortcomings. Citing examples of success, one is drawn and intrigued to look further at the project as we are now 2 years later.

Finding and researching CoP sites I came across the Department of Education's answer on the Communities of Practice within education. The Department of Education has added the communities of practice within an initiative called the Investing in Innovation along with a series of other initiatives.

Great article on schools using teachers to help teach others in the school about different areas in technology that they are competent in. My only thought was that it really should have gone further and reported on schools using its students to train the teachers and fellow classmates. We have a school nearby that has a class on basic computer repair and then the students then spend one hour a week going around the school helping out the teachers. Really cuts down on expenses and students have a sense of pride and a useful and marketable skill!

Examination of how learning has evolved in the digital age. For example, engagement with learning content has changed from the student acquisition of knowledge through books to the interaction with content via the internet.

I love how this article demonstrates connectivism. Email wasn't just born, it was born out of the idea of the world wide web. From there came other email applications. It is so true and I think so easily forgotten.

Mr. Nussbaum has created an impressive resource list of educational, interactive games and websites divided by educational category.

My sisters had the CDs of these educational games when we were growing up but now JumpStart has it's own virtual world for kids.