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This blog states the importance of social media in higher education. The author, Gupta, backs his opinion up with several linked articles and studies.

While this article focuses on how to use social media as an institution, the recommendations it makes are applicable to individual instructors and classes as well.

This site provides news, information, and articles for college and university faculty members and administrators on topics such as diversity in the classroom and work place, online learning, and career building.

Hotseat was created by Purdue University to allow students to Twitter and text messages during and after class. The conclusion was that there was more interaction, more engaging, and resulted in higher-performing students.

Seamon states in this article that there is evidence that social communication (PLN) can strengthen human relationships, particularly for introverts. It may help foster family and business as well. It encompasses learning from feedback, insights, new contacts, and is based in reciprocity and trust. It is needed to increase the chance of higher levels of learning maturity.

The author addresses concerns about the feelings of isolation that can stem from the use of technology (in the sense that it is utilized to the exclusion of in-person connections) but makes sure to point out the benefits of technology as evidenced by Personal Learning Networks.

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. 

"Studies have concluded that social engagement can benefit retention efforts, and schools and teachers are successfully pursuing this tactic with the help of social media applications." This is an article that points to studies indicating that just as social interaction can help with student retention, both in the field of study and at the school, so to can social media fill this need. 

Hello everyone! I appreciate checking in on this site to see up to date articles as well as the current job market.

This website is full of resources on accessibility in higher education. There is information on legal cases, conferences, documentation, and guides that deal with making curriculum accessible to people with disabilities.

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 discusses several concerns with connectivism. One issue is the ability of learners to self-regulate. This is a higher order skill that many adults have not mastered, and some teachers are expecting it of primary age students. The author also indicates a debate among connectivism adherents about the value of "lurkers". Some see it as s valuable activity that introduces learners to the community gradually. Others see lurkers as leeches who are taking without giving in return.

This article describes how the term Community of Practice can be ambiguous and vary depending on the circumstance in which it is being used. It has been discovered by the author that there are various descriptions of CoPs, but one common factor amongst them all, discourse. The findings revealed in this article show why the author finds that discourse is significant when talking about the studies done in higher education CoPs.

The authors offer a brief look at connectivism in relation to distance and blended learning in higher education. They point out the the landscape is changing from a knowledge transmission to a knowledge acquisition system and that connectivist theory is a guide to help in this transition. They also offer a counterpoint in that the way a good number of online courses are conducted is in a knowledge delivery system that dissociates the learner. They point out the instructor interaction is mandatory to counteract the dissociation that can occur.

This website has apps that support Bloom's Digital (Updated) Taxonomy. If you are looking for a particular app to represent a higher order level of thinking, this would be a great place to start.

This resource I came across provides resources for all types of social media. Within this specific page, the topic addresses the best practices for Twitter used in the classroom. It provides information on the use of Twitter within primary and secondary schools as well as higher education. Statistics are presented to show usage within the school amongst scholars and faculty. This site is also an interactive social media network system for questions and comments.

Chris Yonke supports the Aug. 6 bond referendum in part because of proposed improvements to technology that helped his students improve test scores.