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I thought I had a simple understanding of connectivism, but as I read this I realize that I had a 'bubble gum /reality tv' version stuck in my head. This breaks things down easily and has begun to help me understand more deeply. Downes covers, what a learning theory is, what learning is, how it occurs. He compares with behaviorism and instructivism. A good lead in to the academic theory.

This is a succinct overview of learning, learning theories, and in particular, a discussion of connectivism in relation to learning. Also delves into the question of the evaluation of learning through a connectivism lens.

This site is a blog by Stephen Downes discussing Connectivism. Downes describes what learning and learning theories in the context of Connectivism. He then talks about how learning occurs in terms of looking at how connections are formed. He compares/contrasts connectivism with other learning theories such as behaviorism and constructivism.

While this is a blog post, it is a post by Stephen Downes, who is a major contributor to the connectivism theory. This post gives reason to how connectivism is a learning theory by not only explaining what a learning theory is and how people learn as well as how connectivism fits. It also goes to explain how connectivism is valuable to learners and why it contains "principles of quality educational design."

This resource helped me understand the definition and different looks at the concept of a learning theory a well as the learning happens according to the learning theory. It was valuable to look at the author's point of view of connectivism as a learning theory. It was even more valuable to read the comments to the blog post.

This blog post by Stephen Downes discusses connectivism as a learning theory. Downes goes through what a learning theory is, what learning is, how learning occurs, and building on a theory. He compares the connectivism learning theory to other learning theories.

This blog is a great resource on how Connectivism is a learning theory and how it's going to change online learning for everyone.

Stephen Downes writes about connectivism, making clarifications that it is a learning theory and not a method of teaching. The article provides definitions and commentary into what is a learning theory and briefly defines the other 3 theories for reference and contrast.

Excellent review of connectivism and how to decide if its a theory.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share the same job or a common interest in a subject. They come together to form a link to help each other perform in the world around them. This article talks about the value of communities of practice and how and why they work.

Eckert, P. (2006). Communities of practice. ELL, 2, 683-685. In this article, Mrs. Eckert does a great job in simplifying what a community of practice entails and means. She allows you to visualize the communities you belong to as well as other communities of practice you interact with or observe on a daily basis. One important distinction is that the author of this work is written from the sense of sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology and not from an educator's mind set. Irrespective of this standpoint, you can see direct correlations to where students understand themselves and what communities of practice your own student population may fall under. In order to understand the social development of communities of practice Mrs. Eckert does a good job in breaking down common cores that can emerge from memberships. The linguistic side she writes, "A white working class Italian-American woman does not develop her ways of speaking directly from the larger categorical working class, Italian American, and female, but from her day to day experience as a person who combines those three memberships. Her experience will be articulated by her participation in activities and communities of practice that are particular to her place in the social order."(Eckert, 2006) Building upon that theory, she discusses the importance of social space "Emma Moore's study of teenage girls in Northern England (Moore 2003) traced the gradual split of a group of somewhat rebellious "populars" as some of them emerged as the tougher "townies" in their ninth year. In the process, the vernacular speech patterns of the "townies" intensified in opposition to those of their more Conservative friends". (Eckert, 2006) While the article sheds more light on the development of speech patterns and dialects through the medium of communities, we can also see the definition in practice in which a collection of people gather together over a common interest and then orients to their new surrounding

This is just a basic definition of communities of practice. It is a very easy way to understand it.

Communities of practice (CoP) are created through a community of people who have common interests. In communities of practice, Eckert (2006) explains "a community of practice develops ways of doing things, views, values, power relations, and ways of talking" (p.1). CoP's have a way of providing a personal identity and a way of speaking within a CoP.

I like how it says learning is a continual process that is enhanced by technology and is rewiring our brains. Very interesting.

I am not sure I agree with the author of this piece. I appreciated the articulation of Connectivism, and the exposition of Siemens and Downes' ideas about Connectivism was clear...I just remain unconvinced--at this point--that Connectivism is a learning theory on the same par with Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. In particular, I believe that learning is a human activity, and so when Siemens makes the claim, "Learning may reside in non-human appliances," I have a hard time accepting the theory. I agree that *information* can reside in non-human appliances...

I found this article very intriguing. I have to admit that Dave's comment is what made me take a look. I actually like that the author points out that learning can take place outside of ourselves. However, I feel that by learning, in this context, he may be referring to more of an adaptation behavior than actual understanding.

A blog post which summarizes and breaks down the main principles of connectivism as well as seeking to identify the trends which led Siemans and Downes to their observations of learning. The author finishes with a statement that Connectivism is seen as the learning theory for the digital age. Accessible, but more of an overview. Helpful

With the advancement in technology comes the "re evaluation" of traditional learning theories. We can no longer sit back and rely on the traditional classroom to fulfill the learning needs of the diverse students in our rooms. I like what is said regarding informal learning and how we learn from multiple places.

This article draws comparisons between behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and how they all relate to connectivism. Connectivism has come about with the age of technology, and has gradually become its own learning theory.

Provides an overview of learning theories in terms of creating instructional environments. Discusses principles and limitations of connectivism and concludes that how people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. Connectivism provides insight in to learning and tasks.

This is is a good breakdown on the history of the connectivism theory and school of thought. It highlights how it the theory is beneficial in our digital age because other theories like behaviorism, cognitivism,and constructivism operate under the tenet that learning occurs by majority inside of a person. It reiterates the point that the network or "pipe" is more important than the content within it.

Explanation of connectivism, including contrasts to behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Interesting quote: "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today." I'm not sure I totally agree with that statement...

Very interesting piece on the how the half-life of knowledge is shrinking. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the last 10 years and is doubling every 18 months.

George Siemens ideas on the limitations of traditional learning theories and connectivism.

This articles gives information about the basic thought behind Connectivism. This article even gives the background information about the limitations of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism in the realm of technology and knowledge.

This background paper reviews the limitations of common learning theories in the digital age. Siemens then describes connectivism.

"Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical." This is a fantastic quote in this article. Our foundations for education are highly impacting the way we learn and soak up the knowledge around us. Everyone in this world needs to gain more knowledge, learn new techniques, and grow their thinking to become a harder worker, more valuable asset, and a better person in general. It is critical for the society to build on the foundations of their knowledge now so we can overcome those future problems and struggles in the future. Technology is opening doors for people to create, develop, and build knew foundations of education.

The resource discusses the need for a changing view of learning due to the development of technology tools to aid learning and information sharing. Many learning theories have not incorporated the use of technology or connectivity. Previous learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism have limitations presented in this article to support the need for connectivism. An important thought stated by the author, "We derive our competence from forming connections". This article states the importance of experience to learn knowledge.

In this piece, Siemens explores behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and their deficits when it comes to learning in the digital world. He explains how Connectivism addresses the change in learning in that it is no longer an internal activity because of technology.

@mskmjohnson Great article! I particularly like the focus on a CoP vs. a team and the practical information on maintaining a CoP

This in-depth overview discusses CoPs covers their roles in organizations like other articles, but it also talks about where the can be found and their differences than teams, businesses, networks, etc- offering a definition more by what it is not. The stages of development image helped me better understand the foundation of a CoP.

Etienne Wenger explains the importance of Communities of Practice. Wenger states that communities are everywhere and most people are involved in a community of practice. Communities of practice are different than a community of interest or geographical communities because of three elements. The three elements are what it is about, how it functions, and what capability it has produced. The community of practice can be within businesses, across business units, or even across company boundaries. All "communities of practice move through various stages of development characterized by different levels of interaction among the members and different kinds of activities."

Article by Wegner explaining CoPs that has a couple of great graphics of what it means to be in a CoP, how to develop them, and how they relate to organizations

I really like how this article connects the idea of CoP to things other than education. It is a 21st century skill that we can teach our students and have them continue to use even after their formal education is complete.

Sometimes we teachers get ourselves stuck on the idea that we are clearly the only profession out there in the world when we are researching topics like CoPs. However, this isn't the case, and I really appreciate that this resource outlines the idea of communities of practice as far reaching and for more than just teachers. It comes back to the community. Without the community, there is no practice.

This article goes beyond the basic definitions of CoPs as it provides where communities can be found and the importance of CoPs to organizations and offers suggestions to develop and nurture CoPs.

For me it is easy to think of CoPs in education but I liked looking at them in other organizations. Thinking about how to keep them going was interesting. Things like legitimizing participation seems obvious but can really make or break a CoP.

This article begins by describing three different communities of practice, but not how one would traditionally think of them. A "community of practice" for myself on a personal level would not necessarily have to be the other middle school teachers in my building, but could involve the elementary art teacher I am friends with. The more I read about these communities of practice the more they are sounding like "like-minded people who talk about stuff they have in common." There is a neat little graph describing five stages of development of these communities.

This page offers different wording and definitions of PLNs.

This article talks about Communities of Practice and how they differ from PLN. COP have a centralized theme, how they function depend on the sophistication and functionality of the group as a whole.

I also liked the style, you could scroll down the page reading the relevant questions and answers without having to wade through the info you weren't looking for at this time. It allowed for a more connectivistic (if that's a thing) learning approach.

Thanks for sharing this. It really connected with me especially when it used a map to describe a PLN. It makes complete since to look at it that way. I also liked the way it emphasized creating a PLN online and described ways to create one.