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In this article the author provides an overview of PLNs. It provides an explanation of the benefits a PLN can have to PLCs. Problems identified in a PLC can be further analyzed and researched via members PLNs. This expansion/contraction of solution seeking would aid in the development of a community of practice.

First exploring today's dynamic educational environment the author creates a connection between online classroom and the network of connections that are made through connectivist learning opportunities. The what and why are then built upon with a look into the six skills one should incorporate when attempting connectivist pedagogy: technical competence, experimentation, autonomy, creation, play and developing a capacity for complexity. The article is then finalized with with some suggestions of tools to incorporate into one's connectivist classroom.

This defines and simplifies the idea of a Personal Learning Network

A quick PLN overview that describes many of the aspects of what we do here in this class. The presenter offers many insights on how to be a member of a PLN, and some of the tools that are available to us. I like that he tells me that I can change levels of participation whenever I want, and should feel free to just lurk if preferred.

Many educators talk about the benefits of being part of a PLN. They emphasize that while they are interacting with people and not feeling alone while gathering ideas and sharing feelings, they can connect or disconnect anytime they want. It is the choice of the educator to determine the level of involvement they want to provide. The educators in this video seem extremely comfortable being members of these networks. Connecting and collaborating are important skills. Being able to choose when to connect and be part of a professional network, allows freedom for educators to continue their learning forever.

A cute powtoon video discussing the benefits of Connectivism as a learning theory. In the video she explains that an a advantage of connectivism is that the learner can connect with people around the world and understand different perspectives. Connectivism also encourages critical thinking and indepth examination of a topic.The important thing is not to know everything about a topic, but to know where to go to find the information.

This is an excellent resource! The video gives us a very nice summary and delves into the implications of a connected world and where we're living today. I am likely to use this video later on.

I appreciate the visual components of this resource and third person example of "Amy's" usage of connectivsim. Using Amy as an example this video allowed us to see the overall picture of connectivism theory as well as how it would look when being used by a student, switching our perspective of the theory from that of the teacher to that of the student.

This work provides first person accounts of creating and implementing communities of practice as well as research about communities of practice. The goal of the work, according to the author, is to guide and promote other educators in the creation of communities of practice. Communities of Practice are explored in this work through the lens of higher education, professional development, secondary education, and primary education with the varying chapters all presenting a different type of community of practice.

I love that this video makes it very clear that you don't actually have to know anyone in your PLN. Now that we are so interconnected, the people that we learn from can be totally dispersed throughout the world. This presenter emphasizes that these networks are OURS.

I know that Dr. Gerstein didn't really want any how-tos... but this one is so good.

Upon doing my research for CoP I stumbled across this site that stresses the right way to effectively use technology for online communities of practice. It emphasizes that many CoP's can lose their purpose by metamorphosing into something entirely different than what was originally intended.

In this video, the audience sees first-hand a CoP in action. What seems small, a group of principals across 27 schools are working to meet, collaborate and share. Emphasis is placed on the idea of sharing because that is how individuals and schools will grow. Sharing practice and knowledge plays the most critical part in a CoP.

In this article Jong-Ae Kim, a librarian from South Korea, discusses the benefits of establishing communities of practice within the field of librarianship. Through her discussion, Kim not only defines a CoP, she also describes the levels of participation of its members and presents a possible timeline that relevant CoPs go through to establish their value within the profession. Kim then goes on to lay out the potential uses of CoPs within each specific type of library such as academic, public, school, and special libraries. I think it is important to note that while she sees the importance for CoPs among librarians serving similar populations, she ends the article with a discussion on the professional benefits of creating CoPs among librarians from all different types of organizations.

I appreciated this article. Not only did it help to continue to clarify my learning about COPs, it also provided a great context in tying it to the changing landscapes of libraries. Library education is certainly evolving and can now be seem on the forefront of some innovative educational movements, such as design thinking and the maker movement. It was also enlightening to see them as vehicles to drive communities of practice in many different settings.

This article summarizes a study aimed at explaining collective behavior on social networking platforms through intentional social action, which is known as the We-Intention theory. The study focused on Facebook in particular, because it is widely popular among university students and could, thus, illustrate social media's impact on students' motivation to learn via virtual communities. In the article, the We-Intention theory is driven by social influence factors, social presence, and elements of the uses and gratifications (U&G) model. U&G, as defined in the article, explains why individuals gravitate toward certain digital media over others. U&G assumes individuals are both goal-directed and aware of their needs, listed as purposive value, self-discovery, entertainment, social enhancement, and maintenance of interpersonal connectivity. The study identified two U&G needs, entertainment and interpersonal connectivity, as significantly determining intentional social action under the We-Intention theory.

That article is very interesting stating that most use Facebook for instant communication and connection. The need for instant gratification. Joining too many groups or trying to connect to too many people does make it hard to have a specific connection to one group. May be the reason that people post so many random topics and photos.

Interesting perspective on Facebook from the point of view of students using the platform.Since most of my background is from K-12 education, I have not witnessed teachers using the platform with their students. I have found that most K-12 teachers use Facebook to communicate with parents. It does seem to have a similar impact on getting parents motivated and active in class activities. Most parents use Facebook and once they know they can follow their child's teacher and get updates via the social media app, parents tend to do so

The authors springboard from a Cornell University study of the difficulties that humanities doctoral students have in finishing their degree to discuss the ways libraries can help improve student success. They show that the establishment of communities of practice are a necessary component of the success of doctoral students in the humanities. They then advocate for libraries to create and support these communities through providing designated space for doctoral students to collaborate and share information in the library and by offering discipline-specific research skills workshops.

Siemens is known for his theory of Connectivism. In his TedTalk, he opens with his frustration in the solutions for today's problems in education. George shares his limited view and connectedness when growing up in Mexico. He later states "our focus in education should be to collapse tot he point of a connection." George is worried about society's views of raising and teaching to the corporate setting, rather than being vital contributors to society, all in a connected way.

Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg highlights the ways in which we are all connected in society and the various communities we are linked with. Mark emphasizes the need to continue to network and stay connected. Our history is based on connections in society and we have continued to grow. Although only one platform to grow from, Mark's Facebook Community has offered our society and people countless opportunities to connect and grow personally and professionally.