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This is a student's reflection on the use of social media in a patent engineering course.  He had positive feedback and even offered a suggestion to make it easier to find other students' work.  He gave examples of what the students did in the course.

This video shows how Canadian teacher Curtis Wagner uses social media to connect students around the world to work on classroom projects.

Allowing students to use their cell phones as a means of learning plus providing them with social networks give them a reason to go to school.

A north Portland school district hired a socia media consultant to help them figure out ways to gain from the social media tools the students were already using. Teachers are now posting assignments through Edmodo.

SocialMedia Students is a great project that was created to be a resources for parents, educators, and students. This project is to help them to have a solid foundation of understanding social media. You can also read their Blog, join their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter.

My list of successful uses of social networking/media in an elementary environment.

Interesting read on how to use Social Media to advance online training programs. Excellent resources on how to improve training systems through social media.

Very cool! I never thought of this as a community of practice. I use this everyday for conferencing with my colleges. We come together through this technology to share resources, plan and organize, and to develop strategies. So, of course this is a great example. Thank you for sharing!

This high school uses Twitter to tweet updates, links, resources, and announcements to students about the library media center. With over 600 followers, this is an excellent example of using social media can reach and inform students.

Learn about QuickTime Player's media sharing, flexible recording capabilities, and simple media trimming and combining features. How to use QuickTime Player to play media files on your Mac QuickTime Player is a great application for playing media content, including HD (high definition) video in OS X.

I chose a definition site as my final resource. I think it is important that we are able to clearly and succinctly define what we are exploring. According to this site, "A personal learning network, also referred to as a PLN, is a powerful professional development tool that allows teachers and administrators to connect with other teachers and administrators across the country. These connections are typically made through social media outlets including Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc."

I like the quote "you get out what you put in" it describes the relationships in a PLN perfectly. This post gives many good examples of PLNs that I'm sure many people don't even realize are PLNs. Many teachers like to use Pinterest for lesson plan ideas or decorating their classroom, and what they don't realize is they are working with other people to gain this information. I think I'm a better educator because I am an active user of PLNs and I try to contribute as much as I use others ideas.

This article discusses how developing a PNL will make you a better teacher by challenging you to change the way we think about our classroom. PNLs are great because they save time and allow for quick and easy communication in various formats. Educators get to decide which areas they are interested in developing a PNL. I love that this article states that you will get out of it what you put in.

This is a dynamic article focused on researching the effectiveness of using a rhizomatic structure within the PLN for students using a variety of social media. Researchers evaluate a variety of social media as well as their impact on both the students and instructors. Outcomes include implications of impact on faculty workload, student perceptions of learning enhancement and level of peer engagment.

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"

I found the Nielson report cited in several of the articles I reviewed and decided to check it out. The Nielson report typically cites was published in 2009 and so instead I retrieved a more recent (2011) report on the state of social media. This is a fascinating graphic display of the synthesis and major findings of research on the use of social media both in the United States and globally. This is important as we consider the needs and possibilities of using the connected learning theories reviewed in our reading. The data gathered reflects a continued rise in access of social networks and blogs across a wide variety of demographics. Information such as 4 out of 5 active Internet users now visit SN and blogs cannot be ignored as we consider the impact this has on instructional design and education technology applications.

Provides excellent examples from teachers, worldwide, on how they use social media tools in their classroom to enhance learning.

Lists over 100 ways that different social technologies (and tools) are being used by learning professionals worldwide - compiled from various educators.

A teacher at West Lake High School in Austin is finding that student use of social media is improving their writing skills. Students are posting essays on blogs and sharing them out through Twitter.

The Champaign, Illinois school district has drafted a social media use policy. This district started with a policy for staff, then began work on student policies.

Social Media: An Asset For Teachers and Leaders

examples of ways to incorporate social media in the classroom

This site provides five concrete ideas in how to integrate social media as a learning tool in the classroom.

The study in the paper was interesting as it looked at K-12 educators and their use of Twitter to research, relate and form PLNs. Twitter and other social medias have allowed teachers to form networks that are specific to their needs and wants in terms of their own professional growth. In the "End of Isolation" the researchers findings touched on the fact that "over 82% of the time, the educators in this study chose to follow other educators or content experts related to their field of teaching so they were able to create a personal learning network meaningful to their professional needs." Now I just need to work with teachers at my school site to help them realize the individualized professional potential!

This study underscored the benefits of Twitter for the educational community. The article shared the advantages to new teachers in particular, where one participant stated it changed her vision and practice in the classroom. Very powerful!

Of all the resources I have read thus far on PLNs, this particular article forced me to think deeper and reconsider my interpretation of this concept. First of all, I found that the article provided a picture of the quality of interaction that can occur within Twitter. The data collected by researchers provides an in depth look at Twitter as a PLN - a feat that few other resources I have read have accomplished. By detailing the amount, quality, and type of interactions and connections, a tangible conception of a PLN emerges, even for someone who has little to no experience with Twitter. Of the 10 surveyed, a majority of their connections and tweets were professionally related. According to Nussbaum-Beach (video I posted), the difference between a PLN and a CoP is the familiarity of the people and the connection to an idea or problem. However, this study provides a different perception of a PLN that is largely professionally based with strong two-way connections. These conclusions made me wonder if it is possible for facets of a PLN on Twitter to transform into a CoP. Further, at what point can one argue that a PLN has successfully transform into a virtual CoP? Thanks for sharing. This was an excellent read!

The author does a great job of explaining the important role social media has had on education for all genders. Personal learning networks are key for educators to use so they are continuously learning strategies, methods, and techniques that will prepare students for future learning.

"The Ultimate Teacher's Guide To Social Media"