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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 research paper looks into success factors for communities of practice. Although the "success factors" portion of the article may fit better with future "how-to" assignments, I found the breakdown of CoPs helpful. Retna covers the basic idea that adults learn from day to day experiences, not just activities specifically designed for learning. Knowledge transfer is explained with emphasis on what it looks like in organizations. The paper goes on the account for CoPs in a multi-national company based out of Singapore. The findings are explained in the three components domain, community, and practice. The key success factors are identified as leadership, culture, and individual motivation to learn. 

First thing that caught my attention was, "An employee picks up the most relevant know-how in an organisation from day-to-day activities and by watching and talking with other employees." This absolutely defines what a community of practice is. Professional development is a great way to learn, but many of us learn best by seeing a theory, action, or idea in practice. Communities of practice connect people who have similar interests, providing them with a wide range of resources to draw upon. Motivation is also a major part to making a CoP a success. Once a member, one must stay active. Having a responsible leader helps to maintain motivation and organization of the community. I especially appreciated the emphasis on informal CoP. Members are there because they want to better themselves and periodically the leader may provide a reward however I believe knowledge is reward enough. Great paper!

I like how this article talks about knowledge is best understood as a "habitus". This habitus is everything that a person does that helps them acquire knowledge. This includes their activities and life experiences.

This is a great post that makes the connection between social learning theories and cooperative learning. The author asserts that using connectivism teachers can motivate their students. I particularly liked how the focus was primarily on mathematics classrooms.

This blog has an entry titled: "Building School-Based Social Networks for Inquiry, in which he discusses building a social network for students named "Youth Voices." This site is for students to write and respond to each other and teach the value of peer interaction. The process of responding to each other has motivated student begin new posts.

This article discusses how digital games like Minecraft can enhance reading and writing skills. Children enhance reading skills through reading manuals on how to play and create in the game. Games also contribute to writing skills when students post to gaming sites. Students are more motivated when they care about the task like playing the game.

The authors postulate that within connectivist communities, the roles that people take (lurker, leader, expert, etc.) have as much or more to do with personality traits than the desire for engagement or ability levels of the participant. They use massive open open courses (MOOCs) as a testing ground and Personality and Self-determination theory as the prisms through which to view learner interactions within these communities.

This article begins by defining constructivism as the principle that all learning starts with a connection, be it neural, conceptual, or social, and that learning is the ability to construct and traverse connections. The authors acknowledge that it is widely recognized idea but not yet accepted as a formal learning theory. The paper focuses on four key principles for learning that exist within connectivism: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. The authors also examine different theories regarding personality and self-determination and look at how these affect the individual's experience within connectivism.

Here, the author describes connectivism as the proposed learning theory for a digital age and is "based on the principle that all learning starts with a connection." Additionally, "learning in connectivism terms is a network phenomenon" and strongly emphasizes learners making connections. The concept of autonomy is also discussed in depth.

Offers many engaging apps,on many different platforms that can be used to help motivate/stimulate at-risk students.

Research primarily focused on exploring how online learners aggregate, relate, create, and share information. Noting that connections are made with people and/or resources. And that putting learners in charge of directing their own experience is dependent on confidence and competence with the tools at hand. When comfortable navigating the terrain of the internet, there is intrinsic motivation that results from steering your own learning.

Summary: This article identifies possible gaps in Connectivism (as a learning theory) and its interpretation when it comes to MOOCs. The article explores the principles that are not addressed or not supported by Connectivism. Some of these "forgotten" principles are: motivation, self-efficacy, cognitive load, prior knowledge, avoids scaffolding, doesn't differentiate between expert and novice, and ignores novices' needs.

Loved the line "I'm ideologically promiscuous."

I like the point made that not everyone is actually a "Node" in a MOOC or similar connectivist structure. I agree with the author that this will always be the case because we unfortunately are not " all digitally literate nodes, knowledge is in the network, we are all motivated, have good learning strategies, and information sifting abilities, and can cope with multi-platform information streams...". Great find!

Researchers believe that video enhances student motivation and that video use in instruction should be common practice

"By setting a limited word count with a focused theme and a guaranteed audience beyond the class teacher, children have far greater motivation for writing. Those who are reluctant writers feel safe with only 100 words to write, whilst those more advanced writers can really extend themselves with the word restriction."

This brief article, while focused primarily on online communities of practice in healthcare, has clear implications for learners in other fields as well. One key quote about the value of online CoPs: "an OCoP provides a safew engagement space to enhance knowledge development, strengthen social ties, and build social capital...OCoPs can develop from knowledge networks as relationships strengthen, and motivation to work together on common problems increases." Who wouldn't want to be part of this?

This study delves into the formal and informal aspects of networks. It highlights the need for informal in a teachers' complex job, but the struggles with qualifying/managing the occurrence. It also speaks to administrations delicate roll as a "gate-keeper" or "barrier". Interesting read. 

Nice find Cassie. While the study is lengthy to read it is full of excellent information. I believe the ladder half of the text (discussion and key points sections) is where the most valuable information lies. I always appreciative objectivity and honesty, and the authors of this study were clear that networks aren't for everyone. Everyone is a unique and distinct learner so to blanket the idea of a network as something that is a "must" for effective professional development wouldn't be fair. Yet, it does acknowledge that from a team initiative perspective, networks are a blank canvas and platform for maintaining open communication so all parties involved grow.

In this article, Torrey Trust gives an overview of personal learning networks (PLN) and discusses their relevance in education. She identifies two different types of PLNs, information aggregation and social media, as well as their benefits. Many of the tools available for PLNs as well as examples for how teachers can use these tools are also examined. Additionally, three popular online PLNs, including Classroom 2.0, The Educator's PLN, and Edmodo are reviewed.

This is a great article that summarizes key features of PLNs in education. I particularly appreciated the section that discussed motivation regarding teacher participation in PLNs. The collective knowledge and the safe space in which teachers can share ideas and resources with one another seemed to be a powerful motivator for educators when it comes to participation.

This article clearly has a clear connection to teacher practice. The focus on teacher lifelong learning, essential to enhancing learning in schools, is critical. PLNs give teachers a place to break out of the isolation of classrooms so they can reach out to other educators with new knowledge and support so they can meet any challenges that may arise.

This article describes a PLN and focuses on the lifelong learning aspect that a PLN creates. It also lists 10 awesome benefits that participating in a PLN can provide.

This article explains how PLN's foster lifelong learning. It explains how learning via PLN's is more motivating than the standard methods of professional development.

In this article, the author explains what a PLN is, how to develop a PLN and the gains of a PLN. Novak states that PLNs are one of the best resources to motivate lifelong learners. Educators can connect with other learners and better themselves. They can communicate and collaborate in the sharing and exchanging of new ideas and information. There are several benefits of PLNS including learning anything, anytime, anywhere, and with anybody.

Professional Learning Communities are often times being used to describe any form of meeting within a school community. This misuse of the PLC is causing it to become another reform movement that will pass. In order for them to stay true to what they are, the three big ideas need to remain present in each community. The first big idea is that a PLC needs to ensure that students learn. PLCs develop the teaching practices that don't let a child get left behind when they haven't mastered a skill yet. The second big ideas is that PLCs create a culture of collaboration within a school. It brings together individuals who, with a shared goal and motivation, learn and develop together. The final big idea is to focus on the results. A PLC, when done correctly, should yield results directed to the shared goal. Throughout handwork and commitments, PLCs can become true to what they were originally intended to be.