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I agree with the beginner's resource comment, as everything on the site is simply reinforcing concepts and tools that are used in nearly all MET courses. In regards to Diigo, I'm still not completely convinced, but I assume I will come around by the end of this course.

I love that we are doing what he references in this class. And I have to admit, I have my share of resources, but connecting with others was never my thing. I like to research, save websites, share my curriculum with others, but never really thought to surround myself online with "co-workers." Why? Because I see them all day, and we barely even talk at work. We have meetings and still barely get to talk, and then if you see a co-worker in the lounge, the last thing you want to talk about is work! So, creating the online community and the PLN, really benefits you because it's work, but it's outside of the workplace. I am so thankful this class is forcing me to work on developing my PLN. Thanks for sharing the resources that article speaks to!

I think this is an excellent resource for Personal Learning Network. I agree that we need to know exactly what we are exploring. Often times there is so much information out there, that it is hard to process it all. By knowing the definition and knowing what we are looking for it is easy to focus in and find the best information. I think this is a clear definition and I have added it to my library as a resource for future use.

Thanks for sharing...Yes, understanding the similarities of PLN's, CoP's, and Connectivism and differences are key. This article points out that PLN's tend to be more like social media sites: Linkedin, Facebook, etc to collaborate and share.

This article takes the readers through the definition of PLN and describes how social media is a major proponent of creating a PLN. The article also connects to other "how to" tools for PLNs and professional development.

A personal learning network is a way for teachers to connect with other educators through social media to exchange ideas for growth and improvement.

Describes the powerfulness of a personal learning network, its benefits, and how to get the most out of being a part of one.

I love Educause! They do great work, and this quick overview of PLE shows why. Great overview from a great organization.

An overview of the Personal Learning Environment.  Begins with a great example of the power of a PLE.  It then breaks down the idea of PLE.  Excellent starter resource on the topic.

This article gives a brief overview of personal learning environments and discusses the following seven topics: 1) What is it? 2) Who is doing it? 3) How does it work? 4) Why is it significant? 5) What are the downsides? 6) Where is it going? 7) What are the implications for teaching and learning?

The entire Educause 7 things you should know about . . . series is fantastic. This gives you a quick, clear explanation of PLE's that anyone could understand.

With topics like what is it, who's doing it, why is it significant, where is it going, and what are the future implications for education, this article provides a good primer for someone who is being introduced to PLEs for the first time.

I love the simple straight forward layout of this article. Educause is pretty cool. 7 really valid points to consider. I especially like learning about schools that are utilizing PLEs.

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.