Group items tagged

Research regarding the benefits of being a member of a community of practice. While the information seems a bit forced (the communities of practice used for the study were exclusively face-to-face communities), the benefits of being a member of a community of practice still seem valid. According to the study, they are (1) autonomy and freedom to think beyond, (2) sources to ideas, (3) sounding board, (4) intellectual discussion, (5) like-mindedness, (6) alternative perspective and cross-pollination of ideas, (7) overcoming intellectual isolation, (8) move towards collaborative research, (9) response to research pressure, (10) synergy and leverage, (11) time and energy saving, (12) an informal ground for learning and training, (13) fostering of tangible returns, (14) driving research, (15) opportunities to met, (16) networking, information sharing and updates, (17) support and guidance, (18) sense of belonging, (19) identity, and (20) intrinsic fulfillment. As the article is about higher education, there are certainly some benefits that are more specific to their context, but I think the findings of the article are still valid.

Research regarding the benefits of being a member of a community of practice. While the information seems a bit forced (the communities of practice used for the study were exclusively face-to-face communities), the benefits of being a member of a community of practice still seem valid. According to the study, they are (1) autonomy and freedom to think beyond, (2) sources to ideas, (3) sounding board, (4) intellectual discussion, (5) like-mindedness, (6) alternative perspective and cross-pollination of ideas, (7) overcoming intellectual isolation, (8) move towards collaborative research, (9) response to research pressure, (10) synergy and leverage, (11) time and energy saving, (12) an informal ground for learning and training, (13) fostering of tangible returns, (14) driving research, (15) opportunities to met, (16) networking, information sharing and updates, (17) support and guidance, (18) sense of belonging, (19) identity, and (20) intrinsic fulfillment. As the article is about higher education, there are certainly some benefits that are more specific to their context, but I think the findings of the article are still valid.

This website defines and describes communities of practice. There are examples of what each element looks and sounds like. It also offers examples of how communities of practice are being implemented in different settings.

Text to speech with naturally sounding voices. Let your computer read most documents with naturally sounding voices and convert text to MP3, or text to WAV files, text to audio files, read text aloud, download free text to speech software now text readers, computer reader, Reader, online reader, talking text, voice text.

Online sound editor that connects to SoundCloud and GDrive

Essential program for sound design and interfaces with many boards for performances. The tutorial is excellent and worth the price by itself. Great for 9-12 high school Theater classes, and Drama clubs.

Some excellent tools listed, and several that I haven't heard of before which sound promising!

Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Learn more about Audacity... Also check our Wiki and Forum for more information. The latest release of Audacity is 1.3.13 (Beta).

AudioExpert is a free and simple online audio editor, file converter and sound recorder. All the standard functionality of an audio editor provides you with an easy way to create a ringtone for your cell phone.

Powtoons gives students and teachers an alternate choice for creating presentations. It incorporates cartoons, sound, and PowerPoint-like skills to create an engaging presentation.

Audacity allows students to record their voice or other sounds and be able to upload them for presentations or other assignments.

A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System: one star, eight planets, and more This website is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page has our text and NASA's images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information.

I am very pleased with this video. It's an interview with Etienne Wenger and he explains, in his own terms, his research and definition of the Community of Practice.

I also liked the explanation about how members from a Communities of Practice are engaged in a similar practice but they may do it in different settings. They don´t need to do it together. The learning contract between the members is the key of success.

Dr. Wenger talks about his Community of Practice. This discussion gives us an outline of how skills be shared through a CoP. According to Dr. Wenger, the CoP creates an on-going network of resources to communicate problems and discuss solutions. The learning and knowledge sharing can even create knowledge creation as solutions are discussed.

This blog by Tom Spiglanin discusses what a Personal Learning Network is and how his was constructed. He discusses specific characteristics that he believes makes his PLN valuable and describes it as a hardware store, rather than a tool in his toolbox.

When I designed my creative expression on PLNs, I thought of keywords that were consistent in my research such as share, network, connections, etc. In this article, I found it interesting that the author described his experience as "on-fire learning." I found other keywords and phrases in this article that I can add to my list, such as global sounding board, camaraderie and support. When reflecting on this topic, it makes me realize what strength PLNs provide individuals and groups.

This discusses the importance of connected learning and all the ways one uses a PLN. It also talks about how the definition of a PLN has changed over time and how many of the original ideas are now obsolete but that the idea behind it all is still that it is about being connected and learning from others, and also helping others learn.

SoundTree Webinar from 2010 which discusses music education PLNs. The sound quality isn't the greatest, but it analyzes twitter, facebook, and other Web 2.0 tools and presents some really interesting information I would not have thought about. Would be great to find something more up to date.

Finally found an article that focuses specifically on middle school educators and social media. The more and more I envelop myself with the Knowledge Quest journal, the more I want a subscription. I recommend taking a look at this publication and article. This article puts an emphasis on Web 2.0 apps like Ning and Wikis, and the use of webinars to help mitigate fears surrounding the usage of social media in the middle grade levels.

Sounds like a useful article. I have never heard of Ning or Knowledge Quest. I went to check in out but the link is down.

I recently heard an interview with acoustic engineer Trevor Cox and discovered his YouTube channel as a result. He's got some amazing videos related to sound that could be a great hypermedia tool for a science classroom.

A site that allows students to share and critique their music and build an online audience.

Don't let the academic sound of the title push you away from reading this article. The author, Bopelo Boitshwarelo, presents arguments: "This paper set out to propose a research framework that will aid in advancing the research agenda of connectivism, particularly developmental work. " It is very dense with lots of synthesis of research that has been done on Activity Theory, Connectivism, and Communities of Practice from 2000 - 2011, when it was published. If you need to do a content-based paper on activity theory, connectivism, or communities of practice, this has several references listed at the end that will help you find original sources of ideas.

Thanks Melissa, this is helpful. No doubt that many of us are going to benefit from this type of research in our own academic pursuits. As you said, this study is fairly dense. But I also found that it breaks things down in nice chunks. I liked the explanation that a learning community is "a group of people learning together through continuous dialogue."

The author, Bopelo Boitshwarelo, from University of Botswana, points out the interconnections of online communities of practice, design-based research, and activity theory. The author proposes designed-based research as a framework to advance connectivism. I found the first half of this article particularly helpful with definitions and key points synthesized from pioneers in the field of connectivism. Central ideas encompass the importance of learners connecting in a CoP both as providers and gleaners of information. Learning networks or communities of practice are complex and dynamic in nature, providing challenges to researchers and studying their effectiveness. The article provides food for thought about the complexities of the interconnections of these theories and the development of frameworks to monitor and assess learning success when putting them into practice.