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This is the government's take on Communities of Practice, and I included it because like it or not, it impacts many of us on so many levels. The National Education Technology Plan asserts that we need PLC's, and if you have never read this document, it is worth the read. It definitely furthered my knowledge when I read it in EDTECH 501. The bottom line is that because so many students have access to mobile technology, they are able to be a part of social networks. The goal is to harness this power and cultivate collaboration and engaging learning experiences. Its premise is student-centered learning where students are able to make decisions and choices that form their own pathway to learning.

Thanks for including this document. I was impressed to see the progressive views outlined with many strong and important points for changing our education culture. One of the main areas included the need to leverage technology to empower students and shift learning responsibility from teacher to learners. In essence we want to strive to create master learners, where students understand how to evaluate and gain the information they need as life-long learners. The section "Measure what Matters" I especially applauded, as I feel our extreme emphasis on testing is misplaced if we don't make sure the tests and measures are appropriate for what students need to know to be life-long learners. Do standardized tests even have a section about locating information and assessing its validity? This report started out with a short list of recommendations that included, "Be clear in outcomes we seek". I think this is an important point as we strive to embrace and utilize the growing potential of connectivness.

This is a great website to aid with spelling and vocabulary. As a teacher, you can enter word lists for your students. They then can play fun games like HangMouse or word scrambles to practice. They also can take tests on the words.

Teaching spelling and vocabulary is easy with VocabularySpellingCity! Students can study and learn their word lists using vocabulary and spelling learning activities and games. Students can take final or practice spelling and vocabulary tests right on this engaging site. Premium games and automated student record keeping are available to Premium Members.

A website where adults can go to test and practice their mental math skills. No frills, but there is a leaderboard that provides a serious challenge.

Facebook used at Niagra County Community College in Intro English. With it students asked & answered each other, studied for tests, and collaborated on group projects. Streamlined approach to compiling links/images/videos which are accessible to classmates. There was simplicity in having class info where students are spending time already

Grockit prepares students for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT and GRE standardized exams. Students can take practice questions just like the ones on the actual exam.

Because connectivism framework is relatively new, it needs to be based in research and its models needs to be tried and tested in a variety of educational contexts; this article explores research framework to support connectivism in online learning; online communities of practice facilitate meaningful and connected learning; a well-written look at the research framework behind connectivism and its applications

In Edtech 504 I did a paper on connnectivism. If more research is done on connectivism and with a little more time I think many will finally come to accept connectivism as a true, real learning theory.

This is a pretty neat tool for teachers. Might save some time and effort.

This article has several games for mobile devices that not only make great use of physics, but are addicting and challenging games

This is a great resource for Software Support Tools for Assessment and Grading. This was put together my NEWA the organization that developed the MAPS test. Some of these I wouldn't have thought of for Assessment, like Lino. Lino is an old-time virtual bulletin board where you post "sticky" notes. I've seen this used as a "parking lot" for questions during PD, but I think I'll try it for assessment with teachers next training I lead.

Click on the workers to learn more about their jobs: Veterinarian, Librarian, Pizza Maker, Utility Worker, Mayor, Police Officer, Firefighter, Pediatrician. For each, a series of pages includes text and images. Students can click on speaker icons to hear page text read aloud. Optional "test" questions can be answered at the end of each workers' section.

This is a subscription website but they do have a free trial offer. This site offers learning videos on many subjects. They are engaging and entertaining. After the videos students can take an online quiz to test their learning.

Lists a variety of apps and websites to enhance presentations

A game where the students watch and learn songs, then complete a cloze test while the song is playing. The song pauses appropriately to allow for the student to fill in the missing words.

The catalyst for this steep Bitcoin fall is the same as all other industry asset classes, i.e., the extreme uncertainty surrounding the spread of Coronavirus. It has led to a global fight for cash. This latest Bitcoin fall happened a day after the U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 30-day ban on all visitors traveling from Europe. This further propagated the U.S. Federal Reserve, working with U.K., Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and the Eurozone to shore upon financial markets with a massive stimulus.

This article discusses the four principles of learning: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. It also investigates how these principles and the theory of connectivism have been tested through MOOCs - massive open online courses.

@Ahallteacher Great share! Interesting to read how autonomy, diversity, connectedness, and openness appear in MOOCs.

Great article Allison! I like how it discusses MOOCs! I haven't seen many articles that have brought those up specifically and how those types of technology have been considered "testing ground".

This is a free math website with no logins required. I especially like to use it for math fact practice. You can pick which facts to test, and then have students race to see how many they can do in a certain time and try to beat their personal best. I also like to put it on the Smartboard and have students compete as a class to beat the class's best time. It's very basic which makes it easy to implement.

A fantastic utility for grading quizzes and tests using your webcam.

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.