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As students construct personal learning environments, teacher instruction and support is likely to be needed. PLE's must be constructed based on needs, and students may or may not be able to articulate what their learning needs are.

Today, students already have personal learning environments, but as teachers we have the ability to forge new pathways to learning by utilizing what kids already know and modeling collaboration and exploration.

Wow! What a cool article. I really enjoyed the picture of the Networked student. This article is like a how to for a teacher wanting to teach the 21st century student. It makes me wonder if our school system should provide a class on how to set up a method for each student to display their learning or their personal learning environment.

Oberlin College utilizes Pinterest to tell a collective story about the school through pins. When students and alumnis share books, art, etc. they become part of a living story.

Interesting breakdown on trends and percentage of agents utilizing social media tools that the public expects and desires.

According to the author, Wenger, a community of practice is distinguished by three features: domain, community, and practice. The domain is a shared interest. The community is the social part, including discussion and sharing. The practice is developing resources and collaborative tools. Example activities are provided along with social structures that are utilizing communities of practice.

Seamon states in this article that there is evidence that social communication (PLN) can strengthen human relationships, particularly for introverts. It may help foster family and business as well. It encompasses learning from feedback, insights, new contacts, and is based in reciprocity and trust. It is needed to increase the chance of higher levels of learning maturity.

The author addresses concerns about the feelings of isolation that can stem from the use of technology (in the sense that it is utilized to the exclusion of in-person connections) but makes sure to point out the benefits of technology as evidenced by Personal Learning Networks.

EdSurge shares information and articles related to new developments and innovation within educational technology. You can sign-up to receive their weekly newsletter! It is fun learning about new products being used in education and how schools are utilizing them.

In this article from The Journal Patricia Deubel, Ph.D give a really good break down of connectivity and how learn now for students is not about know what but knowing where to find it.

One of the things that I really appreciated about this article is that it highlights how much learning has become a non-linear activity. I actually think that way naturally, but many people don't. This helps me to have insight into how to explain my process a bit and to appreciate that quality in other learners.

Great article discussing the emergence of connectivism. It describes an ecological approach to learning and mentions various tools that are available through CoPs and PNLs. It focuses on educators being lifelong learners and utilizing the resources that are available through digital networks.

gives 7 things to consider in personal learning networks; what they are (a learner-centric approach to learning), major universities who utilize PLEs, why they are significant (extension of classroom learning) and some of the downsides (constant need to maintain, organize, and grow learning networks), where PLEs are headed and their implications in education (deeper engagement with content)

I think the 'who's doing it' section is very useful. It's helpful to see how it is being implemented.

Teaching us about PLEs through a story and simple bulleted points is an ingenious idea to get straight to the point. Rather than a long dissertation, writing a short article can sometimes be more powerful.

Discusses the cost effectiveness of using social media in the classroom and the value of providing real world experiences for students. Emphasizes how collaboration skills are utilized and developed by students. An intersting point that is made is educating students on how to use social media as a tool, not a distraction.

This student project, related to science, utilizes Twitter and Google Earth. The teacher used their network on Twitter to provide challenging locations for students to locate in Google Earth. Once the class located the individual, they provided a tweet response. Neat way to show connectivism and networking!

This video blog lays out the importance of why we as educators should create a PLN. The benefits are vast and near endless, and we are at a time when collaboration across curricular and country is very simple. We should be utilizing these tools to create PLN.

This project takes place during a science fair and utilizes Twitter. As judges view the science projects, students ask simple "interview" questions and tweet the judge's responses using a common hashtag. Parents, students, and community members are able to comment and provide encouragement.

This short PowToon video gives a small example of how we can utilize collaboration to reach out in finding more information on the topic of our choice.

Hi Logan, great find on this little video! It's a clever way to illustrate these concepts. It's nice to see something creative being used instead of just an article in a journal or a blog post!

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!

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 simulation software that I use mostly with my physics students. We don't utilize all of these, but when the topic perfectly aligns with one I create a simulation lab in order for them to utilize the technology and not be bored in a typical lab setting.

Great science, math, STEM resource. Interactive simulations along with other helpful teacher resources for engaging lessons.

This website is a resource that I like to use for my 7th grade Physical Science class. The students enjoy the simulations and I can use it for things that I either don't have the resources for or that they can't be trusted to use. #EdTechSN

This wiki page from Knowledge Sharing takes an in-depth look at the use of CoP in International Development and provides an extensive list of examples to provide greater understanding of CoP and its uses.

This was a great find Natalie! I especially like the idea that the resource presents when it states that it is tempting to mandate these communities but that they can better be nurtured by continuing existence. I connect this to my own classroom and the work I do throughout the beginning of the school year where I'm constantly arranging their groups to help them develop their communication and group skills but then allow them to form their own groups as the year progresses and I find that, for the most part, they gravitate to individuals that they work best with. I really liked the infographic on where to start as well. I think this is a great go to visual for utilizing CoPs.

This online toolkit offers a brief and well-organized overview of communities of practice (CoP). It begins with a short description and follows with the history CoPs. It then offers a bulleted list of when to utilize CoPs and even provides further advice on how-to use. This site was particularly helpful in that it also offers tips and lessons learned from others as well as examples, stories, and other resources. Overall, it is organized and affords users a plethora f information on Communities of Practice.

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This paper examines the role of group learning at the university level to prepare students for interacting in CoP in the workplace. Researchers utilized Hoadley and Kilner's "C4P" framework to create an IT consultant scenario. The resulting reflections placed an emphasis on purpose, context, content, communication, and leadership.

This research paper discusses the underlying motivation of the utilization of communities of practice and the barriers that hinder the acceptance and utilization of sharing knowledge in a community of practice. The study looks at the benefits of a knowledge-sharing CoP for employees at a large company.