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This video is not strictly about connectivism. With that being said the part about connectivism was very informative even though it was rather short. It starts talking about connectivism at about the 4:25 mark.

I agree that this explanation is a good one. It describes it as Digital Age Learning and a creative process. The teachers are then responsible to nurture the connections that the students are making but still letting the students drive the process. Thanks for sharing!

George Siemens discusses connectivism and the importance that it will play in the future of education. He says that connections are more important than networks. He calls for a restructuring of the education system away from organized courses into open courses where learners explore and adapt connections to suit their own purposes.

I've seen this video previously and thought that Siemens has a great way of articulating what he's thinking and explaining connectivism. He has also done a Ted Talk that is engaging as well.

This is a short but direct explanation of PLN and how they can be helpful for an individual's own professional needs.

This article takes a brief but clear view of a PLN. The short video makes it easy to see the importance of being involved and what a PLN can do for professional development. #EDTECH543 #EDTechSN #PLN

This was a great and very informative post regarding technology integration and 21st century learning.

Inside California Education is a public television series that explores the challenges, issues and stories of public education. -tagline from website. The series recently featured the School in the Park program, of which I am an employee. Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3KV6CUPbEA

My kids love this FREE site - filled with videos for brain breaks and indoor recess - get your kids moving!! Free brain breaks kids love and teachers request.

I use this site with my middle school Chorus students on a nearly-daily basis. While its content is aimed towards K-5, it allows great guided movement on days we need to get the wiggles out, and guided breathing and focus when we need to bring down the stress in the room.

The Center for Teaching History with Technology, a resource created to help K-12 history and social studies teachers incorporate technology effectively into their courses. Find resources for history and social studies lesson plans, activities, projects, games, and quizzes that use technology. Explore inquiry-based lessons, activities, and projects. Learn about web technologies such as blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networks, Google Docs, eBooks, online maps, virtual field trips, screencasts, online posters, and more. Explore innovative ways of integrating these tools into the curriculum, watch instructional video tutorials, and learn how others are using technology in the classroom!

Mr. Richardson makes an argument for education transformation based on computational and connectivist principles.

I agree with Mr. Richardson here... Our ability to be able to connect with other educators around the world will challenge and change the way we view education every single day. We can't keep doing the same things, because the way we do things have changed. Adaptability is the life of the eudcator!

Many educators talk about the benefits of being part of a PLN. They emphasize that while they are interacting with people and not feeling alone while gathering ideas and sharing feelings, they can connect or disconnect anytime they want. It is the choice of the educator to determine the level of involvement they want to provide. The educators in this video seem extremely comfortable being members of these networks. Connecting and collaborating are important skills. Being able to choose when to connect and be part of a professional network, allows freedom for educators to continue their learning forever.

The Wegner-Trayner team created a video about CoPs and PLNs that applied their theory to social learning and the social outcomes of joint activities (CoPs).

I love that this video makes it very clear that you don't actually have to know anyone in your PLN. Now that we are so interconnected, the people that we learn from can be totally dispersed throughout the world. This presenter emphasizes that these networks are OURS.

I know that Dr. Gerstein didn't really want any how-tos... but this one is so good.

SUMMARY: Connectivism teaches students skills that are not attached to time or space. Rather they are necessary in the fast-paced, ever-changing whirlwind we live in. The chart near the end clearly compares major educational theories and helped me see the connections and disconnects between them.

Great article. Chaos theory is so interesting. The study of pattern shifts is so real to this day and age. For example, I think the role of memes play a big part in our culture and this absolutely propels the chaos theory. Nice share Natalie!

Summary: The most useful part of this resource comes after the definition of Connectivism cited from Siemens. The author includes a graphic that compares Connectivism to other learning theories. In addition, a section is devoted to critics of Connectivism as learning theory who instead see it as a pedagogical view.

Beth Transue, a librarian at Messiah College, begins this article with the suggestion that librarian educators reflect the tenets of the connectivist learning theory when designing their information literacy instruction. Transue mentions how the adoption of this theory in the development of library instruction can happen very easily as many of the connectivist principles are already evident in the steps of the research process. Transue spends the majority of the rest of the article talking about how the connectivist theory is connected to the model of the networked student proposed by W. Drexler in 2010. According to Drexler, a student uses information from four different domains: information management, contacts, synchronous communication, and RSS. The information management domain essentially covers the traditional library resources. The contact domain covers those who should be part of the student's personal learning network such as teachers, librarians, and classmates. The synchronous communication domain covers platforms like Twitter and the RSS domain covers blogs, wikis, and other social networks. The author spends the next couple of pages offering very specific directions for librarians to address individual domains in their information literacy instruction. Transue concludes the article by talking about what an information literacy session rooted in the connectivist theory might look like.

Hi Kelly, Interesting article. In one of the videos I found, the connection between research and connectivism was highlighted. I had not thought about that before, but it makes sense! And I've always enjoyed research, so good to know I've already been practicing connectivism on some level.

I saw a reference to MOOCs when I was researching so I wanted to dive deeper into MOOCs (massive open online courses). This article serves as a report card discussing the successes and needed improvements for MOOCs. MOOCs biggest successes seem to be the huge reach they have with their online presence. Millions of people enroll in the courses and top universities, such as Harvard and MIT, have MOOCs. However, some pitfalls are that less than 10% of people who enroll in MOOCs actually finish. The article gives ideas for improving MOOCs mostly based off the belief that online courses can be isolating and more collaboration with actual humans, via chats and videos, need to be included in MOOCs. I found this read interesting because the MOOCs are founded with the connectivism theory in mind, however many of this components that drive connectivsm and communities of practice are lacking.

Jake, I found a resource on MOOCs as well and while it was a positive presentation of them, it also noted some of the pitfalls. The fact that they draw mostly highly educated students, makes me wonder how accessible they are for all people. However, I know they are new and evolving, so it will be interesting to follow their development.

This article was extremely interesting! I was surprised to see the the high percentage of people who sign up for MOOCs and don't finish. I also strongly agree with the comment in the article, "people need people." Thanks for sharing!

This video discusses the importance of personal learning networks. The creator shows why teachers are supported through the use of PLNs.

User-generated media (UGM) incorporates traditional media (i.e., newspapers, radio, television) as well as non-traditional media like the Internet (i.e., blogs, wikis, picture- and video-sharing sites, and social networking platforms). This article examines three usages of UGM from the uses and gratifications (U&G) perspective, which are separate but interdependent concepts. The first use, consuming, satisfies the information, entertainment, and mood management needs. Participation, the second use, fosters interaction with content and people to enhance social connections in virtual communities. The final use, producing, encompasses content that is created for both self-expression and self-actualization. This article analyzes the appeal of UGM via the lens of U&G. U&G is used to explain the psychological needs of the individual consumer and why an audience consciously chooses a specific medium to fill recognized needs. These needs can be divided into five categories to help us understand media consumption on user-generated sites: 1) cognitive needs, 2) affective needs, 3) personal integrative needs, 4) social integrative needs, and 5) tension release needs.