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This link downloads an article by Antonio Calvani from the University of Florence. He gives his take on whether connectivism is a legitimate learning theory or just a re-branding of the traditional three. He comes to the conclusion that digital access requires that we must re-think learning theories based on tools that were un-imaginable when those said theories were created.

Calvani, A. (2009). Connectivism: new paradigm or fascinating pot-pourri?. Journal of E-learning and Knowledge Society, 4(1). This article is a little hard to swallow at times. In what seems to be a love affair for his own writing he denounces, disagrees, and argues against the text Knowing Knowledge, By Siemens. I am all for disagreeing and arguing but not at the expense of the writer's own opinion where he cannot incorporate any research that supports his position. The author argues that many are too quick to adopt "isms" as a new learning theory and web 2.0 buzzword. He seems to jump from Connectivism as an unfinished theory and being incomplete, again though with no research backing up his own opinion and claim. Just when I thought he was done speaking about anything that I could connect with, Mr. Calvani did illicit a head nod. "A wild transfer of Connectivism to school would lead to think that putting students on the net is enough to produce knowledge, thus consolidating that widespread harmful cliché according to which the more technologies we use, anyway we do it, the better it is for learning".(Calvani,) As an alternative viewpoint to Connectivism he does draw some interesting end points, albeit at the sake of providing actual research for his own defense.

This blog post (linked to the book, Digital Habitats) discusses creating ones "personal technology configuration," which is a topic we'll be covering later in the semester. The author describes the tools in his "PTC" that he uses to "close triangles" (aka- network individuals to one another; Skype, LinkedIn), share information (blogs, Twitter), and curate information (tagging). Personal identity on the web is an important aspect of developing PLNs and CoPs.

I like how he has coined the phrase "network weaving practices", and also shows how he "weaves" in and out of other networks by using three different PLN configurations: closed triangles, sharing information, and curating resources.

I've never heard of this before with that term. I know it because of the general idea. I think it it great to weave our thoughts and information together with other professional. Teachers love to use materials and ideas from other and this would help make it easier to collaborate with them.

Free web based Text To Speech (TTS) service. Convert online any English text into MP3 audio file. Useful for Universal Design for Learning.

This is a pretty simple explanation of connectivism. Basically it is about adding nodes to your PLN which connects you to another resource.

Usually when I see anything WIki that has to do with research I have the initial tendency to try to stay far away because in my undergrad years I was constantly reminded to pursue peer reviewed articles. What I really appreciate about this resource is how simple and basic it is on Connectivism. This wikispace provides all the "nuts and bolts" of Connectivism and is a great starting point for digging deeper into understanding its theory. Great find!

"Connectivism is a learning theory promoted by Stephen Downes and George Siemens." Learning occurs with connections in networks. This article believes that with connectivism we can move to a new age of learning. Learning can be more collaborative and global. With connectivism we see the use of networks with nodes and connections to elaborate on our learning.

Another web based timeline generator.

You will need to use your BSU information to access this pdf article by Christine Muller. This is a pretty dry article that attempts to make the connection between the need for community and mathematics. The author states, "Despite a common belief that mathematical practitioners prefer isolation and self-study, we observe that they are highly collaborative and active in their community. Mathematical collaborations are essential for any stage of mathematical practice". The author states the need to further analyze the need(s) for web-based community tools, such as discussion spaces that facilitate international online collaboration on the Web. This article is a starting point of a great discussion but needs much more elaboration.

This shows how communities of practice is defined, explains the process of how they've created and what they look like. Further explanation into how they can be applied in a wide variety of environments. The application part discusses how specifically it can exist within education both internally and externally. For EDTECH students, web communities of practice enable us to " extend the reach of our interactions beyond the geographical limitations of traditional communities."

I forgot to add my summary! This is an excellent source that fully explains what a Community of Practice is and how it can be applied. "Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly." I particularly liked the section about what CoPs actually look like. This is a must have resource for every EdTech student.

The author lists three "must-haves" to be considered a community of practice: the domain - shared interest, the community - learn from each other, the practice - share a repertoire of resources. Communities of practice fall back to learning theories. The term community of practice refers to a living curriculum. The concept is being applied in organizations, government, education, associations, social sector, international development, and the web.

A journal article from 2010 that discusses a variety of online tools for information literacy, such as embedding resources into course management software and specific academic organizations' web sites and using podcasts, screencasts, blogs, Web-based board games, and virtual three-dimensional environments. This article also explores the influence these methods have on information literacy skills of undergraduate students.

This post is the first chapter from a book titled Collective Intelligence and E-learning 2.0. The first chapter is titled Learning Networks and Connective Knowledge. This chapter outlines the thinking behind personal learning environments. Learning comes with the network of connections and experiences gained from a knowing community. The new learners in the net generation interact and think in new ways.

This article looked at a Web-based survey and its results in order to make a correlation between gratifications and uses of social networking sites (SNSs) and an individual's political and civic engagement in the real world. This survey targeted the Facebook Groups application to look at how participation compared to offline activities, mainly due to this feature's ability to recruit members, share common issues, and organize off-campus events. The survey identified four main needs for Facebook Groups involvement: 1) socializing, 2) entertainment, 3) self-status seeking, and 4) information. However, as this survey was trying to draw links between online and offline involvement, the need for information was recognized as having the most impact on participation in real-world activities.

An article on what COPs are, where they are being used, and what they look like.

This Intro to CoP felt like a great start to my search. This article provides not only a simple overview of the CoP concept but also gives the history of of communities of practice. Additionally, the author provides examples of a variety of settings and terminology used to represent communities of practices in a wide range of fields.

In this article, Wenger gives an overview of Communities of Practice including its definition, characteristics, and its application in a variety of fields. This article helped me better understand the basics of Communities of Practice.

This limited research study provides an interesting look into the viability of using Twitter to create a community of practice. Instead authors consider how different social media options have evolved over time to meet the growing diversity to technology users and uses in creating CoP and PLE.

This is an interesting read! It is interesting to read about the evolution of communication through computers.

This Edutopia article explains what a PLN is, how they develop through thought, that PLNs are collaborative, what PLNs can do for you, and how to build a PLN. The article brings up three deterrents of PLNs for educators: PLN is a mindset, there is an overwhelming amount of techno-babble, and requires more digital literacy than a Google search. A good quote from this article is, "We must remember that lifelong learning requires effort." The article ends with a list of resources on PLNs.

Edutopia's article defines PLN and provides concrete ways for educators to establish one. While it addresses the barriers for mass adoption of PLN, the focus is to highlight the collaborative nature of PLN. It is this collaboration that allows for personal and professional growth.

This is yet another great and practical article. I especially like how the author outlined how we can each develop a PLN in 20 min/ day and gave some great suggestions for what we should do with those 20 minutes. 20 min/day feels very doable, even to someone new to PLNs or social media.

Downed begins this chapter by discussing the history of learning theory. He concludes that no previous theory can accurately explain how we learn. He then compares the brain to a social media network to introduce his explanation of networked learning. An ecosystem approach to learning would be beneficial. Resources do not need to be centralized and learners should be contributors.

Big fan of the Newsela website application. This web-based app gives you unlimited access to hundreds of leveled news articles and Common Core-aligned quizzes. It's adaptive, and constantly being updated with great new features, like annotations, spanish translations, reading clubs, novel articles, and so much more. If any of you in this group would like to explore a Pro account, please let me know.

This article focused on how CoPs are beneficial in a mixed methods approach to teaching. The four ways in which these CoPs show a shift from the normal paradigms of research include: they center on a specific problem that are deemed significant to obtaining knowledge, CoPs are all about shared practice of knowledge, CoPs are also about a shared identity or people that are connected by a common goal/interest, and lastly CoPs are operating under the idea that they are research based. They encompass all of the fundamentally basic principles of good research. This helped me to connect CoPs and PLNs because I think that the reason why these CoPs are so effective is because they are using PLNs to engage each other across further distances and topics with the stroke of a key.

The authors point out that today's learners are different from learners previous generations and as such, have different needs. Connectivist theory helps to serve as a roadmap for these learners needs. The authors offer a framework to the reader in which to to help build student's personalized learning environments (PLE). They conclude that it is the role of the educator to select the tools and resources that best enable students to maximize their learning potential.