I like the practicality of this site - more practice and a centre for PLNs than theory. A site I will use I think which is the whole point.

I am biased as I am a Will Richardson fan. I went to a day with him last year and it changed so much about what I thought. As a direct result I signed up for twitter and began to try and connect with people. He wrote a book on PLN's and his last TED book 'Why School' is a must read. Here he talks through the whole topic as well as big picture issues. Focused on education and good practice. Love the way he thinks and explains. Worth a follow think he is @willrich45

Lighthearted and simple. Not a source for real academic study but 3 min which helps to clarify. The best part is that he makes it very clear a PLN is not organized by anyone.

A chapter from Carter and Nugent at VSU which has a nice phrase, "Personal learning networks are based on the premise that learning occurs through interaction with multiple people and in multiple contexts through virtual communities." Somehow I like that. It goes into more detail and explores the, 'abstract concept that is learning.' A big read which take more time to go through but has some effective descriptions. Moves on to CoP as well. A chapter to return to.

Maybe overly simplistic definition  - not really related to the academic theories but a starting point. Think it is too narrow to say they have been around forever -but 2.0 has changed things. Not that simple I feel. Learning has and is changing so the structure of what happens in a PLN is different.

A website from the University of Georgia Dept of Ed Psych and Instructional Technology. Discusses the components of Connectivism, Chaos, Importance of Networks and Complexity and Self Organization. The quote from Siemens about,  "decision making being based on rapidly altering foundations," is well used and helped me to visualize a little more. There is a well worked description with Connectivism related to car restoration which I liked and an accessible table to compare and contrast Connectivism to the other major learning theories.

A blog post which summarizes and breaks down the main principles of connectivism as well as seeking to identify the trends which led Siemans and Downes to their observations of learning. The author finishes with a statement that Connectivism is seen as the learning theory for the digital age. Accessible, but more of an overview. Helpful

I thought I had a simple understanding of connectivism, but as I read this I realize that I had a 'bubble gum /reality tv' version stuck in my head. This breaks things down easily and has begun to help me understand more deeply. Downes covers, what a learning theory is, what learning is, how it occurs. He compares with behaviorism and instructivism. A good lead in to the academic theory.

Wegner talking about CoP. Again, although it is a short summary overview, it makes several key points which help my understanding. Firstly that the challenge which can arise in a CoP can become like a sort of curriculum which is wired on and developed. Learning, sharing happen and even new knowledge creation. As he talks about tools he makes it clear that such online tools are not in themselves CoP bbut the tools which enable them. Interesting and digestible.

I have to balance reading with other learning sources and so this video on Communities of Practice in action is simple and effective. It focuses on uk govt as as example but covers the main idea, if not the academic theory. Person, working with others, driven to connect, collaborate and learn. Simple but effective

A good overview of the concept and theory behind Communities of Practice by Etienne Wenger one of the authors of the term. It gave me a good overview and is written clearly and concisely. It helped me to understand the what and the where, as well as learning about the 3 main characteristics.

Worth a read - seems relevant. 

A uk website which is one of the world's biggest collection of resources. While a lot is UK based a lot is transferable. Great stuff and real community of sharing teachers.

I have learned so much from this site. I am sure most people have looked at it but just in case it is one you have missed I have added it. A great article about global lessons which I enjoyed as a teacher in an international school.

I love this site and use it to share tasks with my classes and more importantly have them collaborate and share with each other. Simple, easy to use and fun. Virtual post-its.

The website for my favorite screen casting app. Easy to use with pupils and great opportunities to use is across the curriculum. The website has lots of support and videos my 5th graders used to learn how to use the app.