This teacher has a great idea to show even the youngest students how to use Twitter- she allows a few students each week to create the Tweet to share what they've learned with parents.

This article gives good background and the "first steps" for any middle school teacher who wants his students to start blogging.

Have you tried Mystery Skype yet? @PaulSolarz has great how-to resources @chadsmtty http://t.co/vABJiaEDEI #lusded #mysteryskype #edtechchat - Cinnamon Johnsrud (@cbjohnsrud) March 13, 2015

A PLN is a system of interpersonal connections that support informal learning experiences. With the prevelance of social media, edcuators have a variety of tools to connect with other educators around the globe. Adults are not the only ones who can benefit from PLNs; students can develop their own PLNs to learn more about a topic or concept of interest to develop their learning.

This article, while simple, points out some profound "a-ha's" about power of online personal learning networks. Online PLNs allow educators to engage in the flow of conversations without necessarily being to tied to a time and/or place. As the author points out, some of the biggest changes occur in educators when they begin to share what they know on a PLN. By sharing one's thoughts, an individual can reach a deeper understanding of his or her own understanding.

There is significant debate as to whether or not connectivism is a stand alone learning theory. While the data does not fully support connectivism as separate and distinct learning theory, there is considerable support for it a a learning phenomenon. The author of the article emphasizes the connected world in which we live has evolved, and therefore, has influenced the manner in which people learn.

The results of a 2014 teacher survey regarding teacher use of social media are discussed in this brief article. Interestingly, educators are finding that much of their education news comes from social media. Additionally, Twitter appears to be a powerful tool for collaboration, access to teaching resources, etc.

The national Council of Teachers of English reviewed Communities of Practice as they worked to develop better feedback for student writing. Successful Communities of Practice have been shown to be beneficial provided that specific characteristics are in place, including a common goal. Both face to face CoPs and online CoPs need these specific elements. What sets communities of practice apart from other professional development models is their reach beyond individuals and toward alignment

This article summarizes key differences and similarities among different connected learning communities utilized by educators including, PLCs, PLNs, and CoPs. Within the article, each learning community is described in terms of its organizational structure, purpose, and effectiveness. This research based article discusses the learning theories that are applied within each of the learning communities to support their descriptions and findings.

In this study, the role of a PLN using Twitter in a teacher preparation program. Teachers who were already using Twitter found that the power of Twitter as a PLN came not from the sharing of resources, but from the collaboration and conversations of other educators. Many new teachers were initially hesitant to use Twitter as a PLN, but with virtual mentors and an explanation as to the power of a PLN, new educators were more likely to use it as a powerful tool to develop their teaching practice.

Connectivist theorists argue that the way in which individuals acquire knowledge has changed. Academic institutions (which have historically been considered as the place in which individuals acquire knowledge and information) are being supported and/or replaced by groups of people within a learning network. The process of learning involves the creation of knowledge through these personalized networks and identifying the relationships between one's own knowledge and the knowledge of others within a network. These connections can occur in a variety of ways and with a variety of learners.

This research was published by the U.S. Department of Education on the role on Online Communities. Essentially, the research found that online learning Communities of Practice produce a wide range of values for educators, including immediate and potential value. The primary focus of this research was the role of Community Designers and the questions, concerns, and topics that must be addressed when creating a successful learning community involving educators. While member participation is the key to a successful community, there are other factors that play a major contribution in a group's success as a learning community that are addressed in this research.

A Community of Practice is essentially a group of people who share a common interest and learn how to polish and perfect that passion by regularly interacting with one another. Communities of Practice apply various theories of learning as the group members interact and glean from one another. Researchers argue that a Community of Practice differs from other types of learning communities in that the group members share a common interest, they engage in activities around that common interest, and all group member are practitioners of that interest. As a result, the learning that occurs in a Community of Practice comes from the sum of all group members.

The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. I spent last week at the LOC in a teacher institute learning how to maximize their digital collections of primary sources to support my social studies class.

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Incorporate physical activity into middle school social studies lessons with these activities