Q&A article going over what to look for when creating a PLN, where to look on social media and in person.

Matthew Lynch discusses benefits that an educator gains when they create a Personal learning network. Key points include learning a diversity of teaching styles, taking command of your own professional development, and finding a support system.

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.

This is a good video showing how setting up a community of practice saves time and resources in a mining company. The highlight for me was that one problem took a company close to a year to solve and they freely shared it with another group so that they wouldn't have to go through the same struggles.

This video goes into why an educator should create a personal learning network. He talks about the responsibility of educators to create opportunities for professional development that their schools do not have time or resources to create for them. My favourite takeaway from this video is not to bother a busy colleague when a quick search can give you the answer.

The focus of this article is on how educators can help learners set up and discover value in communities of practice. Through working with adult educators it showed learners how their previous knowledge and experiences have great value to the community. They were able to discover the value of self-directed learning. Finally they realized the networking potential of COPs.

This article takes us through some of the key components of a community of practice. The importance of clear definitions, meaningful engagement, a helpful identity, lifelong learning, and the desire for success for all are all discussed.

This article delves into connectivism and whether it can be considered a learning theory. It discusses the ability of a network to be able to not only seek out current information but also to filter out extraneous information. It narrows the definition to connections formed through actions and experience. The authors envision a paradigm shift where the student will have the power to drive their own learning without the need of a tutor.

This article outlines PLNs as a tool for teachers to take charge of their professional development. It discusses what a PLN is, how to develop one, and what a teacher can gain from participating in one. The biggest take away from this article for me is to have clearly defined goals prior to joining a PLN.

This article gives an overview of connectivism and how teachers can use it to help their students gain access to more material. It introduces a new concept "cybergogie" where students connect not only to content, theory, and practice but also to technology.

Cathy Moore is one of my favourite training designers. She created action mapping, which now seems like such a simple and intuitive concept. Imagine, training people to do their jobs by recreating the tasks that they need to complete to accomplish their jobs.