We are at a crucial point in history. By being educators, we must constantly be discussing and managing our definition of an educator's job. We must constantly be working through our philosophy base as new tools and ideas come to life.

This video made by Brandy explains how much easier it is for students to engage with content and others when they have a digital space. Brandy goes on to talk about how easy it is to reach out to experts in a community. It goes beyond just the basic classroom interaction. She connects all of these concepts together nicely, whether she intended to or not. Students are in their own PLNs too, whether they're calling it that or not.

This speaker does an excellent job showcasing that our students are totally capable of being part of a learning network before they can even recognize what it is they're doing. Things have changed intensely since the rise of networked connections between people. School needs to adapt and use these tools that professional educators are using to improve meeting the many "standards" that Mr. Regur talks about. "We have standards just to write standards…" We need to avoid the closed off island that is being a teacher… There is no longer an excuse to be stuck in this single-player version of education.

This website has many articles on how to set up your own PLN and be a good member of one (or fifty). A lot of multimedia resources available to here to help educators get started with this.

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.

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.

A quick PLN overview that describes many of the aspects of what we do here in this class. The presenter offers many insights on how to be a member of a PLN, and some of the tools that are available to us. I like that he tells me that I can change levels of participation whenever I want, and should feel free to just lurk if preferred.

This book chapter is very informative, and takes a look at some of the situations regarding identity in a community of practice. There are many different roles one can take in a CoP. I enjoyed this chapter, because it took a look at Yucatec Mayan midwives. Which, as it sounds is an important role played in this community. There is a sort of apprentice mindset when learning something, and I find the same structure in teaching.

This book chapter delves into the interesting habits that teachers have when it comes to their practice. They generally stick with what is comfortable for them. When the community of practice is thrown into the mix, it allows teachers to be even more comfortable with different styles and ideas through informal professional interactions. This article has a big emphasis on policy changes, which is an important part of daily life as a teacher.

This article delves into the definition of communities of practice and relates this to the world beyond my lens of education. This academic article relates communities of practice to anthropology and linguistics. The way we talk influences our communities of practice. The things that band us together can be many… finding an identity inside of this community is important

A site that has an infinite amount of content. It really deserves to be explored more than explained. I really find it quite interesting. Nested is my favorite part.