I know we aren't supposed to focus on the how-to, but I found this video and decided to include it as an extra one. I really liked the suggestions made about growing your PLN.

The VoiceThread is great. The blog author poses the question to his readers to answer the question about how their PLN inspires them. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the many comments. Just a really good video on why PLN's are important.

I love this video. It is short but does a great job connecting all of our ideas. And I love the way it ends…"for now."

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 company discusses how the use of communities of practice resolved an issue they could not. Their community spotted the problem that the company was having and they were able to share a quick solution.

The author of this video, George Siemens, explains how networks enable us to stay current in our field and in society as well. He goes on to explain how the more connections that are made within the network, the stronger the network becomes.

In this video, the author explains the reasons educators should focus on building their Personal Learning Networks. This guy is pretty funny and does a good job explaining why PLN's are important.

A video about all the reasons people seek out others that share their beliefs. The bottom line of the video - to create, to grow, to learn - to create a better me.

In this article George Siemens relates connectivism to PLN's. He begins by explaining that knowledge is growing exponentially and now instead of being measured in decades, the life of knowledge is measured in years and even months. He goes onto explain that half of what is known today was not known a mere ten years ago and according to the American Society of Training and Documentation, knowledge in the world has doubled in the last ten years and continues to double every 18 months. He explains that networks are an integral part of growing one's knowledge base and our small world networks are made up of people who share our interests. He also lists eight principles of connectivism and connects these ideas to social networking. He concludes by stating that connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to be successful in a digital era.

The earliest recorded use of the concept of personal learning environments is by Goldstein and Miller in 1976. The next mention arises in 1998 when the first version of Future Learning Environment, a web-based learning environment designed to support learner and group centered work that concentrates on creating and developing expressions of knowledge, is mentioned. After that, the PLN begins to take off and becomes a common term.

Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them. Authors Kamakshi Rajagopal, Desirée Joosten-ten Brinke, Dr. Jan Van Bruggen and Dr. Peter B. Sloep research how networking is a skill in supporting growth and learning. The result is a model of personal professional networking. Included in the article is the introduction, methodology, the learner as orchestrator of her personal learning network, the personal learning network model and discussion and conclusion - supporting personal networking and future research. The article begins with a definition of professional networking, "the act of making connections with other professionals, with or without the intention of making long-term ties with them." Throughout the article, the authors reference weak versus strong connections, but the definition of weak is not, not strong, rather, weak ties are sources for new information, knowledge and ideas. The personal learning network model is attitude - intention, activity and skill - building, maintaining, activating. The authors conclude with a suggestion that "further development of technology to support professionals better in identifying relevant others and in developing relations online as and when necessary."

I adore Rita Pierson! I can't decide if I wish she was my teacher, my colleague or my administrator...one thing I know for sure, I wish she were my friend! This is my go to video when I need a reminder about why I do what I do. I hope you enjoy her as much as I do.