"By setting a limited word count with a focused theme and a guaranteed audience beyond the class teacher, children have far greater motivation for writing. Those who are reluctant writers feel safe with only 100 words to write, whilst those more advanced writers can really extend themselves with the word restriction."

This open "back end" on KidBlog shows how growth over time is readily apparent in student blogging. Writing takes place fairly frequently, for a variety of purposes and audiences. Comments come from around the world.

Second and third graders blogging, with global collaboration built in.

This article from ABC News discusses English teachers' perceptions that their students write more, and write better when social media tools are meaningfully employed.

This infographic has stats about social media, benefits of social media tools, and teaching suggestions for social media in the classroom.

These 9th grade students created group blogs about climate change.

Diigo has clear advantages to the individual that needs to store and recall important information. But how can it be used in the classroom? This blog post shares a few options for using Diigo in the classroom. One common problem of student computer use in schools is access to student work from home. Using Diigo, students can bookmark important websites and access them from school, home, the library or any internet-connected computer. Students will always have access to this data. Teachers and students can use the group and list features of Diigo to organize bookmarks on themes or topics. Classes can also collaborate and discuss information within Diigo.

Shelfari is an online book club with the ability to share book topics and discussions. Groups can be public or private. The Sayre HS group has a discussion on what students plan to read this summer.

Students take collaborative notes in Today's Meet. This way they get some of the things they may have missed and are able to ask clarifying questions. Students can use Today's Meet as a backchannel discussion for in class discussions, small group discussions, collaboration, etc, and then download the transcript as a more permanent record.

Kindergarten students blog using Kidblog as a way to publish safely and share ideas and work with each other and their parents.

Student blogging changes the classroom environment. It gives students a voice, and can give them the opportunity to share things that are important to them in a way that's authentic to them.

While there is also a closed group for members of the class, Douchy's Biology Podcast page is open to anyone wanting to learn biology. Students post questions and provide comments and feedback.

For EdTech 543 - a compilation of the top 10 strategies for building and maintaining a professional digital footprint.

This will be interesting, as ED starts to model and explore some best practices. It's one thing to say you support the concept, and quite another to actually do it - I'm encouraged that they intend to explore CoP in a variety of contexts!

This session from the 2013 ISTE Conference shows how "social media like Skype, Twitter and having students write their own blogs can be used to get in contact with students and teachers from other parts of the world."

As students construct personal learning environments, teacher instruction and support is likely to be needed. PLE's must be constructed based on needs, and students may or may not be able to articulate what their learning needs are.

Shareski posits that communication is strategic, and community is about relationships, so social media isn't necessarily a good fit as a strategic communication initiative in a district.

This study explores the empirical evidence of the effects of well-developed Professional Learning Communities, and finds that they have a positive impact on both teaching practice and student achievement.

In this study, professional learning communities were found to increase inquiry and dialogue among participants. Participants who got the most out of the experience were able to explore new ideas and concepts, discuss ways in which those ideas and concepts fit their own paradigms and styles, and then apply and reflect in a supportive environment.

This article by Richard DuFour, one of the key voices in PLC professional development, identifies what distinguishes a PLC from other Communities of Practice. PLCs in schools are focused on student achievement, and creating a common understanding of what students should know and be able to do, how we will know when a student has reached mastery, and what we will do when a student is not successful.