This guy speaks like an experienced educator. I appreciated his honest take on the state of technology within schools. He is right, we need greater buy-in from educators on the latest and great technology trends. As educators, we also need the adequate training and compensation to be fully invested in the learning. PLNs can help everyone get on board, stay motivated and maintain that momentum to be able to train new faculty members from the get-go.

I bookmarked this site as well. Something I forgot to mention in the previous comments were I saw value in how she provides the platforms, describes how she implements the web tools on a daily basis and even offers tutorial videos. This is definitely a great site for all new individuals of a PLN to begin.

I found this valuable for those of us who are trying to implement their own PLNs from the ground up. They have compiled a Google Doc with all of the Twitter chats and hashtags to use to be involved in the conversations of like-minded educators. You can join the conversation now by checking out this document and using the appropriate hashtags http://tinyurl.com/29cn2uc You can also Tweet right now to #Itnchat each Thursday to advice on how to use Twitter as your own personal PLN starting point.

Interesting article here. There's a hand signal you can use to help students remember the power and importance of PLNs. This could be helpful to teach younger students the "why" they have to be learning these skills in order to make learning meaningful. Student- Thumb; rest of the team depends on them for resources and help. Mentor- Index finger; helps organize and keep the group on task. Expert- Ring finger; ensures accuracy. Advisor- Longest finger; pinpoints needs and identifies necessary changes. Peer- Pinky finger; shares thoughts, communicates frustrations and celebrates when things are successful. Watch the video here: http://videos.videopress.com/lzULinmO/collegeunboundpersonallearningnetwork-hd1_fmt1.ogv

This guide provided the benefits to PLNs, and both teachers and students can use PLNs effectively. The benefits outlined were, student preparedness, engaging, students have to take ownership of learning, individualized instruction, problem-solving skills, safety, and saves time and money. Ways teachers can use PLNs are for resource allocation, collaboration, and help. Students can use PLNs to find credible information through RSS feeds, share blog postings, about reflections and offer feedback for improvement.

This Harvard excerpt discusses the seven principles behind making design principles explicit, flexible and improvisational. 1.Design for evolution- be able to change in order to maintain member engagement and cohesiveness. 2. Open dialogue- gives each member a deep understanding of the topic because of their own insider perspectives. 3. Different levels- allow all members to communicate and share regardless of their expertise level. 4. Public and private spaces- Hold both private and public events. Try to socialize and attend face-to-face meetings, even if it is through an online portal. 5. Value- Has to be meaningful and impactful for all users. 6. Familiarity and excitement- Holding the engagement users by offering and delving into exciting and new projects. 7. Rhythm- Keeping the pace and the flow of the group moving at all times is essential.

George Siemens and Stephen Downes provide online courses call 'Connectivism and Connective Knowledge' to over 2,000 educators on the philosophy of teaching and learning they instill in their learners. http://cck11.mooc.ca is a twelve week course that is free for those who register. They disclose attributes to connectivist teaching and learning. Aggregation provides a starting point. Remixing draws connections to others. Repurposing is practicing the concepts learned, not just repeating them with route memorization techniques. Feeding forward consists of sharing with others and being able to collaborate on others' projects to use them as your own.

This website talked about 5 key resources needed for educators to being and grow their own personal PLNs. http://ning.com offers podcast downloads, discussion forums, videos, relevant blogs, videos and more resources. Powerful Learning Practice is a professional development opportunity that teacher can attend. It offers hands-on applications and the know-how to build and use technology within the classroom. Webinars are conferences people can attend online to join discussions and offer insight to like educators. EdChat is something we can join now on twitter using the hashtag #EdChat every Tuesday. Game based-learning tutorials and talk can be found on http://edweb.net where mentors and people who've successful implemented these practices in their classrooms can offer advice and help.

I like this site because it tells users how to create their own professional learning network in very simplistic steps. Discussed in the site is using online technology as effective tools in order to establish and grow your own PLN. Tools cited where Twitter, blogging, iGoogle, Diigo, attending webinars, bring back your knowledge and implementing it within your classroom, and making connections by putting yourself out there to develop rich connections.

Specifically discussing how online communities are essential for professional development and growth in education, this report explores the factors of EDTECH that help enrich learning. The ecosystems in times of budget shortfalls provide creative means for educators to connect and stay connected to colleagues. Establishing or joining an existing community of practice is critical for educators looking to broaden their horizons. The issue is getting everyone on board and implement communities of practice within professional development workshops at schools.

This shows how communities of practice is defined, explains the process of how they've created and what they look like. Further explanation into how they can be applied in a wide variety of environments. The application part discusses how specifically it can exist within education both internally and externally. For EDTECH students, web communities of practice enable us to " extend the reach of our interactions beyond the geographical limitations of traditional communities."

A great overview of connectivism. This outlined the glossary, principles, introduction, description, and explained in detail the roots of connectivism. I found the Characteristics of Connective Knowledge Networks especially interesting by discussing how diversity, autonomy, interactivity, and openness are all key components to connective knowledge.

Edutopia is a site I have relied on in the past for great content. The EDTECH Facebook page is always linking me to their site and I'm usually impressed.