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This post explains very clearly what the purpose of connectivism is and why it is critical to student learning. It explains 6 things educators should do with their students and how to encourage them to explore and connect with ideas. At the end it provides a few examples of tools readily available to use in connecting people and technology.

This article states the knowledge exists "through the variety of connections established amongst students, instructors, and technologies." It gives 6 skills that connectivist educators need and examples of networks and tools.

Great article! I have been very intrigued about connectivism since I heard about it in my learning theories class. This article gives good reasoning behind connectivism as well as a few ideas for how to incorporate it.

In this article, Hiltz and Wellman explain how personal learning networks through the internet can enhance a sense of community and belonging. While some feel that online learning is cold and detached, they argue that the internet provides a unique opportunity for people to connect in a deeper way.

This article gives a great overview of Personal Learning Networks and their value. Nussbaum-Beach explains how they are different from PLCs and how they can be used in professional practice.

I appreciate the advice of planning to build PLN. Just because we may belong to Twitter or LinkedIn, does not equate to actually learning. One must have a plan and a purpose. Great post!

This article gives good examples of 6 different platforms educators can use for a PLN. These are already established, and allows the educator to lurk, or become involved. Some of these outlets educators use already, so the learning curve isn't a harsh as joining something you haven't used before. It gives a good description of each tool and some provide links to pre-made education groups or people to follow.

In this study from the University of Central Florida, the researcher focuses specifically on how classroom activities drive student learning towards the CoP model, most notably collaboration. The researcher uses a graduate public administration level class to conduct her study, which is important because all student participants share the same learning and degree outcome---essential to the effectiveness of CoPs. One finding this study presents is the concept of building 'friendship networks' in CoPs. The study shows that friendships were "greatly strengthened" throughout the course and there were no "weakly connected individuals" at the end of the semester (Napucu, 2012). Furthermore, in this study, emphasis is placed on the facilitator (in this case, the professor) of this CoP and how that facilitator structured the course to fulfill the learning needs of the students in the created CoP. *Note, you'll need to log in to Albertsons Library to read the article in full.

Learning Networks in Practice paper by Stephen Downes regarding personal learning environments, learning in communities, content creation and context.

This article talks about the beginning of the PLN movement in education. It discusses how a good PLN makes use of the WEB 2.0 applications that are out in cyberspace.

Summary: This article identifies possible gaps in Connectivism (as a learning theory) and its interpretation when it comes to MOOCs. The article explores the principles that are not addressed or not supported by Connectivism. Some of these "forgotten" principles are: motivation, self-efficacy, cognitive load, prior knowledge, avoids scaffolding, doesn't differentiate between expert and novice, and ignores novices' needs.

Loved the line "I'm ideologically promiscuous."

I like the point made that not everyone is actually a "Node" in a MOOC or similar connectivist structure. I agree with the author that this will always be the case because we unfortunately are not " all digitally literate nodes, knowledge is in the network, we are all motivated, have good learning strategies, and information sifting abilities, and can cope with multi-platform information streams...". Great find!

This article examines the nature of learning communities constructed among a diverse group of adult learners in an online graduate-level 16 week instructional design course. Researchers analyzed course artifacts, survey responses, online profiles and project evaluations to explore communities formed in an online setting that involves 21 international participants. Data was collected through observing recorded audio webcasts and chat discussions, and analysis of student profiles, artifacts, survey responses, and course evaluations. The authors found evidence of community building without significant differences associated with race, culture, or gender. Instead, evidence for community building was more dependent on active participation, forming of shared identify, and the establishment of social network. The course design allowed individuals to work and communicate collaboratively. The authors admit that the study is narrow in scope with a small number of participants, making it unreliable for wider contexts.

This is a slideshow that states different facts about learning theories. One of the theories discussed is connectivism. Some of the slides will discuss the theory that is associated with the different theories.

A video that defines a PLN and discusses the importance of them in an educational environment.

Cool resource! I didn't look into using videos as resources but I can see how this would have great value. This one starts out a little dramatic (especially with the music!) but is VERY informative! I also like how it uses other scholarly resources to validate the points of how using PLNs can be effective. Also, I appreciate the clear definition of PLNs

Finally helped me connect the dots between the difference of Personal Learning Environments and Personal Learning Networks: it's all about taking it social.

This article discusses the importance of Twitter to PLNs. The author points to a variety of benefits of using Twitter in a PLN, including the ability to tap into collective knowledge, to amplify one's own ideas, and to solicit help from the PLN. As an infrequent Twitter user, this article really pushes me to question my lack of use of this powerful tool.

Eric Sheninger presented on Professional Learning Networks-great resources from a principal, writer, and presenter. I have been in one of his workshops before, very enthusiastic and out spoken where technology in the schools is concerned. You can find him on Twitter and Pinterest too.

Did a search on Twitter and these examples came up from our professor. They are prior student examples. I thought I would include them, but they don't have to be counted as one of my ten. I love the music example.

Succinct blog post about what PLNs are, why they're useful, and how to go about developing one. The post is aimed at K-12 educators but can apply to anyone.

Great blog post that keeps PLNs simple with great explanation.

This link is a slideshare. The slideshare begins by describing what a PLN is and the benefits of creating one including the facts that are flexible, personal and practical. It also talks about them happening in real time, allowing instant access to people and information and also giving access to expertise in any field. It goes on to describe the two types of PLN's collaborative tools and information gathering. The article then provides a list of possible tools and good resources to be included in your PLN.

A great wikispace about PLN's. I enjoyed the overview and the examples provided. It shows examples of both students and educators PLN's. Good read.

Technology is changing the face of education. The Internet and communication technologies are rapidly expanding learning networks for educators and students alike. The article explains why learning no longer needs to be linear but can take on whatever shape suits the learner.