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What a great article that shows merit for connectivism in the new tech age. The comment about students not seeing the importance in passive activities is becoming prevelant in my own classroom. Taking into account the changes that are occuring with technology and internet, as well as the use of communities of practice can help educators best reach students using connectivism theories and approaches.

"Connectivism recognizes that learning resides in a collective of individuals' opinions and nonhuman appliances." This is a great statement to show that connectivist theory centers on the interaction of people. In addition, it explains how the new theory works with personal networks and communities of practice. The digital age is transforming the way people approach learning.

The phrase "know where" in relation to connectivism is a great way to describe it. I have found that the most important aspect of my job is to know where to find the answer, the people that understand that concept are the most successful.

I have always been a firm believer that there is a balance in all things. Quality teaching practices remain the same today as they have always been. However, we have to adapt pedagogy to encompass all of the necessary skills to be successful in a global community. Although connectivism is built on a foundation of multiple epistemological philosophies, it is essential that educators focus on technology and networking in their classroom.

This was a very good article. It was interesting that considering when it was written how things are very similar when it comes to "Connectivism". It states how it is the process of becoming connected. Thank you!

The article touches on the friction that is likely to result between older learners who have grown up without technology for learning (except maybe an overhead projector or TV) and the younger learners who have embraced technology. The connectivist model has not taken hold because staff and institutions are not fully aware of the possibilities.

Although many organizations create groups that include people of varying specialties to complete specific problems, people are organizing themselves into communities of practice, informal groups who share "expertise and passion" for a common interest. These communities are new to the business world because their spontaneous, informal nature makes them difficult to supervise. Managers cannot mandate communities of practice, they can only create a supportive environment. Members self select based on common interests and perceived advantage. The authors provide examples from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Hewlett-Packard. While communities should not be forced into creation, managers can cultivate them by identifying potential CoPs that will benefit the company's "strategic capabilities", provide infrastructure to them, and assess their value to the business through "nontraditional methods." Business managers need to realize the wealth of potential available to them through communities of practice.

Prior to my studies in the Educational Technology program, I had never heard of the term Communities of Practice. Until I read this article, I have only seen research about CoP in education. This article begins by discussing CoP in business, and how long CoP has been around as well its benefits for businesses. I was really surprised to hear how long CoP has been around, you would think more businesses would invest the time to develop them. A couple examples mentioned show that it can take up to a year or more before change is implemented, but the long term benefits are worth it. Also, I noticed that another article broke down information in a table, much like the "Snapshot Comparison" section in this article. This is a nice way to compare things in an easy to read and understandable format.

This article, while a bit longer, introduces and explains communities of practice in an in depth and thorough fashion. I enjoyed the comparison to real-life companies organization and the history coming all the way from Ancient Greece. Two of my favorite comments states that communities offer "creative ways that foster new approaches to problems" and "they give you both the golden eggs and golden goose that lays them". It makes me realize how essential deeper understanding and knowledge can be developed within these types of communities. The article also develops an understanding of a comparison chart of different types of work groups to show when using communities of learners are most effective.

It seems to be a common misconception that "Connectivist Learning" is meant to replace traditional methods of instruction. I came across similar articles that focused on the challenges or "failings" of connectivist learning. They cited similar concerns that connectivist learning fails to provide scaffolding for new learners, that lack of instructor presence hinders students with low intrinsic motivation, and that it doesn't support learners whose critical literacy skills aren't highly developed. Conenctivism is just one of many models to consider when undertaking the task of teaching and learning.

I agree with Angela's comment that connectivist learning theory is valuable, but it should be taken with other theories for a balanced learning approach. I found the section in the article about the need and role of critically assessing content as a part of successful learning in a connectivist approach most interesting. Who is producing the best content for learning networks to use? Are the networks themselves? How much depth do the most networks dive into any topic to produce critical literacy content? I think it is important to emphasize the quality of the production of content as well as the consumption of others' work.

I found the discussion about the four major types of activity that enhance learning to be interesting 1) aggregation 2) relation 3) creation 4) sharing. I sense this being modeled in EdTech 543.

Deborah, I love the idea of students guiding their own learning. It seems to be a great way to get them involved and motivated instead of just listeners in the classroom they are part of the learning network. Thanks for sharing!

While this site leans towards the how-to aspect of a PLN, I found it illuminating simply for the fact that the students described in this article create a PLN for each project.  It emphasizes the fact that a PLN is personal and not the same for everybody.  PLNs are personal, can be permanent or temporary, and exist for the sake of the person to learn.  

The website title really grabbed my attention and I wanted to find out what it meant. This was very interesting because it discussed netiquette and cyber-bullying as well. It helped to relate real-world with online by explaining how with a virtual locker it would change with what courses the students are taking. This really broke down what PLNs are and how they work. It was one of the better articles I have read. Thank you!

I'm still a little hesitant to assign the term Personal Learning Network to an assembly of RSS feeds as describe din this piece. A great part of it, but only part of it, I think. That feels a little too "one-way" to develop the interactivity that seems to be so indicative of the PLN. An interesting idea that came from this for me was that each time a student started a new project (cyberbullying, understanding the Constitution, cancer treatment research, etc.) they would develop a new PLN. This underscored the idea that a PLN is not stationary, but, rather, a dynamic network that will continue to evolve as long as one is striving to learn. It almost becomes a technological reflection of oneself.

Written by the Cool Cat Teacher, this article states that using PLNs allow her student to connect to informational sources and become self-directed lifelong learners. It moves students into the driver's seat and helps them sort through the plethora of information.

In this post, an educator likens student's personal learning network to virtual lockers where they store what they learn and produce academically and otherwise.

This article explains how students (teens) are using PLNs to organize and share their school work and projects. It also discusses the pros and cons of PLNs.

This is an interesting take on how a PLE can work in a school environment. Students can use their PLN as a collection system for information when they are doing their projects.

I appreciate the fact that they presented both sides to the story here. They discuss the advantages of PLNs but also raise questions on issues educators may be facing with them at this current time. As an educator, I like when others bring up concerns because then it allows me to brainstorm ways to circumvent the issues. It also assures me that I'm not the only educators facing issues implementing PLNs perfectly within my classroom. The authentic touch this article displays is refreshing to me. Don't get me wrong, I really love PLNs, but at the moment, there are kinks that need to be worked out to be fully effective in an elementary classroom setting.

I like how this article focuses on student use of PLNs. I tend to focus on their use for teacher PD, but they are certainly something we should be teaching our students! I also like how the article describes some flaws of PLNs, this will help people think of ways to make PLNs even stronger.

Interesting is that the focus is on RSS feeds and it feels very academic while middle school students are an upcoming demographic on twitter. Their use of twitter is of course social, but I wonder about using twitter as more immediate way to share information.

I like the scientific approach the slides take on the model and especially like slide 17 because it lists pros of connectivism that I truly believe.

I love Educause! They do great work, and this quick overview of PLE shows why. Great overview from a great organization.

An overview of the Personal Learning Environment.  Begins with a great example of the power of a PLE.  It then breaks down the idea of PLE.  Excellent starter resource on the topic.

This article gives a brief overview of personal learning environments and discusses the following seven topics: 1) What is it? 2) Who is doing it? 3) How does it work? 4) Why is it significant? 5) What are the downsides? 6) Where is it going? 7) What are the implications for teaching and learning?

The entire Educause 7 things you should know about . . . series is fantastic. This gives you a quick, clear explanation of PLE's that anyone could understand.

With topics like what is it, who's doing it, why is it significant, where is it going, and what are the future implications for education, this article provides a good primer for someone who is being introduced to PLEs for the first time.

I love the simple straight forward layout of this article. Educause is pretty cool. 7 really valid points to consider. I especially like learning about schools that are utilizing PLEs.

First, this is cool that it is authentic material by one of the originators of connectivism. It gives an insight into what a connectivist class looks like and into how one may go about managing the many loosely joined pieces form an instructor standpoint. It does not offer a lot of detail about the theory but looked at holistically, gives a complete skeleton view of the connectivist classroom.

Slide presentation providing overview of personal learning and learning environments in connectivism highlighting the distribution of knowledge across a network of connections.

This is a scholarly paper where Stephen Dowes discusses Personal Learning Environments (PLE) centered around the theory of connectivism. His discussion suggests that web 2.0 is unsuitable and too limiting for online learning. He suggests that in the PLE "management of learning migrates from the institution to the learner" (p. 15). In this way, the learner consumes resources as well as creating them.

I had a difficult time finding articles on PLN & PLE that were theoretical and not practical in nature. This article by Stephen Downes actually explores the connection between PLNs and Connectivism.

This site goes over, in detail, what a community of practice is. I had a little trouble understanding what the concept was referring to from the class material, but after reading this site, I was no longer confused. It defines a Community of Practice and breaks it down on a basic level. It provides the three requirements and explains what a CoP basically does. It is very informative.

Article describing communities of practice. Where they come from, and where they are being applied.

Wenger 2006, I chose this article because I recognized his name from my 503 reading. He does explain CoPs well. Wenger states there are three charateriestics crucial to being a CoP. They are: domain or the common interest; community or the interaction, and practice or the fact that the members are practitioners. He coined the phrase community of practice in reference to the living curriculum of apprentices.

Etienne Wegner is a leader in the field of CoP. He along with Jean Lave coined the term. This is his website and it provides a direct introduction to the concept and the application of communities of practice.

This is the website of Etienne Wenger, one of the leading researcher's of communities of practice. This website contains an overview of his theory and links to his papers. Wenger studied the learning process in apprenticeship situations and found that most learning and sharing of knowledge actually takes place between the community of advanced apprentices and journeymen.

Wenger defines what makes a CoP different from a group of friends who like some of the same things, people who share the same occupation, or 30-somethings who all like romantic comedies. CoPs must consist of a group of people who pursue a certain focus and help the members obtain more skills/knowledge in the process. He explains where the term came from and various ways in which it is applied today.

I'm sure many people have listed this one but it does seem like the place to start; at the source. I do like that the wenger does speak in plain language, especially in the call out boxes.

I agree with Richard, especially since the term gets used loosely and tends to mean many different things. One of the articles I found deals with contrasting four different definitions of Communities of Practice.

In this Web site Etienne Wenger introduces the concept of "communities of practice" and defines them as "groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" and describes why they are useful for learning in many different contexts. A community of practice has 3 characteristics- 1) an identity defined by a shared domain of interest 2) a community of members that engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information and 3) members who are practitioners. These communities develop their practice through activities such as sharing information, problem solving, and mapping knowledge. Communities of practice are ubiquitous and can be small or large, local or global, meet face-to-face or online, informal or formal.

Wegner describes three characteristics necessary for a community to be a "community of practice." These are the domain of interest, a community of members that engage in activities and discussions that allow them to learn from one another, and the actual practice or application of that learning. Wegner also describes what CoPs look like, the theory behind CoPs, and the environments in which they are used.

This site by Etienne Wenger gives an overview of what a community of practice is. You will find definitions and descriptions, as well as applications. There are also resources listed concerning application and learning theory.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share the same job or a common interest in a subject. They come together to form a link to help each other perform in the world around them. This article talks about the value of communities of practice and how and why they work.

Eckert, P. (2006). Communities of practice. ELL, 2, 683-685. In this article, Mrs. Eckert does a great job in simplifying what a community of practice entails and means. She allows you to visualize the communities you belong to as well as other communities of practice you interact with or observe on a daily basis. One important distinction is that the author of this work is written from the sense of sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology and not from an educator's mind set. Irrespective of this standpoint, you can see direct correlations to where students understand themselves and what communities of practice your own student population may fall under. In order to understand the social development of communities of practice Mrs. Eckert does a good job in breaking down common cores that can emerge from memberships. The linguistic side she writes, "A white working class Italian-American woman does not develop her ways of speaking directly from the larger categorical working class, Italian American, and female, but from her day to day experience as a person who combines those three memberships. Her experience will be articulated by her participation in activities and communities of practice that are particular to her place in the social order."(Eckert, 2006) Building upon that theory, she discusses the importance of social space "Emma Moore's study of teenage girls in Northern England (Moore 2003) traced the gradual split of a group of somewhat rebellious "populars" as some of them emerged as the tougher "townies" in their ninth year. In the process, the vernacular speech patterns of the "townies" intensified in opposition to those of their more Conservative friends". (Eckert, 2006) While the article sheds more light on the development of speech patterns and dialects through the medium of communities, we can also see the definition in practice in which a collection of people gather together over a common interest and then orients to their new surrounding

This is just a basic definition of communities of practice. It is a very easy way to understand it.

Communities of practice (CoP) are created through a community of people who have common interests. In communities of practice, Eckert (2006) explains "a community of practice develops ways of doing things, views, values, power relations, and ways of talking" (p.1). CoP's have a way of providing a personal identity and a way of speaking within a CoP.

I like this resource because it comes directly "from the source," Etienne Wenger, who came up with the terminology and brought the concept more into the forefront in education. The clear definition and examples of what a CoP looks like are also beneficial in reviewing the theory behind the concept. I also appreciate the background information Dr. Wenger provides in this resource, as it helps the reader to understand how communities of practice originated.

I posted a link to another publication by Wenger, but found this resource to be more succinct in the discussion of CoPs. As a new student in education, this summary is especially helpful when attempting to understand the "theory behind the concept".