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User and kid-friendly animation software that allows for original animations to be created easily and lets users combine their work with a host of premade props.

gives 7 things to consider in personal learning networks; what they are (a learner-centric approach to learning), major universities who utilize PLEs, why they are significant (extension of classroom learning) and some of the downsides (constant need to maintain, organize, and grow learning networks), where PLEs are headed and their implications in education (deeper engagement with content)

I think the 'who's doing it' section is very useful. It's helpful to see how it is being implemented.

Teaching us about PLEs through a story and simple bulleted points is an ingenious idea to get straight to the point. Rather than a long dissertation, writing a short article can sometimes be more powerful.

Learning communities need to be intentional; students must form with each other deeper understandings; gives students more control over their learning environment

If you are interested in using skype in the classroom, this may be a great article to check out! The author does a great job of taking you through her first few attempts and what worked and what didn't. She uses it to have her students learn more about Antarctica but the uses for this are truly endless! We have a problem with our foreign language students getting a chance to practice with a native speaker. This may be a great idea to connect our school with a school in France or Spain.

This is actually an ebook that drives home the notion that learning is not something taking place only in a classroom, but that everyone learns in their communities of practice. These can be a group of friends, a family, a musical band, or pretty much any group that learns and works together.

This book could lend a lot of understanding to what CoPs are and what they do. I do like that learning for a CoP is not always in a classroom and this book seems to drive that point.

This links to a review by Andrew Cox of four seminal works on Communities of Practice. Three of the works are authored/co-authored by Etienne Wenger. Although it is geared toward management/business, the underlying theory of the necessity of belonging to a larger network is the same, as individuals seek communities that meet their needs and interests.

This tool works with iOS devices and allows the user to track activity, food and sleep.

This is a blog that incorporates technology into language and gifted programs. It has a lot of great ideas for tools for gifted students who want to work ahead.

This website has an enormous list of Web 2.0 tools that would work well in the classroom. All websites are divided into different lists, depending on their purpose. Then, in each list gives the tool, the website, and a description of what it does. 

Describes how to make presentation software work for students and why if used correctly can enhance their learning process

This post describes how educators can develop a personal learning network that supports meaningful and relevant learning. Makes a distinction between personal learning environment and personal learning network.

I didn't realize there was a difference between PLN's and PLE's. PLN's do seem to take more work and energy to set up and maintain.

I didn't realize there was a difference between PLN's and PLE's. It does seems like PLN's take more work and energy to set up and maintain.

By: Eitenne C. Wenger and William M. Snyder Wenger, E. C., & Snyder, W. M. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harvard business review, 78(1), 139-146. The first article I started with was a Harvard Business review entry regarding communities of practice within organizations. While my other articles focused on the education world and describe actions within the social environment, this article took a different approach in explaining the inner workings CofP's play in the office. The fundamental meaning communities of practice represent go unchanged, but it is interesting that this article puts a table and explanation for the differences other office groups represent, such as an informal network, project team, and formal work group. This distinction allows for other varied communities of practice to be represented. Such as the education field and social psychology. Wenger and Snyder then take the article one step further by explaining the uses of CoPs for management and how to facilitate their growth for strong company cultures.

This article is great that CoPs and PLNs (PLEs) build upon one another to drive a foundational strategy. The primary group might only be a few people but will continue to build to the point that the entire organization is involved. I also think it is important to discuss how this is utilized not only in education but also in business (or other fields). Great pick Jason!

I liked some of the real world examples for benefits of CoP's. The story of the technician who came up with the pneumatic tube idea that was ulitmately adopted because of support from his fellow technicians was really cool to hear.

This article applies communities of practice as learning networks specifically for the purpose of life-long learning. The need for life-long learning continues to rise, and the authors reviewed research and applied findings to design a framework for an improved model that looks at life-long learning within these newer visions based on developing theories. The authors point out that lifelong learners are not only consumers of learning, but benefit as active contributors that also creates an enduring membership of the community. Included are learning network model diagrams to show the relationships in the learning community network. In the conclusion, the authors admit the work is still in an exploratory phase and much work is still needed to refine the framework and improve the evaluation of effectiveness in practice.

1500 students across 11 school in the Northeast region of America came together to virtually celebrate acceptance of differences using Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" as their soundtrack. The scenes were/are broadcasted on YouTube to share with a larger audience and also document the work of these students - social media and education aligned!

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

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.

Silvia Tolisano was working on connecting 80 schools through Skype to show how small the world has become with technology.

Student bloggers contribute to this general school blog and share their reflections, thoughts, projects, and work in this format. The mission statement of the blog mentions that it aims to get these students to be thoughtful and responsible social networkers. What better way than to have them actually do it!

A teacher brought in two experts via Google Hangout to meet with some students working in a computer gaming program. The students were able to takeaway tips from the experts for their programming and connect with "real" designers.

This website organizes groups of four students to work collaboratively to create a blog. Each student is in charge of writing to the blog for one week, others make comments during their "off" weeks. The cycle continues for 4 months.