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There are like a dozen modules that integrate Materials Science into various curricula. They even have one on Sports Materials

Here is my Positive digital Footprint assignment for module 3. It is on Google Drive as it is one of the few acceptable sharing sites that my district allows.

A simple and effective introductory video to what a PLN is and how it can help teachers.

What a great resource! I have not been introduced to PLN's until this module and this is an additional resource to help clarify some key points and tools to work on PLN's. The quick quotes help simplify the concepts and makes me realize how useful it would be (and easy "15 minutes into your day") to develop a PLN to support my own PD. (and the catchy tune makes me want to swing dance!)

This would be a great resource for introducing PLNs at a faculty meeting or training. It is catchy and does a great job of laying out the basics of a PLN. Definitely worth keeping handy.

This study shows a very specific CoP example, using geography teachers in New Zealand as the subject of research. In the introduction, the researcher states "mandating professional development services to several hired geography teachers is impractical...and needs to be voluntary rather than mandatory." This statement is consistent with CoPs having membership of like-individuals connecting because of their learning needs and wants. Furthermore, the study shows a positive result when connecting 'distant' people as a cost effective way to circumvent budgetary restraints for professional development.

Communities of Practice need to be voluntary and non-threatening in order for an individual to join. In this study, I like how they set up their Community of Practice so that the individual could join a topic or subject matter group that was relevant to their situation or needs. As teachers we are often placed in professional development training that has no relevance to the needs of our classroom. I also like how they set up a dialogue for the members of the group. Participants not only posted their own ideas but shared thoughts and ideas through discussion with others in the group. It seemed to be less intimidating because much of the dialogue took place online. One of the factors that impacted the participants was time. Just like educators in the U.S., the educators in this study found it difficult to find the time to fully participate in these Communities of Practice and some did not even finish the modules. As a result, dialogue toward the end of the module fizzled out and was less engaging for some participants. That is one of my concerns with Communities of Practice. Sometimes if one is not being forced to complete a project, it does not get completed. It takes a lot of discipline to be part of a Community of Practice and a willingness to be there for the other group members.

Since my school and district are very PLC (Professional Learning Community) savvy and it was addressed within this module and a form of PLNs I did some searching and came across this PLC site. It has PLC Blogs/Discussions, Evidence of Effectiveness information and Tool / Resources for educators.

These interactive web modules include media, vocabulary, games, and "ask a scientist" links for each science theme

This is a list of websites and project ideas that focus on connecting students from different classrooms and getting them to use social media. I have a feeling I will be using this site to find the rest of my sites for the Module 6 project.

This list provides links to articles and webpages I found on the topics of Connectivism, Communities of Practice, and Personal Learning Environment. Some of the articles require a log-in with the student's Boise State network userid and password.

Wordpress & Internet Marketing resource community for Real Estate Professionals.  Provides a consolidated source for data, tools, and market information for agents.

Comprehensive blog focused on educating and engaging real estate in the enhancement of agents in tech and social media skills. Agents have the opportunity to engage in discussion with others from around the country via the Inman platform.

Fantastic general real estate investment information centering around asset protection and short sale.  Allows agents and investors to collaborate and discuss changes in the market and transactional processes.

Fantastic! Students use Twitter to take on personality traits of fictional characters in order to develop character empathy. They Tweet in the persona of the character and engage in conversation with other characters. Ultimately, students write a piece of FanFiction from their character's perspective.

Personal and professional development resources that integrates with Facebook. Full suite of application training allowing people to teach & learn with friends and colleagues. 

Home flipping resource blog bringing together agents and investors for information and discussion on successful flipping strategies.

10 steps to follow to manage and create a positive digital footprint

Prior to entering the M.E.T. program at Boise State University I often used the Facebook to keep in touch with old friends and family, but never to advance my career as an elementary teacher.

This Edutopia article explains what a PLN is, how they develop through thought, that PLNs are collaborative, what PLNs can do for you, and how to build a PLN. The article brings up three deterrents of PLNs for educators: PLN is a mindset, there is an overwhelming amount of techno-babble, and requires more digital literacy than a Google search. A good quote from this article is, "We must remember that lifelong learning requires effort." The article ends with a list of resources on PLNs.

Edutopia's article defines PLN and provides concrete ways for educators to establish one. While it addresses the barriers for mass adoption of PLN, the focus is to highlight the collaborative nature of PLN. It is this collaboration that allows for personal and professional growth.

This is yet another great and practical article. I especially like how the author outlined how we can each develop a PLN in 20 min/ day and gave some great suggestions for what we should do with those 20 minutes. 20 min/day feels very doable, even to someone new to PLNs or social media.

This is the newest Horizon Report. This report identifies the key trends in educational technology, challenges, and important developments.

This blog post discusses what a PLN is and how educators can create a PLN to support meaningful and relevant learning. It describes a PLN as an aspect of a PLE (personal learning environment) and then compares and contrasts the two. The author also provides examples of PLNs and discusses how to use MOOCs (massive online open course) and cMOOCs (connectivist massive open online course) to help build a PLN.

In this blog from Debbie Morrison it looks at creating a PLN. However, what make it interesting is her discussion of the difference between PLE's and PLN's which she states are often used interchangeably but shouldn't be.

This article has some interesting points about personal responsibility in creating a PLN.