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This journal article titled: Personal Learning Environments - Challenging the Dominant Design of Educational Systems was posted by one of the authors, Colin Milligan. The paper looks at the formal and informal learning and the connections that lead specific learnings of both types and how VLEs (virtual learning environments) play a role.

I found this to be a fascinating paper, which really made me reflect on how an LMS is and is not a good portal as a PLE. I particularly appreciated the diagram on page 4, which shows how technological tools such as tunneling, feeds and APIs can be used to turn a VLE into more of a PLE.

This essay makes an argument that organizations need to include social learning systems, such as communities of practice, in order to achieve success. The author explains social learning and explains why communities of practice are beneficial.

This article looks at communities of practice from different sections of a community such as individuals and organizations. The article starts with a social definition of learning and then takes a deep look at the structure of communities of practice and social learning networks.

This source addresses personal learning networks and connected learning environments. It describes connected learning as important because information is so widespread and accessible, and learning is now happening flexibly. The source also discusses connectivity and communities of practice.

This article discusses the idea of connected learning and its benefits. It discusses how the learner can be at the center of their learning. Although this article focuses of incorporating connected learning to teaching practices, it can also be applied to gain a better understanding of forming personal learning networks to enhance ones professional growth.

I love the term "connected learning." I can't imagine learning in isolation. I have to take what I am reading and share it out on Twitter, I want to get the interaction of others to enrich and enhance what I am learning. Learning systems is a good way to put it. You have a system in place that involves connecting with others.

A surprisingly excellent and in-depth article from Cisco Systems on the "The Impact of Broadcast and Streaming Video in Education."

This is a free open sources screen reader for Windows operating systems. It provides feedback using both Brailled and a synthetic voice.

This is a great website for basic math fact fluency. It's free, easy and kids love it. What is so great is that the practice they do at school can also be done at home (if they have access to a computer with internet). The pros at Xtra math have completely automated the system of fact fluency in the classroom!

I came across the acronym MOOC in the resources and the meaning did not immediately jump out to me. This article discusses the quick rise and perceived fall of MOOC's from 2012 to present. It also discusses their continued importance and changes that may occur.

Canvas is a cloud-based learning management system (LMS) by Instructure. Canvas is a modern, easy-to-use, reliable and adaptable LMS that supports current and evolving teaching and learning needs. You can use Canvas to: organize your course using an integrated calendaring and syllabus system, content modules, and communication stream.

The presence of blockchain technology is apparent in almost every field today as it is widely adopted on a large scale by all industrial sectors. ABB, the international Electrical Engineering company, is currently undergoing a blockchain project, according to news reports. It is looking for ways to implement blockchain technology in promoting the use of solar energy in p2p energy trading and researching the role of blockchain in the smart grids market. Apparently, the international firm has collaborated with Evolvere, the Italian energy entity, for deploying a blockchain system to assist them in this venture.

Seven teachers in six cities participated in the development of this report on teacher's experiences with professional learning systems & documents teachers' on-the-ground experiences with professional learning networks. Focus is on how professional learning communities (PLC's) as seen in the US model needs to change the way that teachers develop professionally changes over time with the advancements of Web 2.0.

Wondering what is the role of blockchain in transaction management? You have landed on the right page. The article below explains the concept of blockchain, illustrates how it is different from traditional approaches and what are its role in the transaction system.

Suggests that understanding how members of a learning community converse is an important component of understanding connectivism. The tone of the interactions in a forum rely on the design and management of the space. Furthermore, learning depends on sharing in conversations and interactions which themselves can be meaningful activities. During communication among learners, there is a balance of what is good for each individual and the ability to move towards a common purpose.

In this article, Andrew Ravenscroft explores a "dialogue rich view of connectivism" and how we can develop learners that can "think, reason and analyse." He takes inspiration from social constructivist theory to focus on dialogue as a vehicle for learning. Ravenscroft begins by detailing Siemens 8 principles of connectivism. He then asks 3 questions: how can we understand the dialogue processes of a networked world, what dialogue features make for quality connections and how do we design to promote quality connections. He starts to explore the questions with Socrates and the Socratic method. This method has applications for 21st century learning. He reviews Hegel's dialectic as well. Ravenscroft maps these positions to connectivism because dialectic helps refine knowledge from a diversity of opinions, supports the capacity to know more, consideration of alternative viewpoints, fosters a constant evolution of knowledge, and promotes critical and collaborative dialogue. Then he discusses dialogic processes and how they map to connectivism. Dialectic and dialogic can work, not in opposition, but together in different aspects. Dialectic focuses on the epistemic and cognitive dimensions of learning, while dialogic focuses more on emotional and interpersonal aspects. The author then details dialogue game interactions and how they can foster learning. To be successful they need to balance orchestration and openness. This article proposes that language and dialogue remain a "most powerful semiotic system."

What a fascinating article. Ravenscroft's discussion of a scaffolded system to build a learner's dialogic skills reminds me of research I did for my EdTech504 class on self-regulated learning. Roger Azevedo is developing and experimenting with a similar game, MetaTutor, which scaffolds student learning as well. I think self-regulation is complex and difficult to teach in the classroom, and am amazed that researchers are creating software to build self-efficacy!

This is a paper that considers the design issues of supporting emergent knowledge from communities of users. It considers these challenges from a theoretical point of view and from the perspective of information systems. It posits principles such as 'Design for Customer Engagement by Seeking Out Naive Users' and 'Design for Knowledge Translation Through Radical Iteration with Functional Prototypes'.

This article gives one professors experiences on their successful use of Facebook in their British Literary History course. Facebook subsisted for the discussion forum common to a good many course management systems. Students use it because they were already there (on Facebook) and they found the use interesting.

This is a student's response to using Facebook to generate discussion in a British Literature History class. Even though it is collegiate level, I think that this scenario could definitely work in the high school setting.

This article discusses adding CoPs to different organizations. It mentions the Internet Generation and describes various tools that will benefit a CoP. Finally, it describes that a CoP should have a purpose that has goals aligned with a specific purpose or vision in order to be effective.

I really appreciated this article and in particular the sense of purpose as a topic. So often I feel that CoPs can feel very purposeful and vibrant when they are created but lose their vigor or meaning as the primary task has been resolved. It seems that strategically placing emphasis on keeping the systems open and renewing purpose in order to develop leaders and new members creates a different energy for everyone involved.

This article by Stephen Downes provides a great insight into what an effective PLN looks like and how it functions. I enjoyed reading about his second stage of PLNs, which is the "personal learning environment." This idea is presented as the evolution of PLNs due to technology and connectivism in the classroom.

This article by Stephen Downes gives a definition of a community of practice and then discusses PLE's moving into networks and the characteristics of a learning network: diversity, autonomy connectedness and openness.

As I was relatively unfamiliar with learning networks before this course, I wanted to find resources that showed me what they looked like and examples of how they can be used. This article introduces the importance of using digital tools effectively and empower ourselves to gain the knowledge the web offers. The author states that "Learning therefore evolves from being a transfer of content and knowledge to the production of content and knowledge". Working in a network, PLE or communities of practice allow learners to be creative about information and knowledge, instead of just consuming information and knowledge. The article highlights the key benefits of a PLN: diversity, autonomy, connectedness, and openness.

While some of the tools mentioned in this 2010 video by Skip Via are a bit out of date (Google Wave and Google Reader, for instance), the importance of developing a personal learning network is clear. First, creating a PLN ensures that we have access to a support system, and additionally, we have a professional responsibility to seek out and participate in our own learning opportunities, and PLNs offer inexpensive (free) ways to accomplish this.

This video provides a good overview of a PLN. What I like about it is that tools that can be used for a variety of activities are discussed.

Educational Success "A large group of early adopters were teachers who haven't always been comfortable using technology in the classroom. Schoology helped them embrace a digital teaching and learning environment in new ways." Kellie Ady District Instructional Technology Coordinator Cherry Creek School District, Colorado

This article presents an argument on PLNs and CoPs in the sector of public affairs education. It states that in order to strengthen PLNs and CoPs, emerging technologies must be used to accurately connect students with proper practitioners, which in turn---will enhance knowledge and present various new learning opportunities. This includes a major shift in practitioner delivery systems so that emerging technologies are adequately integrated.

This paper reviews and relates the connections between learning theories commonly associated with constructivist education. These theories include active learning pedagogies, experiential learning, anchored instruction, situated cognition, activity theory, authentic learning, and connectivism. With the advance of active and connected learning pedagogies, the author recognizes the need for a system to effectively apply the theories through education technology design and teaching practices. I found the article a great review of the research and work done to define these different theories and instructional methods. As I am noticing with each article, this author attests to the need for further work and research required to organize these theories into a useful framework for educational technology projects and activities

Connectivism is controversial as a learning theory. Many people don't see it as one of the majors like behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism but those 3 are falling short in terms of describing what is happening in the digital age. Connectivism can be described as distributed learning or using information outside of your primary knowledge. The author thinks that connectivism should be the new constructivism.