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This article explores self-directed learning via connectivism and other learning theories.

I appreciated this article for a couple of reasons - research on self-directed learning (Yay!) and one of the conclusions that indicates that this is one of the more challenging environments for students. That means that if we ask students to be more self-directed and use the tools and resources that are "out there" and freely available, we need to provide some strategies and guidance on where to look, how to evaluate the information and how to network for learning.

I think that this is a good resource. It was really interesting to learn about connectivism and personal learning environments from a research study point of view. I believe that this source is a good way to learn about the growing needs of our students in the digital era. The source suggests that students need to be able to take control over their education in order to be truly successful.

This link contains a great video explaining the SAMR model in 120 seconds. SAMR is a framework through which you can assess and evaluate the technology you use in your class. SAMR has four levels - Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. Depending on a lesson, a class may be at the substitution level, or it might be at the redefinition level. Modification and Redefinition refer to a "transformation" of the learning environment.

The article discussed "connected learning communities" and how it is relevant in the digital age. There are three components (professional learning communities (PLCs), personal learning network (PLNs), and communities of practice (CoPs)) with these communities and different theories, experience and knowledge, effectiveness, anticipates growth or decline, challenges and dilemmas, and use of technology within each component.

The PLP (Powerful Learning Practice) model looked at three different learning connected learning communities to discuss what each one is, the effects on teacher professional development, challenges and use of technology to name a few. Personal learning communities, personal learning networks, and communities of practice were the three that were discussed. I like how in this article, Connectivism is tied into PLN's which demonstrates how these concepts of PLN's, CoP's, and Connectivism are interrelated. Within PLN's and CoP's, members are concerned about the content and "what they do" as well as interact amongst the group to achieve a higher purpose.

This article is fantastic as it encompasses all that we are studying right now! Each aspect was broken down very well and explained completely. I also appreciated that the authors talked about the anticipated growth, use of technology and value of a PLN, for instance. This is a great reference to refer back to later.

Educates children and teachers on Internet Safety, Web Page Evaluation and Good Search Habits

Abstract Distance education as a primary means of instruction is expanding significantly at the college and university level. Simultaneously, the growth of social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace is also rising among today's college students. An increasing number of higher education instructors are beginning to combine distance education delivery with SNSs. However, there is currently little research detailing the educational benefits associated with the use of SNSs. Non-commercial, education-based SNSs, such as Ning in Education, have been recently shown to build communities of practice and facilitate social presence for students enrolled in distance education courses. In order to evaluate the largely unexplored educational benefits of SNSs, we surveyed graduate students enrolled in distance education courses using Ning in Education, an education-based SNS, based on their attitudes toward SNSs as productive online tools for teaching and learning. The results of our study suggest that education-based SNSs can be used most effectively in distance education courses as a technological tool for improved online communications among students in higher distance education courses.

In this short blog post, Walker discusses the changing technology requires us to revisit classic learning theories. He continues to describe Connectivism with references from Siemans and Downes. He touches on the idea that learning is not just inside the learner, it now occurs among learners.

This website breaks down the learning theory of connectivism and how this learning theory came about. It describes how connectivism was created due to the Internet and the need for different strategies.

From this article I understand that connectivism is a way of learning through the internet, media and social networks. It discussed how learning can be formal and also informal, to which informal learning seems to be outweighing the formal learning now a days. Informal learning comes from communities of practice and personal networks which are very popular and common today.

Questions whether learning theories reflect the needs of learners of the future. Identifies that school systems haven't developed a connectivist model for curriculum instruction because educators aren't sure of all the possibilities technology is able to offer. Author feels that connectivism is an important part of developing theories but shouldn't be considered a learning theory, on its own.

Connectivism This article defines the important role of connectivism in developing of new pedagogies where power is being taken over by the autonomous student.

I love this article. The article briefly describes the learning theory of Connectivism. The article also reviews learning theories of the past. The main point this article works to answer is whether Connectivism has a place as a learning theory for today's learners. Should Connectivism be the new learning theory that replaces older theories because they no longer address the needs of today's learners.

Assistive technology (AT) is available to help individuals with many types of disabilities - from cognitive problems to physical impairment. This article will focus specifically on AT for individuals with learning disabilities (LD). The use of technology to enhance learning is an effective approach for many children.

Provides an overview of assistive technology for kids with learning disabilities. It tells what assistive technology is for learning disabilities, the types of learning problems addressed by assistive technology, and the kinds of assistive technology tools available. The article also lists several factors to consider when evaluating assistive technology products for the learning disabled child.

Article describing different assistive technologies in classroom settings and content areas.

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media platforms used in our society. This project relies on this wide usage to quickly gather some statistics for a class to examine. For this project, the teacher posed a question on twitter about how likely it was for the person reading the tweet to get snow the next day. The next day students logged onto Twitter and read the responses to the question using its hashtag. Students were then able to respond if they wanted for further information. As a class, they organized the tweets based on how likely it was for the responders to get snow. They also organized the tweets globally to see where the responses were coming from. This is a great activity because it forces students to compare different statistical values and evaluate statistical language. I like this activity because different questions can be posted regularly. This can even be tweaked were questions or polls are tweeted and the class responds for the data. Statistics is one of the most widely used branches of mathematics and this activity gives students great practical exposure. I could see myself using this project with my students during our statistics unit.

This resource provides various links to websites, blog posts, articles, and videos that relate to understanding how to use assistive technology. Anyone wanting to find various assistive technologies and learn how to evaluate them should start here.

Explore math with desmos.com, a free online graphing calculator

Desmos is a free online graphing calculator that allows students to graph functions, plot data, evaluate equations, and explore transformations. It is a powerful and reliable tool that can be accessed online or through the app for free.

SUMMARY: This page found on the Education 2020 Wiki details Connectivism theory and provides resources that help clarify the unique components of this theory compared to others. I found myself exploring the site more deeply and I appreciated the vast amounts of resources and clarifications available on this wiki. Feel free to get lost in it too!

This is a neat little article on connectivism. The best part is that it has a video contained within it by George Siemens that really helps you understand what this idea is getting at.

Connectivism is learning for the digital age. This article does a great job at explaining the principles of connectivism."Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements - not entirely under the control of the individual."

An article detailing the history and development of Connectivism as a learning theory.  Goes on to question whether or not it should be considered a learning theory in it's own right.

This article delves into connectivism and whether it can be considered a learning theory. It discusses the ability of a network to be able to not only seek out current information but also to filter out extraneous information. It narrows the definition to connections formed through actions and experience. The authors envision a paradigm shift where the student will have the power to drive their own learning without the need of a tutor.

This is an interesting article, arguing that connectivism isn't fully a learning theory, but rather a shift away from the tutor/teacher role to more autonomous learners.

A new chapter in Tony Bates' open source textbook, this one dealing with COPs - what they are, designing effective ones and learning through them.

@Terrence. I too liked the comments section which is ironically appropriate seeing that the article was about communities of practice. I think that Downes is viewed as a kind of expert in connectivism and social learning. I have read a few things on his blog through the process of this research and they are quite good. He also co-teaches an MOOC on connectivism with Siemens through the University of Manitoba.

I found this interesting at the end when the questions were posted. It made me think of things that I hadn't yet....Can we force these communities or do they just happen naturally and do I think they can replace other forms of education. I have not sorted those out in my own mind yet but I like that they stopped me to think about.

This article explains connectivism by taking a hard look at the other learning theories that set out to explain the way in which the world learns now. It explores research scenarios that allowed people to "cope with rapid change in the "information ecology"". I think that that is a great talking point for connectivism because it does act as a way to do this. It explains how this theory is expanding the development of new pedagogies that view a less important role of the facilitator and more important role on the autonomy of the student. The author states that connectivism is not the catch all of learning theories and needs to have more studies done in order to really evaluate its importance in the classrooms and virtual classrooms.

This peer reviewed article is compelling because it provides a historical look at the evolution of Connectivism while considering what detractors say are the inherent flaws in the theory. Additionally, the authors provide relevant discussion of the rise of and failures of MOOCS. Finally, 5 scenarios are provided to illustrate the discussion.

This article first discusses how the internet plays a role in connectivism, but also how it is not equal across the world as far as internet use or access. The article then goes on to state that connectivism has replaced behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism because all three of those had some limitations. After explaining this, it then goes into different situations in the classroom and depending on what is going on within the classroom, relates it to the theory of connectivism or another theory. It discusses how some say connectivism is insufficient in the classroom, but the writer goes on to explain that there still isn't one single theory that can do it all in the context of learning within the classroom.

The Wegner-Trayner team created a video about CoPs and PLNs that applied their theory to social learning and the social outcomes of joint activities (CoPs).