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This is the government's take on Communities of Practice, and I included it because like it or not, it impacts many of us on so many levels. The National Education Technology Plan asserts that we need PLC's, and if you have never read this document, it is worth the read. It definitely furthered my knowledge when I read it in EDTECH 501. The bottom line is that because so many students have access to mobile technology, they are able to be a part of social networks. The goal is to harness this power and cultivate collaboration and engaging learning experiences. Its premise is student-centered learning where students are able to make decisions and choices that form their own pathway to learning.

Thanks for including this document. I was impressed to see the progressive views outlined with many strong and important points for changing our education culture. One of the main areas included the need to leverage technology to empower students and shift learning responsibility from teacher to learners. In essence we want to strive to create master learners, where students understand how to evaluate and gain the information they need as life-long learners. The section "Measure what Matters" I especially applauded, as I feel our extreme emphasis on testing is misplaced if we don't make sure the tests and measures are appropriate for what students need to know to be life-long learners. Do standardized tests even have a section about locating information and assessing its validity? This report started out with a short list of recommendations that included, "Be clear in outcomes we seek". I think this is an important point as we strive to embrace and utilize the growing potential of connectivness.

This article is about Computer Based Instruction and how to design an online course for students who will be attending classes online. This article talks about creating an online classroom where the teacher communicates via the web only. This article offers eight guidelines for creating such a classroom. A few of the guidelines/tips that are offered is to orient students with the internet, have students select "email pals," and use computer based testing.

Authors present evidence that social media facilitate the development of personal learning environments (PLEs) in higher education. The community is the curriculum, not the vessel. Learners are in charge of self-regulating their experiences because PLEs put the responsibility to organize information on the learners. Authors present a framework for use of social media to support self-regulation in PLEs in higher education.

This author is from the Istanbul Kultur University. He reviews and applies connectivism theory research and discusses the methods used within social networking platforms for education purposes. He promotes the idea of the growing need for learning as a connected activity. Since people already use social networking for interacting and communicating personally and professionally, it makes sense that SN platforms be utilized for educational purposes. The author also pointed out a number of challenges in making this a reality. Some of the challenges include lack of training, lack of reliable technology and open access to SN sites, and unreliable information shared on SN sites.

This article is beneficial for understanding the background of CoP's; in fact, the reader is educated about much of the terminology associated with it. Overall, the research in this study focuses on using Twitter as a personal network, but I think the value I pulled from it was that it expanded my knowledge base of researchers spanning from 1991-2010 who have defined and analyzed data associated with this subject.

Blog author Steve Wheeler summarizes several writings on connectivism in this blog post. He highlights the connectivist idea that learning occurs outside the individual via social networks and PLNs. He also points to the shift in knowledge acquisition from one of "knowing information (aka memorization)" to "knowing how to locate information." He suggests it's vital that students learn to develop their own networks and personalized learning tools.

I enjoyed the quote from Siemens where he says that students need to find a method to develop their own learning tools, environment, and communities to store their knowledge. As educators, it is more important for us to guide students to find the information they require. Then coach them as to how they can store and display the knowledge they have acquired.

I found his "nutshell" comment about how connectivism argues it's more important to know where to find knowledge than it is to internalise it to be very helpful.

This is a fantastic resource to learn more about CoPs, particularly if you are considering forming one. It provides basic info and background about CoPs, but also provides a few examples, and also concludes with some links to external Websites where you can see additional examples of live CoPs.

Tips for More Effective PowerPoint Presentations

An online learning environment based around GBL!

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 is a website where teachers advertise their classroom because they are looking for ePals for their students. This is one way to have students connect with studnets the same age who live in a different part of the US or worldwide. The intent of this "page" is to help match up partners. At the moment there are about 20 "pages" of teachers listed who are interested in doing this with students ranging from elementary school age to college.

With adaptive and assistive technologies, more students have the ability to better communicate and learn than ever before. So how is technology really shaping education for students with special needs? Good infographic

This pages provides ten links that are basically guides for creating effective PLNs. I was going to post them individually, but thought it was more effective to post them here together. As I browsed them - I saw some pretty cool ideas.

I truly enjoyed reading this page. The guides were short but very helpful. The comment about being a beacon of light was spot on. How often do people take, giving nothing back in return. The whole foundation of a personal learning network is to give and receive. Being an active member also means to help out those who are new to the community. There have been many times when I have struggled with a new concept or application and I know someone in one of my classes knew how to help but chose not to. This is a huge strength of a PLN, helping one another and sharing information. I think introducing elementary students to the concept of a PLN would be useful not only now but in their futures. Learning how to network is a 21st century skill that everyone must know how to engage in.

David Weinberger ("Cluetrain Manifesto") was one of the recommended authors for further reading on Communities of Practice. The central premise of this book is that the digital era fundamentally changed how we store and reference information. In a physical storage based world, an book or article can only be filed in a single way. Digital materials can be filed in unlimited ways and thus enable a greater degree of connections to be made. The next generation of web search technology "semantic search" will tap into this.

This video funded by the EU explains why it is important for educators to look outside of their local community for their PLN. The video highlights three main reasons that a vast and diverse PLN is important: Availability, knowledge, willingness to share. The video focuses on the PLM for foreign language. The ability to connect with speakers globally has revolutionized how, when, and where we can learn from.

The author suggests that the foundation for connectivity is constructivism. The learner becomes the center of the of the learning process; rather than the dissemination of knowledge. The author further discusses the need for educators to adopt multiple methods of teaching in order to be effective in reaching the most students. Lastly, the author suggests that learning takes place in a collaborative and cooperative environment,

This is a good set of tools and instructions for creating and maintaining a PLN.

I found these piece both extremely interesting and valuable. So true the way the author discusses the outcomes of a one-shot workshop vs. a "job-embedded, ongoing" (love the terms!) framework such as PLCs. The main benefits of the PLCs are 1) their are embedded into each school day and are facilitated by teacher support staff and 2) they are not collaboration for collaboration's sake! Instead, they engage teachers into an ongoing dialogue that is of their concern or interest right here, right now! Thus, meaningful collaboration results in meaningful outcomes. Great read!

There's two tools I'm seeing less and less that were included in this blog post. I'm seeing less people using wikis and also Ning seems to have been replaced maybe by Google+? I see this blog as good discussion of using your time wisely and wonder how it might be updated say in 2 or 3 years with new technologies.

Interesting article here. There's a hand signal you can use to help students remember the power and importance of PLNs. This could be helpful to teach younger students the "why" they have to be learning these skills in order to make learning meaningful. Student- Thumb; rest of the team depends on them for resources and help. Mentor- Index finger; helps organize and keep the group on task. Expert- Ring finger; ensures accuracy. Advisor- Longest finger; pinpoints needs and identifies necessary changes. Peer- Pinky finger; shares thoughts, communicates frustrations and celebrates when things are successful. Watch the video here: http://videos.videopress.com/lzULinmO/collegeunboundpersonallearningnetwork-hd1_fmt1.ogv

Love it! The hand metaphor is great.. It actually helped me to better understand PLNs myself. "Just as the hand's function is to grasp, hold, and manipulate, making it essential to daily tasks, so is the student support team essential for the same reasons."

I really like this Ryan! Not only is the picture intriguing but the metaphor is great for understanding as well as teaching about PLNs. Good find!

Great app for Theater teachers and students. Applicable for middle, high school and community theater performers.

Heather Wolpert-Gawron discusses using Facebook in the classroom. She writes about the experience of a teacher who used Facebook in their classroom.