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I agree with the beginner's resource comment, as everything on the site is simply reinforcing concepts and tools that are used in nearly all MET courses. In regards to Diigo, I'm still not completely convinced, but I assume I will come around by the end of this course.

I love that we are doing what he references in this class. And I have to admit, I have my share of resources, but connecting with others was never my thing. I like to research, save websites, share my curriculum with others, but never really thought to surround myself online with "co-workers." Why? Because I see them all day, and we barely even talk at work. We have meetings and still barely get to talk, and then if you see a co-worker in the lounge, the last thing you want to talk about is work! So, creating the online community and the PLN, really benefits you because it's work, but it's outside of the workplace. I am so thankful this class is forcing me to work on developing my PLN. Thanks for sharing the resources that article speaks to!

How a PLN can be beneficial and what resources you could include in your own Personal Learning Network.

How a PLN can be beneficial and what resources you could include in your own Personal Learning Network.

This short, engaging video provides two excellent reasons for educators in particular to create a PLN: accessibility and responsibility. The author mentions that educators need to be more responsible for their own professional development. This video switches from the "why" to the "how", but the "why" portion is an excellent resource on its own.

This video begins by describing the reasons why you should create and maintain a PLN. It goes on to describe that a PLN is a 'two-way' street where you not only absorb information but also share with others your expertise. The author goes on to describe his PLN which includes ways to find answers to questions he doesn't know, how to collect information from other experts and also how to share your own expertise.

I appreciate these types of articles/sites that offer a few resources I am unfamiliar with. As a result, I plan on checking out Wiggio and Twiddla. Collaboration is a key theme among all of these which certainly fit the parameter of this week's module. Nice find.

I like the table they provide that asks the question that a community of practice would ask for each category. I like how they always use the word "we" because of the community aspect.

This is a great intro to communities of practice. I've been referring to this site as I work on my creative expression. I like how its written in plain language and easy to understand. The way the theory is broken down is also really helpful.

I appreciated the definition. Specifically, I appreciated the distinction between a community and a community of practice based on these three characteristics: the domain (an identity defined by a shared interest(s), the community (engaging in joint activities. Interestingly, a website or having the same job/title is not a community unless there is mutual learning), and the practice (mutual interests do not make a community of practice; by definition, members must be practitioners.) I also found interesting that 1) learning can be the reason or an incidental outcome and 2) sometimes people may not even know that they form a community of practice (for instance, nurses meeting regularly at lunch to discuss their prof. practice.) Thank you for sharing!

Etienne Wenger-Trayner explains what CoPs are, where the idea originated, and how the idea of CoPs are being applied in different domains.

This website provides an introduction to Communities of Practice, which includes the characteristics of a CoP, examples of Communities of Practice, and how the theory is being applied.

This article was incredibly helpful in my comprehension of CoPs. It explains what they are, their three domains, what they look like, and how they are being applied in real life.

This is a great resource giving the reader an introduction to CoP - a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.. The best part of this resource are the 3 critical characteristics of a CoP (domain, community, and practice) explained well.

This chapter by Hoadley breaks down a community of practice (CoP) and explains the theory behind it as well as well as its history. An interesting piece of the chapter compares a CoP to other groups and how each works a bit differently. It was also interesting to read about how technology is used in successful CoPs.

I learned the feature-based as well as the process based definition of communities of practice. I also learned how we can support a community of practice. It was valuable to learn how technology ties into communities of practices in the form or presentation or communication abilities, integration in content and context, etc. The article mentioned C4P framework, which encouraged me to take a deeper look at the C4P framework.

This is an exhaustive article that covers the definition and history of COPs, thoughts on how to sustain COPs, and ideas on how technology can support and enhance COPs in the 21st century. It is practical, useful, and interesting. While I found it to be perhaps a little too detailed, it was nonetheless a good article.

The concept of communities of practice has been used as both a theory to explain how learning occurs, and a "metaphor for how instruction should take place." From an anthropological view, knowledge is not completely contained within individuals, but is more often found in groups/communities. Knowledge can be "sticky" or "leaky". "Sticky" knowledge is difficult to disseminate, perhaps because it is highly technical, or because the target audience does not absorb it. "Leaky" knowledge is knowledge (like trade secrets) the disseminates despite efforts to keep it secret. Knowledge involves practice in context. One way we learn with situational learning is by peripheral, or tangential, participation. Learners should be allowed to "lurk" before participating, much as beginner social media users do. A knowledge building community and a community are practice are not the same thing. A knowledge-building community seeks to learn and build knowledge, while a community of practice wants to improve some type of work function. The learning may be the same, but the goals are different. Forced knowledge-building communities may never read the stage of community of practice depending on the level of connectedness and peripheral participation. Technology can facilitate communication and collaboration for CoPs.

This explains what a Community of Practice is, it goes into two definitions, features-based and process-based. It also discusses how communities of practice and technology often go hand-in-hand and how this has changed and developed over time.

This chapter provides an overview and history of communities of practice. There is a nice description of the theoretical assumptions underlying its development. The differences of communities of practice and other knowledge communities are explained thoroughly. There is an appreciation for how technology plays a role in today's communities of practice, how it can support it and how it is not less effective than face to face communication. It is explained that the key to a successful community of practice is "connections, conversations, content, and information context."

Christopher Hoadley explains CoPs, focusing on definition and practice. Essentially, Hoadley illustrates that CoPs are informal yet highly connected, constructivist in nature, and supported by technology like social media. He states that technology supports communities of practice by "linking people with similar interests, providing a shared repository of resources, directly supporting communication, and providing awareness of various resources within the information context" (Jonassen & Land, 2012). Additionally, he goes on to express that individual learning fails when it comes to application but that group learning often creates deeper, more meaningful understanding especially when built upon authentic situations.

This article gives two separate definitions for communities of practice, a feature based definition and a process based definition. Between the two it explains how learning through practice can be more beneficial than following a manual or example. It also states how participation is important as well as being viewed as a member of the community of practice. The article then goes into explaining how technology has played a positive role in communities and has helped with communication to allow a community of practice to function even better.

A fabulous article that describes exactly what a PLN is & isn't. They define it as: "A network of trusted connections with whom an individual interacts (and learns from) on a regular basis." - Jane Hart. It stresses that while technology has advanced and changed PLN's they are mainly about the connections formed & relationships made. It describes a PLN as being "random" while a COP is more intentional & formal (since COP often share professional expertise).

This article describes what PLNs are and how they differ from PLEs. It also outlines the importance of PLNs for becoming a better teacher and connecting with others.

This particular article talks about how PLNs have layers, starting with the center layer. This includes a person's mentors and friends. The next layer are people or groups that are bound by common interests. The last layer are the experts and professionals that people look to in order to gain personal knowledge. This article also points that sometimes people get PLNs and CoPs mixed up. However CoPs take this one step further by having a profession/ professional interests in common. In other words, most Trekkies at ComicCon are not CoPs, but rather PLNs.

This resource defines PLNs and the benefits of today's learners connecting online with people of similar interests. However, the differentiating aspect of this article is actually the section titled "What a PLN is Not." In this section, PLNs and CoPs are compared and contrasted regarding purpose and structure with PLNs being less formal than CoPs. Additionally, this resource illustrates the difference between PLNs and PLEs, markedly stating that PLNs are a part of PLEs and that they house the virtual network and tools used to collaborate. Finally, this resource pulls on Connectivism to explain the importance of a PLN, citing the Connectivist principle of continued learning made possible through constantly updating networks of users.

Michelle, what an excellent resource! I was particularly interested where it explained that a PLN is not a PLE because I'm finding myself in my elementary understanding of these concepts mixing these up!