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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.

A Position of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Question: What is the role of technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics? NCTM Position It is essential that teachers and students have regular access to technologies that support and advance mathematical sense making, reasoning, problem solving, and communication.

This study delves into the formal and informal aspects of networks. It highlights the need for informal in a teachers' complex job, but the struggles with qualifying/managing the occurrence. It also speaks to administrations delicate roll as a "gate-keeper" or "barrier". Interesting read. 

Nice find Cassie. While the study is lengthy to read it is full of excellent information. I believe the ladder half of the text (discussion and key points sections) is where the most valuable information lies. I always appreciative objectivity and honesty, and the authors of this study were clear that networks aren't for everyone. Everyone is a unique and distinct learner so to blanket the idea of a network as something that is a "must" for effective professional development wouldn't be fair. Yet, it does acknowledge that from a team initiative perspective, networks are a blank canvas and platform for maintaining open communication so all parties involved grow.