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Boise State University's EdTech program uses Moodle as a social networking site in all of its classes. It allows students to share work and to comment on each others' work.

List of adaptive technologies, how they work, and who they benefit.

Alters all the colours on a webpage for protanope, deuteranope and tritanope. Simulates what these impairments look like. Can be set to work automatically on page load.

Authors discuss advantages of personal learning environments in facilitating collaboration and fostering learner control. PLEs are facilitated by technology, networking, and self-regulation by learners. Open network learning environments from instructors allow PLEs to form. Focus of PLE is not information consumption, but information creation and participation. Authors relate PLE and ONLE to the theory of connectivism and discuss various applications and limitations.

Fantastic quote: "Educators perceive the instructional value of integrating Web 2.0 tools include autonomy, diversity, openness, and connectedness (van Harmelen, 2006); yet, they find multiple technologies daunting, which may affect their attitudes toward online learning. The integration of multiple Web 2.0 tools has created frustration among educators and students because they lack knowledge of the tools (Lee, Miller, & Newnham, 2008), difficulty learn- ing different tools (Weller, 2007), conducting multiple authentications (Suess & Morooney, 2009), visiting multiple sites for different tools, etc. This phenomenon results from a lack of understanding of the social networking learning paradigm and inappropriate integration." This article describes the role of Personalized Learning Environments (PLEs) and how Open Network Learning Environments (ONLEs) are instrumental for creating a PLE. The authors indicate that connectivism is a key underlying principle for developing such a PLE--seeking connections to learners and sources of information. They cite Siemens ("the pipe is more important than the content in the pipe"), which surprised me, as I read that comment from Siemens as hyperbolic. Practical advice for creating your own PLE are also incorporated, as well as examples of how to work and learn within a PLE. The authors suggest that PLEs (operating through ONLEs) disrupt LMSs in the same way that technology disrupts learning in general. Interesting analogy.

This brief article, while focused primarily on online communities of practice in healthcare, has clear implications for learners in other fields as well. One key quote about the value of online CoPs: "an OCoP provides a safew engagement space to enhance knowledge development, strengthen social ties, and build social capital...OCoPs can develop from knowledge networks as relationships strengthen, and motivation to work together on common problems increases." Who wouldn't want to be part of this?

SUMMARY: I especially appreciate this resource as it points you in several exciting directions to online CoPs to help you as a consumer of informatioin understand what constitutes a CoPs. I was pleased to see that I already belong to a few of these CoPs and I am excited to look into the others.

This was a great find. This site connects educators with communities that suit their needs. Educators can pick their interests and connect with folks on the spot. I really enjoyed viewing this resource!

First of all of course I love the name of this listing of CoP, "Online Communities of Practice in Practice". This listing is so interesting to me, I have for a long time collected from individuals blogs through feeds, but I haven't come across such a good listing of online communities. It was amazing to me as I begin to research these groups the number of educators in these networks. Of course each person is at their own level of involvement, but they are each harnessing the power of connecting in their own right, exactly how it works for them!

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.

Tony Bates (my fav edtech guy) discusses connectivism and how it applies to teaching and online learning. Another great read. Anything by Tony Bates is quite amazing! EDTECH543 Connectivism

My struggle with pedagogies such as the nurturing approach is that I am torn between teaching my students according to the way the world is and the way the world should be. In the former, I believe my students are academically and emotionally prepared to learn in any environment. In the latter, I worry that my students won't be able to cope and compete in the real world. When I worked with at-risk youth, many of them fell behind when they started fourth grade after the "class size reduction subsidies" stopped, and they were put in classes with 50% more students. They were no longer able to get the specialized attention and they were not prepared for it.

One of the aspects that Bates talks about in regards to connectivism is that "There is no need for formal institutions to support this kind of learning, especially since such learning often depends heavily on social media readily available to all participants." I found this statement to be a bit rogue as he tries to state that learning will automatically occur through the use of social media. In identifying how connectivism works, there is still a need to help define the learning for students so that they are provided with the proper structure of information, sources, and how to identify good information. I would love to think that all students inherently want to learn, but truly think that students also need to be taught how to learn through this medium. Not all learning will occur naturally.

I appreciate the example that John Brown lays out in his paper "Growing Up Digital". He speaks about the Xerox company sending in anthropologists to study how tech reps fix broken machines. They learned it is all about the communication and storytelling, never do reps use the manual. After developing an online presence for tech reps (CoP) to communicate, Xerox saves $100 million a year while the learning curve of the reps has grown by 300%. This is a great case study to get a better understanding of a CoP analyzed and at work today.

I have not had the opportunity to attend an EduCamp, but the more I become involved in social media surrounding the world of educational technology, I see these mini-conferences occurring more and more. This article focuses on the purpose behind EduCamps, how they work and the drive behind them. These experiences can result in or happen because of a community of practice. I can see the potential for continuing the life-long learning journey why bolstering ones own PLN. These (Educamps) intrigue me, have any of you participated in these before?

This is a site that I have been using to share resources with my students.  This site was created for students at my school the year before I was hired.  The teacher I replaced has become our educational technology specialist and we work closely to find resources to use in the social studies classroom.  We are in the process of creating a new site, but for the time being my students and I still access this page often.  

This study explores the pitfalls of virtual teams within the business world. While I realize this paper doesn't focus on schools specifically it still applies in its exploration of communities of practice. This paper follows a few case studies while it explores virtual teams rather than teams working in the same space or building. Traditionally, virtual teams, have more challenges and communities of practice are introduced as a way to help overcome these challenges. Communities of practice are also defined and stages of participation are explored.

Video details what a CoP is and how it will work. Also talks about joining existing versus starting a new CoP for what best suits you. I think the video is short enough and to the point that it is a valuable resource for someone who is starting out and trying to find more information about a community of practice.

The study in the paper was interesting as it looked at K-12 educators and their use of Twitter to research, relate and form PLNs. Twitter and other social medias have allowed teachers to form networks that are specific to their needs and wants in terms of their own professional growth. In the "End of Isolation" the researchers findings touched on the fact that "over 82% of the time, the educators in this study chose to follow other educators or content experts related to their field of teaching so they were able to create a personal learning network meaningful to their professional needs." Now I just need to work with teachers at my school site to help them realize the individualized professional potential!

This study underscored the benefits of Twitter for the educational community. The article shared the advantages to new teachers in particular, where one participant stated it changed her vision and practice in the classroom. Very powerful!

Of all the resources I have read thus far on PLNs, this particular article forced me to think deeper and reconsider my interpretation of this concept. First of all, I found that the article provided a picture of the quality of interaction that can occur within Twitter. The data collected by researchers provides an in depth look at Twitter as a PLN - a feat that few other resources I have read have accomplished. By detailing the amount, quality, and type of interactions and connections, a tangible conception of a PLN emerges, even for someone who has little to no experience with Twitter. Of the 10 surveyed, a majority of their connections and tweets were professionally related. According to Nussbaum-Beach (video I posted), the difference between a PLN and a CoP is the familiarity of the people and the connection to an idea or problem. However, this study provides a different perception of a PLN that is largely professionally based with strong two-way connections. These conclusions made me wonder if it is possible for facets of a PLN on Twitter to transform into a CoP. Further, at what point can one argue that a PLN has successfully transform into a virtual CoP? Thanks for sharing. This was an excellent read!

This is a guest written article about creating a PLN. It has very good graphics illustrating a PLN. It also describes the different components of a PLN including information aggregation tools and the social media connections. It even shows the step for a beginner to get started including resources to use and also blogs to follow. Short and sweet and to the point.

Hi Cinnamon! Great resource! I really thought some of the graphics and links included in the article were helpful. The section on information aggregation and social media connections at the end of the article was especially helpful.

This article provides a snapshot of how personal learning networks work and their benefits. Torrey Trust explains that PLNs allow for professional development to be catered to your specific needs at that moment. Educators can seek instant feedback for questions or ideas they may share. She also outlines the main tools that make PLNs work, information aggregation and social media. It is a good article to for educators new to PLNs. It provides a good understanding of why PLNs are important to professional development and also explains the ways in which the information is shared.

I have to balance reading with other learning sources and so this video on Communities of Practice in action is simple and effective. It focuses on uk govt as as example but covers the main idea, if not the academic theory. Person, working with others, driven to connect, collaborate and learn. Simple but effective

This video was helpful in showing how a Community of Practice is useful to individuals. I also found it helpful to be reminded that there may also be a face to face element in a Community of Practice, and it does not all have to be digital.

This link provides 10 tips for using PLNs and 10 tips for establishing productive ones. Using Diigo is the first tip for establishing a productive PLN - I thought that was pretty cool.

"Sharing discoveries is more efficient and honorable than patenting them" - I love that! The steps outlined in this post definitely are based on this great principle. It's also great to know that that's exactly what we do at Edtech (unlike in so many other grad programs where so much of the student work never gets shared.) Great post!

I like lists and how-tos. This article by Miriam Clifford provides a great introduction to the nuts and bolts of establishing a PLN.

Support for students with physical disabilities. This software works with switches that will increase accessibility for learners.

This is an excellent resource for those who work with primary grades, specifically for primary students with cognitive impairments or delays. This program provides kid-friendly menus for the MS Office Suite.

MS Office, kid friendly