EDTECH at Boise State University

Siemens explains how technology has changed the definition of knowledge and how that relates to Connectivism. The emphasis of his video is the change in learning from the individual to the network. He explains that the connection to learning is more important than the actual learning because technology continues to change knowledge; therefore, Connectivism focuses on continual learning rather than the immediate consumption of knowledge.

Thanks for sharing this resource! It is very insightful coming from Siemens. There is good emphasis on the continuous nature of learning.

This was linked via one of the sites I posted about and I'm glad to see it posted. Always interesting to hear the theory come from the creator itself- I feel like even with EdTech, we don't often get our foundational information directly from the source.

The focus of this article is that the foundation of CoPs and learning is social participation. Various scenarios are discussed where CoPs are formed, even informally, like students on a playground. These groups are illustrated as "shared histories of learning" where the information is handed down from generation to generation. Inherent practices enable the evolving membership to continue to develop.

From Harvard business school this text by Dr. Etienne Wenger with its brief outline is for "cultivating" communities of practice.

The author provides seven principles for creating effective CoPs. Each of the principles is detailed throughout the article in an effort to get the most out of your CoP. These principles are geared towards corporations and business but many of them can easily be transitioned into the classroom.

While this article overall is about designing a CoP, I felt it was insightful because it informs the reader of factors that contribute to a successful CoP and the elements required to form one.

This article from Harvard Business School talks about the history of CoP and how they have been around for a very long time but only now are being seen as having a positive impact on work.

This is an excerpt from an article titled "Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier" from the Harvard Business Review. While it is primarily from a business perspective, it explains and gives examples of what Communities of Practice (CoP) that are quite easy to understand. It is put simply by saying "they're groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise." They can meet physically or online and can meet regularly or not. Another important aspect that is addressed is that the CoPs can for spontaneously and therefore can be difficult to supervise and interfere with. This is an important aspect to address in terms of education and trying to form these communities within a classroom setting. In the end a snapshot is given to compare CoPs with other forms of organization.

This article discusses the theory of connectivism. It discusses the difference between being a learning theory or instructional theory and the differences between each. I like the basic definition that this article gives for connectivism which is that it "is social learning that is networked." Technology in our society is becoming increasingly more prevalent and this theory recognizes this change in our society. The article explains how connectivism is a learning theory because it is characterized by how a student's learning is enhanced by a personal network, the vast amount of data makes it impossible for someone to know all that is needed for different situations, and by current learning theories not acknowledging technology and the changes it brings they are limited. The opposing viewpoints are also discussed and explained that this will be a debate for probably many years to come.

Kristin, Thanks for sharing this great resource! The comparison between connectivism, constructionism, and cognitivism is very helpful.

This video uses the nine dots puzzle and Etcha-sketch to describe how connectivism and social networking correlate.

This paper explores how social networks can be leveraged to enhance PLNs. The authors discuss the relationship between teacher learning and experiences with PLNs. They also discuss PLN frameworks and their potential for providing collaborative experiences among teachers and administrators.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of PK-12 teachers using PLNs for professional growth. The research questions focus on how P-12 teachers describe their PLNs, what teachers learn from PLNs and how they believe PLN activities affect their teaching, and how teachers perceive their participation in PLNs affect their students' learning.

This article reviews three PLN platforms: Edmodo, Classroom 2.0, and The Educator's PLN. They describe how teachers use the PLNs for learning, sharing, and communicating.

This article examines two communities of practice within a post-secondary online course. One CoP was an on-campus cohort formed by the instructors and instructional designers, the other was an online cohort in which the CoPs were selected by students in the program. This explored the role of teacher leadership in the "school ecology".

This paper examines the role of group learning at the university level to prepare students for interacting in CoP in the workplace. Researchers utilized Hoadley and Kilner's "C4P" framework to create an IT consultant scenario. The resulting reflections placed an emphasis on purpose, context, content, communication, and leadership.

This article examines how communities of practice can enhance research in higher education. They seek to gain greater understanding of what individuals gain from their membership, how CoP enhance personal research, and how CoP can be integrated into higher education.

This article discusses the four principles of learning: autonomy, connectedness, diversity, and openness. It also investigates how these principles and the theory of connectivism have been tested through MOOCs - massive open online courses.

@Ahallteacher Great share! Interesting to read how autonomy, diversity, connectedness, and openness appear in MOOCs.

Great article Allison! I like how it discusses MOOCs! I haven't seen many articles that have brought those up specifically and how those types of technology have been considered "testing ground".

The article opens with explaining multiple examples of dominant design and then leads into how the shift should move towards personal learning environments. The first thing it explains with this is how the learner can use a variety of technologies instead of just one software. The writer then states that it should be built to support the user's goals. After this it goes into explain how it can be used not only on a personal scale but global scale as well by the use of social media, knowledge bases, learning contexts, etc. The rest of the article discusses how the world is moving towards a personal learning environment and how therefore the other types may become a "less attractive option."

This article discusses personal learning networks, specifically in how they challenge the current design of educational systems. It argues that the current education system follows a dominant design which pushes following a typical design that focuses on the integration of tools, draws a very obvious line of who the teacher is and who the learner is, restricts content and connections, along with others. They should instead focus on creating personal learning networks which focus on the connections that are being created rather than the tools implemented, form symmetric relationships where any user can consume or contribute, provides open content, and many other reasons. It also gives possible implementation stratifies and possible challenges to this system or ideology.

In this article, Wenger defines Communities of Practice (COP) as a "tribe learning to survive," (p. 1) although learning isn't always the goal of the group but can be an outcome. Members are committed to their community and create a shared practice of networking for a specific purpose. Originally associations and groups, the Internet is extending the reach of COPs and increasing the flow of information.

For those who have never heard of communities of practice, this resource explains it well. What are communities of practice, what do communities of practice look like, where does the concept come from and how it is being applied is all covered.

This is a brief but comprehensive introduction as to what communities of practice are by Etienne Wenger. One important aspect addressed is that learning is a product of a community of practice whether intentionally or not. It also gives multiple examples of what a common community of practice can look like such as problem solving, discussing developments, and visits. The concept came to be as a learning model by Wenger and Jean Lave. The concepts has many applications but a couple common places these communities are seen are organizations, government, education, and technology.

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of students in post-secondary online courses through the lens of connectivism. This mixed methods study was framed around Downes' four properties of connectivism. The results showed that the principles of connectivism encouraged positive online learning experiences.

This article addresses the issues concerning the effectiveness of online learning and 21st century skills in higher education. While Web 2.0 proponents suggest that online learning environments encourage connections between students that are unique to 21st century learning environments, those opposing suggest that online interactions lack the substance and rigor needed for higher education. Incorporating the principles of connectivism as best practice can encourage high quality online learning experiences.

This short ten minute Tedx Talk by a teenager covers topics of homeschooling and the pursuit of happiness through education. My favorite part is that Logan spends one day a week outside for the entire day as part of his education.

Inside California Education is a public television series that explores the challenges, issues and stories of public education. -tagline from website. The series recently featured the School in the Park program, of which I am an employee. Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3KV6CUPbEA