EDTECH at Boise State University

This is a summary of a connectivist way of thinking in the learning environment and their learning theories of why it works.

What is a Personal Learning Network? This is Marc-André Lalande's take on the matter in less than two minutes. It's simple and easy to understand for those that need it simplified.

This is an explanation of what a personal Learning Network is and how it can be effective.

The Internet connects us in unprecedented ways. To prepare students to flourish in this new learning world, schools will need to transform themselves in important ways. This book is a road map for any educator thinking about using the web for learning. Build your own learning network, and use learning networks in the classroom and schoolwide to improve student outcomes.

This article is written on the challenges people face by using the connectivist learning theory. It states that it will work for some students, but like all theories, not all students will benefit with this theory. Knowing your students and being flexible is key in having a successful class.

Kop and Hill ask how existing learning theories meet the needs of today's learners and further question whether connectivisim is a learning theory. They do a very thorough study of learning theories to determine that "it does not seem that connectivism's contributions to the new paradigm warrant it being treated as a separate learning theory" (p. 11) even though it is important to the the development of new learning pedagogies.

Here Nop & Hill talk about how as information is constantly changing, its validity and accuracy may change over time. In addition to this information is constantly being added, deleted, and modified based upon the world around us. By extension, one's understanding of a subject, one's ability to learn about the subject in question, will also change over time and this information can be adapted and morphed through online educational networks. "Connectivism stresses that two important skills that contribute to learning are the ability to seek out current information, and the ability to filter secondary and extraneous information." Simply put, "The capacity to know is more critical than what is actually known". People begin to know and learn through these online networks where information can be openly shared, resourced, vetted, and attained.

This is a break down of connectivism. It looks at all parts of the theory and how it all works the in the learning environment. In the article, you will find the reasons why it's important, the founders of the theory, and why it's relevant in learning.

An explanation of a the basic components of a network - nodes and connections and how the relate to learning. The article explain how connections can grow stronger or lose relevance over time.

In this article, Siemens explains connectivism. He begins by explaining how networks are formed. The vocabulary is technical and suggests non-human networks. Factors that strengthen connections are motivation, emotions, exposure, patterning, logic, and experience. Learning is often synergistic as the network forms, but for learning to occur, a new connection must be encultured and connected to the entire network.

Networked learning is a subset of connectivism. This background article by George Siemens describes how networks are actually formed. He also discusses 8 attributes of networked learning.

I have loved using these Khan Academy videos in my Geometry classes. They have really helped give my students more examples of how to do proofs.

Currently my favorite website is Prodigy because my students are SO ENGAGED in solving math problems because of the FREE wizarding games provided within the site. If you work with kiddos in grades 1-8, check it out!

Hello everyone! I appreciate checking in on this site to see up to date articles as well as the current job market.

Lots of resources for teaching and the price is right. It won best blog and resource sharing site in 2009 from Edublog.

Blog with tons of great tech information for teachers.

I have a lot of technology blogs that I read through my Digg reader in order to stay up to date with emerging technologies and trends. One of the main blogs that I find great tips and resources from is Free Technology for Teachers. I have found that they are not as applicable for me now that I am working solely in higher ed, but I still enjoy reading the majority of the posts. Not sure why my post is timestamped 01 Feb 10, sorry!

This site has a variety of different EDTECH articles for professional development, I particularly found the different uses of twitter interesting.

This website is my go to site when I need to uplifting help. It has inspiration, help, and lots of resources for mom with special needs kids. LOVE IT!

This is an odd resource for this diigo, but you can find lesson plans here and post lessons... while making money :-)

TeachersPayTeachers.com -- 1,000,000+ free and priced teaching resources created by teachers for instant download including lesson plans and unit plans. This is truly my favorite teaching website. There are so many incredible resources that I find here with regards to any subject and grade level. Many activities that I find here are very unique and detailed!

One of my favorite blogs for discovering new tech to use in the classroom. This is a recent post that focuses specifically on student health and using technology to provide in-classroom physical activity.

I use this site to create an online textbook for my students. I also use many of the simulations and other resources the site has to offer. Great resource especially if you teach math or science.