EDTECH at Boise State University

I love that this video makes it very clear that you don't actually have to know anyone in your PLN. Now that we are so interconnected, the people that we learn from can be totally dispersed throughout the world. This presenter emphasizes that these networks are OURS.

I know that Dr. Gerstein didn't really want any how-tos... but this one is so good.

Many educators talk about the benefits of being part of a PLN. They emphasize that while they are interacting with people and not feeling alone while gathering ideas and sharing feelings, they can connect or disconnect anytime they want. It is the choice of the educator to determine the level of involvement they want to provide. The educators in this video seem extremely comfortable being members of these networks. Connecting and collaborating are important skills. Being able to choose when to connect and be part of a professional network, allows freedom for educators to continue their learning forever.

This defines and simplifies the idea of a Personal Learning Network

A quick PLN overview that describes many of the aspects of what we do here in this class. The presenter offers many insights on how to be a member of a PLN, and some of the tools that are available to us. I like that he tells me that I can change levels of participation whenever I want, and should feel free to just lurk if preferred.

This is a good article, if you are interested in deep diving into the theory of situating learning in the context of communities of practice. I have never thought of Alcoholics Anonymous as a community of practice before. The article looks at the structuring relation between the scope of participation in communities and the production of that scope in relations of commodification and the characteristics of divided forms of labor. The article also lists a set of conceptual independencies among person, activity, knowledge, and a world that recommend a conception of learning as legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice.

This book chapter is very informative, and takes a look at some of the situations regarding identity in a community of practice. There are many different roles one can take in a CoP. I enjoyed this chapter, because it took a look at Yucatec Mayan midwives. Which, as it sounds is an important role played in this community. There is a sort of apprentice mindset when learning something, and I find the same structure in teaching.

This book chapter delves into the interesting habits that teachers have when it comes to their practice. They generally stick with what is comfortable for them. When the community of practice is thrown into the mix, it allows teachers to be even more comfortable with different styles and ideas through informal professional interactions. This article has a big emphasis on policy changes, which is an important part of daily life as a teacher.

In this article the author provides an overview of PLNs. It provides an explanation of the benefits a PLN can have to PLCs. Problems identified in a PLC can be further analyzed and researched via members PLNs. This expansion/contraction of solution seeking would aid in the development of a community of practice.

This video presents an overview of how educators can use PLNs to improve their professional practice.

Allison, this is a great find! The explanation is clear and the video is pretty solid- the green screen work adds instead of detracts. Thanks for sharing!

This is great! I appreciate videos like this to explain complex ideas. Great to share with colleagues. If you like this, you might check out their website that includes their research, presentations etc. https://professionallearningnetworks.com/

In this video interview of Professor of Educational Technology, Alec Couros, he speaks to the importance of connections and connected learning. He mentions George Siemens asking the question, "What endures?" He points out that basically what it comes down to is the relationships formed as a result of the tools used. It's not about the number of connections, but the quality and meaningfulness of the connections. He also speaks to the importance of contributing to others' learning and making it visible.

Thanks for sharing this Kim! The discussion of connectionism in relation to identifying, "What endures?" is very interesting. This highlights the importance of growth through the formation and maintenance of connections.

This website houses a wealth of information on PLNs. Included are a collection of research papers, presentations, podcast, and otherresources on Professional Learning Networks provided by Torrey Trust, Ph.D., Jeffrey Carpent, Ph.D., and Dan Krutka, Ph.D.

This article provides an overview of connectivism and distinguishes between learning theory and instructional theory. It also introduces what it calls the three largest reservoirs of information including online classrooms, social networks, and virtual reality or simulated communities, along with mobile learning and looks for evidence of how they align with the theory of connectivism.

George Siemens discusses the changing roles of educators and instructional designers as a result of networked learning. Several instructor metaphors are depicted. He says that instructional designers become educators to the educator with knowledge of available technologies, pedagogies, and open resources.

There is a great deal of useful information throughout the wenger-treyner.com site. I selected this section, because it brought up a question that I had not considered. This discusses the difference between a community and a network and whether you can have both in one.

The post from the Wenger-Trayner website contrasts communities of practice and informal networks painting a clearer picture of the subtle differences, though the lines are blurred frequently between the two. CoPs and networks aren't the same, though they are related. Though all CoPs are networks, not all networks are CoPs.

This article from Sh!ft Learning explains the differences between Personal Learning Networks, PLCs, CoPs, and PLEs. Anyone unfamiliar to the terms/acronyms would find this article useful in discerning the differences. The article also gives several reasons for why PLNs are needed, and ways they can help educators grows personally and professionally.

Gutierrez defines what a PLN is, what does a PLN do, and what a PLN is not. Lastly, Gutierrez explains why building a PLN is increasingly important. A PLN is where educators can gather, collaborate, communicate, and share information anywhere or anytime. PLNs are formed through social media and across the world. They serve three purposes including connection building, connection maintenance, and connection activation. A PLN is not a CoP or PLE. A Community of Practice is with people that have the same profession, vs PLN connections are more informal. A Personal Learning Environment is much broader than a PLN. A PLN is within the PLE. PLNs help professional development, expanding your thinking, find answers and advice quickly, and stay up to date.

The business blog post defines and contrasts PLNs, CoPs, and PLEs. It discusses the importance of building a PLN. The post points out that connections in a PLN are intentional with the purpose of learning from the other person rather than just meeting by chance. Several good references are provided. Included is a nice illustration showing the relationships between PLNs and PLEs and Personal Web Tools.

In this article, Communities of Practice are defined as "groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it to better as they interact regularly." Communities of practice have three distinct characteristics including domain, community, and practice. All three characteristics must be present in order for it to be a community of practice. The domain is what we care about. The community is who cares about it. Practice is what we do together. This article includes a visual that shows a CoP very clearly. It also provides details of a CoP and how to organize a CoP. During the organization of a CoP, there are 5 stages to go through.

Great article Kayden! I've seen multiple articles also stating that the 3 main characteristics are the domain, community, and practice. Such great insight!

This article describes a PLN and focuses on the lifelong learning aspect that a PLN creates. It also lists 10 awesome benefits that participating in a PLN can provide.

This article explains how PLN's foster lifelong learning. It explains how learning via PLN's is more motivating than the standard methods of professional development.

In this article, the author explains what a PLN is, how to develop a PLN and the gains of a PLN. Novak states that PLNs are one of the best resources to motivate lifelong learners. Educators can connect with other learners and better themselves. They can communicate and collaborate in the sharing and exchanging of new ideas and information. There are several benefits of PLNS including learning anything, anytime, anywhere, and with anybody.

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.