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TexToys is a suite of two authoring programs, WebRhubarb and WebSequitur. The programs are used to create web pages (HTML documents) which contain interactive language-learning exercises.

TexToys is shareware, so you can download and install it free of charge.

Registering your copy of TexToys entitles you to one year's free subscription to our hosting and results server at www.hotpotatoes.net.

Summary: Although instant and text/SMS messaging is beginning to supplant email for some groups' primary means of Internet communication, effective and appropriate email etiquette is still important. This resource will help you to become an effective writer and reader/manager of email.

How do I compose an email to someone I don't know?

a meaningful subject line

developments in their relation to Personal Learning Environments as several people over the past months have asked me why I think there is a need to develop a Personal Learning Environment at all.

Applications and aggregators of information are freely available and people can take their pick of their preferred ones and create their own network

functionality of PLEs - the physiology if you will - what is it that learners need from their PLEs?

the three main functionalities

functionality is exclusive to the personal web tools (PWTs)

Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) do exactly what they say on the can - they are personal to each individual, created by them, owned by them, used by them within their lifelong learning.

A PLN becomes a student's virtual locker, and its content changes based on the student's current course work. When I assign them a term paper, the students comb the Web to sign up for information that will feed into their personalized Web page to construct a PLN for that topic. When they get a new project, they assemble another page.

Perhaps the most telling response on the subject of PLNs is from my student Hope, who says, "My iGoogle page is very helpful and helps me keep things organized. It lets me know when my agenda changes." The fact that a ninth grader would talk about her own research agenda gives a glimpse into the power of the PLN; she is using a term here that is often reserved for grad students.

Constructing a PLN is the essential skill that moves my students into the driver's seat of their own learning. It helps them sort through and manage the proliferation of online materials that jam the information superhighway. It is also indispensable to our project-learning curriculum

what other interesting and useful features Reader has.  One of them is the ability to make a RSS feed bundle for others to subscribe to.

First go to Google Reader and log in. Then go to this page and you will see this :

Your RSS feeds are in a list on the left hand side and the box above is on the right hand side. So as the picture says, just click, drag and drop the feed(s) from the left hand side to this box on the right.  Don’t worry, the actual feed will stay as it is so don’t worry about deleting a feed that still has 100 unread items on it or anything!As the screenshot also shows, if you drag across a feed and you have second thoughts, just drag it into the bottom box and it will be taken away.

I have used the term Personal Learning Network (PLN) dozens of times over the last few years, and have seen it mentioned countless times in blog and microblog posts, and other forms of media. However, I cannot seem to find a solid reference or definition for the concept of PLN.

I thought it was appropriate to ask the question to my PLN (or what I perceive as my PLN) via Twitter. I asked if anyone had a definition for a PLN, or if they knew the difference between a personal learning network and personal learning environment (PLE). I received varied responses, and the majority of these are pasted below. To make more sense of this conversation, read these from the very bottom to the top as they are in reverse chronological order.

From a simple question on Twitter, I received dozens of twitter replies, direct messages, and email responses. While I am still having trouble defining exactly what this is, I know that what I observe to be my PLN has dramatically changed the way I view teaching, communities, and the negotiation and formation of knowledge.

The term ‘Multiliteracies’ refers to two major aspects of language use today.

The first is the variability of meaning making in different cultural, social or domain-specific contexts.

the business of communication and representation of meaning today increasingly requires that learners are able figure out differences in patterns of meaning from one context to another.

Abstract In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technological aspects of one MOOC, the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course, in order to investigate lifelong learners’ attitudes towards learning network technologies. The research framework is represented by three perspectives: (a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools. Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted adult, informal learners, who were not concerned about course completion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants’ choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, time-saving mailing list over interactive, time-consuming discussions forums and blogs. Some recommendations for future MOOCs include highlighting the purpose of the tools (e.g., skill-building) and stating clearly that the learners can choose their preferred tools. Further research on sustainability and facilitator workload should be conducted to determine the cost and effectiveness of MOOCs. Investigation is also necessary to understand MOOC participant profiles as they relate to course outcomes and retention and whether terms such as course and attrition are appropriate in this context..

Abstract: This paper explores how personal web technologies (PWTs) can be used by learners and the relationship between PWTs and connectivist learning principles. Descriptions and applications of several technologies including social bookmarking tools, personal publishing platforms, and aggregators are also included. With these tools, individuals can create and manage personal learning environments (PLEs) and personal learning networks (PLNs), which have the potential to become powerful resources for academic, professional, and personal development.

This paper explores personal web technologies (PWTs) and their learning applications.

Connectivism and the need for continuous learning In today’s world, learning needs extend far beyond the culmination of a training session or degree program. Working adults must continually update their skills and behaviours to conform to the constantly changing demands of the workplace (Lewis & Romiszowski, 1996). In times of rapid change, it is not always prudent or possible to offer formal training for each individual’s every need, and some needs may best be addressed by the individual him/herself. Using freely available personal web technologies, employees can create a personal learning environment (PLE) to manage their own learning resources; whether these are wikis, news feeds, podcasts, or people.

There was always more potentially relevant information out in the world than people could ever hope to know. But Twitter, Facebook, social bookmarking sites, and countless other content streams and conversation threads — constantly available in the era of wireless networks and mobile computing — have thrust many in academe into an endless, unwinnable race to keep up.

At a session on Friday here at the Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning, called “Managing the Flow of Information,” a roomful of higher ed technologists commiserated about the information assault and discussed how to figure out what information to ignore without abnegating their obligation to stay current.

While some instructors might take the sight of students typing on keyboards and smartphones as a sign of chronic inattention, the authors of this study take it as the opposite.

Network Awareness Self organization (Smart Mobs) - There are examples of people organizing and mobilizing using networks in Spain, in Chile (penguin revolution), and here in the US (immigration protests).

Building trustworthy networks (part of crap detection) is a skill that students need to learn.

Attention - Collaboration - Critical Thinking - Network Awareness All of these skills need to work together. They aren't taught in schools. Students aren't teaching each other these literacies, though they are teaching each other many other things.

PLE is a counter concept arising from discontent with centralised course management.

they have always been around, it’s just that the wide range of open source tools available at the moment, means that learners now have greater opportunity to learn independently and autonomously than ever before.

Sebastian was concerned that we focus only on the personal learner model for adults – which he suggested was one where adults are self-functioning, self-co-ordinating, self-controlling (self monitoring), self-developing and self-projecting.

what is needed is something more closely approximating fluency in another language: the language of digital environments.

ess useful to know one program very well and more useful to achieve a level of comfort navigating digital tools for oneself.

1. Think of your computer less as the place where all your data lives and more as the thing that gives you access to your data.

I argue that commercial social networks are much less about circulating knowledge than they are about connecting users (“eyeballs”) with advertisers

business model restricts their information design in ways that detract from learner control and educational use