I created a Padlet presentation to express creatively how I view Communities of Practice (CoPs), Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks (PLN). As a teacher, my life seems to be full of sticky notes to remind me of all the things I need to remember. I thought Padlet was the perfect platform for organizing my thoughts creatively.
I started my viewpoint with a tree to symbolize the roots or foundations a teacher must have to grow. I guess you could think of it as the "Tree of Knowledge". Looking beyond an individuals foundations, there are links between Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks. According to Lave and Wenger, Communities of Practice are the processes of social learning that allow people with similar interests to communicate and problem-solve as a group (2016). This shared passion crosses over into personal learning networks and the learning theory of connectivism. The Internet has allowed people to connect across the globe in various forms - blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social networks (2017). Peer communication in education is an important part of growth in our profession. Sometimes within a school there is limited groups to share information with, so using social networking allows teachers to connect with teachers in similar content to share information. Personal Learning Networks is the tool that connects the communities of educators. It uses social media and technology to link people together communicate, collaborate, and create together in an online community (Whitby, 2013). The result or final link in this connected chain is the results that educators can see in their classroom and how they meet their professional objectives.
The links between Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks are constantly changing. No link looks exactly the same, but if educators take the time and put in the effort to connect to the different social networking communities they will connect with the world community.
Link to Padlet Creative Expression: https://padlet.com/lindsayhoyt/vqenh2ekotdq
References
Communities of Practice (Lave and Wenger). (2016, June 29). Retrieved June 12, 2017, from https://www.learning-theories.com/communities-of-practice-lave-and-wenger.html
Connectivism (Siemens, Downes). (2017, February 04). Retrieved June 12, 2017, from https://www.learning-theories.com/connectivism-siemens-downes.html
National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2017, from http://www.ncddr.org/cop/whatiscop.html
Whitby, T. (2013, November 18). How Do I Get a PLN? Retrieved June 11, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby
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