"we've successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember, but easy for computers to guess. "

Connecting with each other comes to us more easily now that we can just tap away on a keyboard and chat with a person who lives over 3000 miles away. Fin

Looking at this as part of Usability follow up - more contextual help.

Session from Ascilite conference - did not attend, but twitter feedback said it was brilliant, and seems to provide a good structure for an important aspect that often drives investment in course and material - narrative and sense-making - beyond passing an exam?

Whole blogresource from George Siemens (I think?) about Connectivism.

The findings indicated that young people who had used Facebook (but not YouTube) for more than a year had higher scores in tests of verbal ability, working memory, and spelling, compared to their peers who had used it for a shorter time period. 
- FB and other social media as a 'practice ground' for data sorting, communication and social connectedness
- Also some interesting details on survey methods used. 

Cambridge,D., Kaplan,S.and Suter, V. (2005) Community of Practice Design Guide
A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Cultivating Communities of Practice in Higher Education [online] Available from:http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NLI0531.pdf (Accessed: 8.11.12)
Useful step-by-step guide on how to develop an online community with lots of suggested activities

Note it is 'How' - no longer a question of 'is it'!

A short but long-sighted, wider perspective on how we view technology, how 'ordinary' it becomes, how challenging it can seem to current ways of being etc... All with DA's usual wit!

Bookmarked by Sam Divall

Changing the context for learning can really stimulate learners to engage with a subject, critically and personally.

Part of the Using Social Media in Teaching, Research and Support Activities section of TEAP. Looks quite practical and informative!