Digital Delights

"1. Community - teaching can be a lonely profession, and it's easy to think you face problems nobody else faces. One of the greatest aspect of the internet is its ability to connect people who are isolated in just that way. A teacher who is able to find an online network will find support and resources. The exact technology doesn't matter much, and has evolved over the years, from the days of email mailing lists, to community bulletin boards, to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. 

2. Educational Resources - you want your use of the internet to be of practical value, and typically that means finding a quick and easy way to find resources for your classes. It is often a lot easier to find something than to create something. But it's important to do something better than just searching on Google; that can drain more time than you can imagine. Communities often support resource-sharing sites, or members can at least point to one. 

3. Course Tools - the original LMS was called 'Web Course Tools' and the name was apt, because the desire here is to provide access to tools that make teaching in a class easier. Simple course tools can be one of the teacher's greatest assets - a place to store course documents and handhouts, to keep records and possibky grades, to develop a profile over time on each student. These tools *may* be accessible by students, in classes that have good technology integration, but the greatest value will be to help the teacher stay organized."

See Stephen Downes - S is for Stephen  Where Stephen talks more about the role of Connectivism in K12 Education