Forum Higher Ed & Training Forum: Re: Re: Re: Communities of practice

By: Robyn Philip

[ Reply | Forward ]

Hi Michael and Ernie,

Yes, I think this community will grow. Should we do a LAMS vote on that?! :)

When you create a 'community' in an educational online course, if you want discussion on a forum then you give students an assessment that requires them to use it. Otherwise it is hit and miss - depending on a number of factors, particularly the nature of the student group and their orientation to the course. Also if people don't know one another, naturally they are more hesitant to share and put ideas out there.

I'm sure this community will develop because there are so many good things happening out there - teachers can be so creative. The simplicity of the technology is key I think.

Wenger (1998) says that a community of practice is more than just a network. It defines itself by three things:

http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml

*** ‘What it is about – its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members;

*** How it functions - mutual engagement that binds members together into a social entity; and

*** What capability it has produced – the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities, artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time.’

Posted by Robyn Philip