Group items tagged

I guess I shared this link in a previous course, but it is a good one! Tony Bates discusses designing, learning from and defines communities of practice in the digital age. EDTECH543, Communities of Practice.

I appreciate the substance of this article as it goes beyond simply defining communities of practices and discusses the theoretical framework for developing effective CoPs. The seven tips offered for designers of CoPs provides structure and guidance for those interested in implementing this practice. I also found great value in the text's analysis of communities of practice in a technology rich generation. The digital age is dominating culture and as people seek to re-evaluate programs, organization, and life they tend to think they need to dump the old and start from scratch. This article, however, points out that communities of practice will be a powerful tool in the digital age by "it is probably a mistake to think of them as a replacement for traditional forms of education." Great perspective!(

A Community of Practice is essentially a group of people who share a common interest and learn how to polish and perfect that passion by regularly interacting with one another. Communities of Practice apply various theories of learning as the group members interact and glean from one another. Researchers argue that a Community of Practice differs from other types of learning communities in that the group members share a common interest, they engage in activities around that common interest, and all group member are practitioners of that interest. As a result, the learning that occurs in a Community of Practice comes from the sum of all group members.

This article focused on what traits a successful community of practice has and how they are taking shape in the digital world. Of particular interest in this article is the role that MOOCs are beginning to play in digital learning and also how the design of a community of practice can impact how long it stays useful and relevant to its users.

In this article, author Tony Bates refers to MOOCs as communities of practice, and then makes a distinction between "instructionist" MOOCs and "connectivist" MOOCs, the latter being designed to function as communities of practice. This has prompted me to look for more information on the distinction, as I am only familiar with instructionist MOOCs. In addition, I find the article of interest because of the subsequent and continuing scholarly conversation that ensued in the comments.

Very interesting article. I like how Bates explains the theory behind communities of practice and then provides the definition. It helps provide context for CoPs. I also found the "Designing effective communities of practice" section to be very helpful. It outlines what a good CoP should look like and encourages the diversity that can be within a community. Thanks for sharing!

This article from Tony Bates provides another great overview of CoPs. One of my favorite parts of this article is the section on designing effective communities of practice. Bates provides a list of key design principles (adapted from Wenger) for creating an effective CoP.

I love how this article recognizes that 1 plus 1 is not 2. That the sum total of knowledge exceeds what was put in.

This blog post discusses what communities of practice are, the learning theories behind CoPs, designing effective CoPs, and learning through CoPs in the digital age. It goes into depth about the seven key design principles for creating effective and self-sustaining CoPs. It also discusses the importance of Massive Open Online Courses.

In this post, Tony Bates discusses communities of practice including what they are and their characteristics. He also discusses ways to create and sustain effective communities of practice. Finally, Mr. Bates discusses how we can learn through communities of practice specifically through the use of MOOCs.

This article by Tony Bates gives examples of CoPs in companies like Xerox and how they work together within the company to create projects. It also provides a visual from Wenger assists companies with integrating a CoP within the workspace.

This post disusses what a community of practice is and the theories behind them. It also addresses the design of a community of practice and the three criteria involved, domain, community, and practice. Finally it discusses MOOC's.

This article gives some background and insight to the different parts of a Community of Practice. What I found to be most relevant about this article is the fact that it is based around digital learning. There is an image included in the article that displays the different websites that can be used as a tool for a CoP. This image is helpful in visualizing all of the ways to meet and communicate with peers in the digital realm.

This article looks at corporations that are encouraging CoPs like Google & Apple. Xerox was able to save $100 million by collecting tips that repair men were sharing over breakfast and sharing them on a larger level. CoPs can enhance organizational effectiveness and profitability by increasing knowledge sharing.

He is writing a textbook, Teaching in a Digital Age, and this is his discussion about communities of practice. It explains what communities of practice are, how they work, and how they can be successfully used. He argues that they are not a replacement for other forms of education but does mention that they can be great tools.

This article is a chapter for a book, Teaching in a Digital Age. It gives a good summary of the principles behind communities of practice. While the author does not fpbelieve that CoPs should replace other forms of learning, he sees value in them.

The author, Tony Bates, reviews what makes a community of practice by clarifying the main components of an effective one. My favorite part of the resource is the graphic organizing the tools and activities associated with a community, which also integrates the technology available. The article focuses on the idea that communities of practice is a method of informal learning and discusses how to use online learning to its highest potential.

To me the most interesting part of this resource is the comments. Very interesting arguments being made by various players especially Downes and Harasim. I often learn more from comments sections than from the main paper.

Thank you for posting. The article was a little long, but I made it through. I like how it associates PLN to life long learning because that is absolutely what they encourage. I also enjoyed the combination of PLN and CoP. Thanks!

This chapter by Carter & Nugent looks at PLNs, their interaction with self-directed learning, and ways educators can promote the use of PLNs among their students

A detailed article about PLN's: their roots, ties to adult learning, self-directed learning, and communities of practice. I liked this quote from the abstract: "As learners participate in the multiple virtual communities of practice that comprise a PLN, they require new skills that merit reconsideration of the role of the educator in helping learners to become self-directed in both formal and informal learning contexts."

Such an interesting article. I think many are under the impression that technology is going to replace the teacher in the classroom, which is part of what this paper explores in analyzing the impact of PLNs on the learning process. However, I don't believe the teacher's presence can ever be replaced. While certain aspects of the learning process may become more self-directed for student in the digital age, it doesn't invalidate the importance of the physical presence of a teacher. In fact, this article draws a strong conclusion that the question shouldn't be whether or not teachers are needed, but rather how are educators rethinking teaching and learning based "on a model of information and resource abundance." Educators need to be proactive in creating change in the methods and pedagogy of instruction.

This was a good perspective on how we can can individually configure our PLN's to work for us based on using the technology in different ways. The concept of "Closing Triangles" was completely new to me. Thinking of how our own configurations interact with others in our network is definitely something to consider when we go into the practice phase.

This is a short, understandable explanation of why one group feels that connectivism is simply a re-write of constructivism. I tend to agree. The one difference being that connectivism ignores offline learning, which from my experience in working in an extremely digital based work environment is still over half of all learning.

Great point Melissa. The fact that spell-check isn't on board yet shows how slow change and adoption of a new theory can be.

I like this article because it gives teachers a clear definition of what a PLN and how to connect to one. I am new to using social networking professionally so I am interested in learning ways to connect to PLN that would benefit my classroom.

Thomas Whitby is an educator that I have followed on Twitter and consider a valuble member of my PLN. So it is fitting that I would include an article written by Mr. Whitby explaining the purpose of a PLN. Mr. Whitby explains that PLNs use social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create with like-minded individuals. Unlike traditional professional development sessions, PLNs can take place any time and anywhere through the use of the WWW. Each PLN is uniques and serves its own purpose and each member is a potential source of information. Mr. Whitby concludes his article with information on how to build a PLN and links to PLN resources.

This article gives the definition of a PLN and answers the question of why they are important. It also talks about potential barriers, this is important! It also has links to other resources for PLNs.

This blog post thoroughly defines PLNs, even addressing the debate over its acronym. Is it professional or personal learning networks? This post settles on a happy medium: personalized learning network. This entry goes beyond the definitions as it addresses both the barriers to PLNs and what can be gained from them. It also offers suggestions on how to build a PLN and helpful links.