Group items tagged

This is a summary of the work of Lave and Wenger on communities of practice. It focuses on the need for social participation for learning. The article also highlights how learning is central to human identity.

Wenger and Lave first used the term Communities of Practice (CoPs) in 1991 and furthered their explanation in 1998. CoPs are a process of social learning in which a group of like-minded people regularly collaborate with the objective to learn something. Wenger specifically notes that this definition does not include "intentionality," stating that learning can happen incidentally. This article goes on to explain the three components of a CoP: domain, community, and practice. Finally, the summary ends with a list of methods commonly seen to collaborate in a CoP including problem solving, seeking others' experience, discussing developments, and mapping knowledge

This article also explains how participation is a huge part of communities of practice. It states that these communities are groups that have something in common and people can learn from one another through the interactions taking place. One big focus is how the participation that is going on needs to be active and continuous. A person's active participation can then help motivate them and others in the community to continually want to learn.

This quick overview of CoPs gives a plain-English approach to the definition and components of CoPs. This allows for a quick understanding without having to dissect the meaning of each word of the definition. Wenger's simple definition is given, as well as the required components for a CoP, and it is concluded with the concept of social participation as a learning focus.

Since I hadn't heard of CoPs, I thought I should find out what it is. For those in the same boat, there are 3 things necessary to have a CoP: 1. domain (common interest), 2. community (engaging together in activity and sharing of information), and 3. practitioners (members are not just people with a shared interest, but practicing).

Introduction to and required components of a community of practice.

This article outlines the components of a community of practice as well as discussing what a community of practice is not to help learners better understand what is necessary to have a community of practice.

Communities of Practice were first used in 1991 by Jena Lave and Etienne. A CoP is social learning aimed around a specific subject with people who have common interests and collaborate over a large period of time in an online community. The learning that takes place is often natural and happens through the social interactions. There are three requirements for a proper CoP. The first is that there needs to be a domain. The people involved in the CoP need to have shared interests. The second is that there needs to be a community. The people involved need to interact and engage in activities to help and share information with each other. The final necessity is that there needs to be a practice. This means that they are actively engaged within the community and work to inform everyone involved. CoPs work using social interactions to create the learning community. 

This short but informative article helps get to the root question of "what are communities of practice?" The article describes the three main components of the communities of practice theory which domain (shared, common interest), community (sharing of info, activities), and practice (members of COP need to be practitioners of the domain and not just casual observer). To be a true COP, the above components must be present. The article breaks down Wengers belief that "groups of people who share a concern of a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as the interact regularly". It discussed how COP's are becoming more present through online communities formed through the Internet and social media. COP's are being seen as avenues that promote innovation and building of social capital through the spreading of knowledge.

In this article Etienne defines Communities of Practice (CoP) as "groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly." This learning that takes place is not necessarily intentional. Three components are required in order to be a CoP: (1) the domain, (2) the community, and (3) the practice.

Etienne Wenger seeks to simplify communities of practice by elaborating on three distinct features that make a a community of practice different than a community. A community of practice is defined by its' domain, the shared connection based on a common interest; the community; a group of individuals that interact with each other through collaborative activities; the practice, common experiences and resources to take on similar problems. The text is particularly user friendly in that it offers provides charts that contextual types of activities that would make a community a community of practice such as: visits, mapping knowledge, problem solving, etc.

Wenger identifies CoP's as"groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". Here it is indicated that three main things must be present to call it a CoP: the domain, the community, and the practice. One item that stood out to me is that a community is not by default a CoP. Rather, a CoP must not solely be a community of interest but a CoP is a community that is built on the acquisition of skills, knowledge, or practice within the community. CoP's can come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and domains. All are vested in the "bettering" of individuals.

This article looks at the bones of communities of practice. This is an easy read, an introduction to communities of practice, which explains important characteristics, activities, concepts behind, and concepts applied in the case of communities of practice. It looks at traditional classroom learning compared to communities of practice.

Thanks for adding this - I really enjoyed it. I like his comment that professional development is now the responsibility of the educator through PLNs than the institution. Also the comment "we really do want to be found by strangers online now." People don't learn just from their face-to-face worlds any more. I am going to download his TED book.

I like what he says about learning being constant in this internet age; with PLN's we are always learning. When we choose the right people to follow we are getting a wealth of knowledge everyday. We see what others are doing and get advice about what we are doing. "Learning is moving away from the institution and more to the individual." Educators and leaders need to support this change by "modeling" and "facilitating." This is exciting, how do we sell our leaders on this?

Edmodo is an LMS so I guess then all LMS would be PLN tools. I guess I never thought of them that way but they are. Ive used Edmodo once before to organize a project among faculty but have mostly used it with students.

Staggering number of teachers that are enrolled in Edmodo, which show how the education field truly embraces the concepts of communities of practice. The communities of practice idea has not fully been accepted into the USCG and I'm excited to work to create one.

The article is a comprehensive view of PLNs. It gives concrete examples of how to design and grow a PLN. By examining three widely used PlNs, it might encourage more teachers to begin a PLN. I appreciated the statement: Only the teachers who are continual learners [who] work to improve their practice, skills, and instructional strategies can successfully help others learn.

Being a teacher your PLN is so important to your growing and developing. This article really focus on that and how teachers us it. It also give example of other services that teachers can use that will increase their ability to find and use information form the internet,

Resourced by an edutopia article, I found this information to be both user friendly and helpful. Best of's, design tips, and aspects of PLNs that make people want to be active are included

The mention of RSS in this article is very helpful because it is such a simple way to keep track of all your networks. It keeps everything in one location so you only have to open one program to read it all!

This article, by George Siemens, describes the learning theory of Connectivism. The article begins by discussing the need for a new learning theory for the Digital Age. The author identifies some significant trends in learning and then analyzes the limitation of prior learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. The principles of Connectivism are described and it's implications are discussed.

I appreciated the perspective offered in this item. There seems to be serious discussion as to whether or not connectivism is theory in and of itself, or if it is a component of learning theories that are already well established. I loved the last line in which the author emphasized the ease of access we now have to information as a result of our connections. "When knowledge, however, is needed, but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses."

This article does an exceptional job of explaining traditional learning theories limitations in the modern world and highlighting the current need to understand connectivism. The article is summed up by stating that it isn't what you know today but what you are able to learn to do tomorrow. I found this article very direct and effective in understanding the current state of what's needed in the educational environment to prepare students for the work force.

This work looks at what Connectivism is, especially as an alternative to the learning theories of behavioralism, cognitivism, and constructivism. It holds that the advent and integration of technology has changed learning.

What is Connectivism? According to this article, it is a new learning theory that incorporates the constantly changing state of knowledge and the digital age. Technology is constantly updating, and they say your software is outdated within months of acquiring. According to this article, something similar can be said of knowledge acquisition. Because sources of information are changing and developing at a rapid rate, our knowledge gained has a half-life. One way to combat the "half-life of knowledge" is to stay connected (via the internet or other forms of digital networks), and view learning as a life-long process. In fact, most learning does not take place within a classroom; instead, it occurs in real-life, learner driven environments. Hence the rise of Connectivism as a viable (new) learning theory. People form connections. People use technology daily. Knowledge is constantly changing. Therefore, learning theory should also change and adapt.

Written by George Siemens, this article outlines the necessity of a new learning theory that addresses the impact of the Web 2.0. By explaining behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, Siemens provides the argument for connectivism in the digital world. The article is a starting point for anyone who needs a working definition of connectivism or wants to compare it to other prominent learning theories. He presents the idea that "the pipe is more important than the content within the pipe."

What really struck me about this article was the idea that knowledge has a half-life. That is to say how long does it take before it's obsolete. According to this, knowledge now doubles every year and a half. The question becomes what do we do about that? I mentioned in the previous entry that our networks become our receptacles of knowledge. That's part of the solution that's introduced in more detail in this article. Below, you'll find a list of the principles of connectivism. It was a good refresher for me, so I included the definition plus the list: …Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical. Principles of connectivism: ▪ Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions. ▪ Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. ▪ Learning may reside in non-human appliances. ▪ Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known ▪ Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning. ▪ Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. ▪ Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. ▪ Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

An introduction to why behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, though suitable theories for their time, are no longer suitable bases for learning and teaching.

I love the video! This is the first video I've come across that gives a short, sweet introduction to exactly what a PLN consists of. It mentions both the online global community and the people who you interact with. I love how it mentions that you get to choose who is in your PLN. That isn't something that has been mentioned in my research.

This discusses what a PLN is and the benefits to having one. It talks about the flexibility a PLN allows you that a more traditional setting would not. A PLN allows you to personalize things and choose your level of involvement.

This was a great article that succinctly describes what a PLN is. The page includes a brief video in which Marc-André Lalande illustrates, in a very practical manner, how educators can use PLN's to connect with other professional educators to share ideas. He also shares a few of his favorite PLN's, including Twitter.

Marc-Andre Lalande breaks down the definition and key aspects of PLNs. He first expresses the importance of choice in a personal learning network, as it is a "personal" decision who to connect with, when to connect with them, and why you connect to begin with. Next, he discusses the idea of a "network" and how the Internet provides connectivity to people of all backgrounds to engage in conversation on topics of similar interest. Finally, he explains the crucial "learning" aspect of a PLN, asserting that learning happens through observing (or "lurking") as well as contributing to a discussion.

Great article Michelle! I like how it breaks down and explains "personal" and "professional" learning networks! Great insight!

Good resource. Simple, to the point. The video is a good resource to share too. If you have colleagues who don't know about PLNs, this is a good place to start.