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Jennifer Pollock

Personal Learning Environments, Social Media, and Self-Regulated Learning: A Natural Fo... - 1 views

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    This article explores Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) as a way to introduce both formal and informal learning within higher education. Specifically, research shows how using a variety of social media tools to customize a PLE can foster learner-controlled instruction. To achieve the learning experience they desire, though, students must possess the skills needed to engage in a self-regulated learning system with the help of both an instructor and peers.
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    This article really demonstrates the role of the teacher in modeling and encouraging effective use of social media. In my opinion, the framework created by the author would work best under a constructivist learning environment since so much of the class would be taken up by teaching how to use technology. That said, once students were proficient, they could explore class subject-related information online.
Jennifer Pollock

Learning from others at work: communities of practice and informal learning - 9 views

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    This study examines how adults learn from one another within a workplace environment. As the article highlights: "[Informal] learning at work constitutes a large part of the learning undertaken by adults . . ." The article determined that large worksites afforded a range and variety of communities of practice, informal learning opportunities, and types of learning within a worksite. However, very often, the people we learn from at work are not necessarily recognized as having a role that traditionally promotes learning.
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    The authors David Boud and Heather Middleton acknowledge that in many cases the learning that goes on through informal discussions between coworkers is almost always more valuable than the learning that takes place inside a classroom or formal professional development workshop. As part of the article the authors examined informal workplace CoPs in four different workgroups within the organization. They wanted to see what types of learning occurred. Through interviews with participants they found that the larger the workgroup the more diverse the opportunities for community professional development. What they discovered in that end was that sometimes these workgroups developed characteristics of CoPs and other times the group is not cohesive enough to really develop a shared learning environment.
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    This was a very in-depth paper looking at how adults learn from one another in the workplace in informal ways. I have been reading a lot about Communities of Practice this week and I was struck by how the authors discussed structural factors, such as seniority and large scale workforce, could effect the true development of communities of practice. It discussed political and beurocratic issues could be possible setbacks. This is not something I had considered but is a true reality. When reading, I saw it is easy to assume that like-minded practioners in a similar domain could all just work together in harmony. It is truly more realistic to realize that certain issues like seniority could possible stand in the way.
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    I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and I found it logical that in the example of the Tiling Teachers, the article mentioned that they considered each other peers on the same level which would facilitate the learning that takes place within that group. I wonder how this learning would contrast from feedback or learning taking place from students in the class or even a superior like a Vice President of a program or a Senior Instructional Designer?
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    This was a great article and got me thinking a little deeper about communities of practice. So far this week, my studies have led to articles and examples of communities of practice in a learning or educational environment. I love how the focus was really on practices of communities of practice in the workplace. It was cool to realize that this process begins way before the class even begins. Thanks for sharing.
Scott McKee

Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier - 6 views

This was a great article on Communities of Practice. This week, I have really enjoyed understanding more clearly exactly what that means. I really liked the simplicity of Wenger's definition. "they...

emergingtechnology informallearning CoP communityofpractice organizationalform

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