Group items tagged

This is a resource on communities of practice and their positive impact on organizational development and group work. It highlights the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. It breaks down the 3 elements that differentiate a community of practice from other groups/communities and how knowledge is generated in a community. Situated learning is the model of learning that is explained as taking place in these communities of practice.

This article gives a short history of Communities of Practice and goes on to explain what they are. It is easy to read and understand as It explains what CoP are and what they are not.

Detailed article that describes the communities of practice philosophy that Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger developed the in the late 80's that proposes learning comes from the social interactions in our daily lives. The article further explains how the interactions with various groups causes the learning, whether it is as a core member or a bystander.

I really liked this article because as an educator it spoke to what I believe in. Learning does not only take place in the educational setting of a school, but it also takes place outside of that environment. Learning is social, it's physical, it's interactive, it's communicating. There are so many different ways to learn and therefore people never stop learning. It states that communities of practice are all around us and most of the time we are involved in many of those groups at the same time.

Lave and Wenger discuss communities of practice covering many topics such as the characteristics and the relationships. EDTECH543 Communities of Practice

This article discusses Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, who proposed that "learning involved a process of engagement in a 'community of practice'." They discuss the idea of learning as being a social experience rather than an individual one, and that people are typically involved in a number of communities of practice. The characteristics of communities of practice are described, as well as situated learning.

This article clearly articulates what communities of practice are, examples of each (which I find the most interesting as it makes a very clear connection to what we know), and three main components. The three distinguishable ideas show how communities of practice are different than random groups. I like their ideas of these groups occurring over time around things thst matter to people. #EDTECH543

This source discusses communities of practice and how they can be either formal or informal. Members of a community of practice are in an organized group centered around a shared idea. Communities of practice allow connectivity because learners make connections with each other as resources to acquire knowledge when needed.

I learned about different definitions or explanations of communities of practice and how the learning happens by means of communities of practice is connected to situated learning. I also learned about different characteristics of communities of practice and how these characteristics are interconnected. I learned in detail about how the concept of communities of practice is aligned with the concept of situated learning. I enjoyed reading the examples and learning how communities of practices change over time.

In CoPs, connections are being made. Everyone is working together to get everything that they need. I think that the main focus of this descibres the aspects of collaboration and why it is so important with CoPs. CoPs is related to situated learning and that is something new that I learned.

"Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning" A COP is joining in mutual activities.

3 crucial elements that make a COP: Domain, Community, and Practice. A domain is a common interest among members. A community means that members engage in activities and discussions and share information to help one another. Members practice by sharing tools and resources.is something that individuals do.

Excellent article that explains the characteristics of CoPs and how CoPs can be used in many aspects of life (both personally and professionally). This is the first article I have found that references "situational learning" as part of CoPs. The idea that learning is a social process and that we learn more from collaboration than we do independently seems to support the use and development of CoPs. Lave and Wegner illustrate that theory in the article by using examples from real-life situations.

This article really talks about the details of CoPs without going into the how-tos that many others do. I appreciate how foundational it starts- even pointing out that learning was initially thought of as an individual activity and how that has evolved. Situated learning is discussed as it is beneficial for learners to not just learn by hearing or doing, but by learning to talk about what they are doing.

Ariana, I loved how this article provided such great information and details.I also appreciate knowing the background of where foundations start. Thanks for the share!

This article gives a very detailed explanation of communities of practice. The author traces the term to its origins to Lave and Wenger. Definitions of the characteristics of communities of practice are defined. Both Lave and Wenger claim that learning requires communities of practice which create authenticity beyond models to be applied to real situations

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.

This article is packed with concise information about connectivism. The eight bulleted points about connectivism really did a great job of summarizing the main points that Siemens makes about learning in a digital age. This was a great find. The embedded multimedia added to this site giving a great overview of this learning theory.

I think this article provided a succinct description about what connectivism is and the two main proponents of this theory, Stephen Downes and George Siemens. The background information and basic principles are helpful in further understanding the concept of connectivism, and there are many additional resources providing within the article to help the reader learn more, as well.

A valuable synthesis and outline of connectivism. I agree, the detailed summation is easily understood and simplified for practical application.

What I really liked about this article is the idea that teachers who use connectivist principles for their own learning can model that behavior for students to do the same.

a. In this short article, Bell provides an overview of connectivism as a theory for the new era of education. Statistics of increases of internet access in homes and us in higher education set the stage to making connectivism a legitimate player in education today. Bell then breaks down connectivism as a theory and identifies it as the successor to classic educational theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. The article ends with some suggestions for educators looking to apply this theory.

This discusses the three primary tasks involved in developing a successful personal learning network. It is not a "how-to" for developing a personal learning network, but rather investigates the key elements that must be in place.

I read this article awhile back and found it informative. The authors provide insight into how and why we build learning networks. The illustrations throughout the article are helpful as they summarize the narrative sections that describe the PLN model.

This article talks about the similarities and differences of professional networks and personal learning networks. It mentions that both networks have learning as the main goal in mind, and that sometimes professional networks have formed into personal learning networks because it is more detailed and defined that that individual and what they are interested in learning.

Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them. Authors Kamakshi Rajagopal, Desirée Joosten-ten Brinke, Dr. Jan Van Bruggen and Dr. Peter B. Sloep research how networking is a skill in supporting growth and learning. The result is a model of personal professional networking. Included in the article is the introduction, methodology, the learner as orchestrator of her personal learning network, the personal learning network model and discussion and conclusion - supporting personal networking and future research. The article begins with a definition of professional networking, "the act of making connections with other professionals, with or without the intention of making long-term ties with them." Throughout the article, the authors reference weak versus strong connections, but the definition of weak is not, not strong, rather, weak ties are sources for new information, knowledge and ideas. The personal learning network model is attitude - intention, activity and skill - building, maintaining, activating. The authors conclude with a suggestion that "further development of technology to support professionals better in identifying relevant others and in developing relations online as and when necessary."

This source seeks to identified the finite features that make a successful PLN. It highlights factors that influence the individual's ability to build, maintain, and activate the personalized networks. The nine factors include: organization of the contact, network of a contact, reputation, benevolence, like-mindedness, real potential for collaboration, real potential for learning, and trends in work environment. Several diagrams are offered to illustrate how the success of a personal learning network for the individual is governed by the attitude of the individual towards the network and the skills displayed or put into practice on a daily basis. The text also stresses the potential of PLNs as they encounter existing and news social networking technologies that make the connection process easier and allow for greater fluidity in build professional development through the network.

This article discusses personal learning networks (PLN). How they are structured, what content you need to add and what type of skills you need in order for them to be beneficial to you. The main questions answered is how beneficial they really are? Can you benefit from a PLN? EDTECH543 Personal Learning Network

A detailed article on PLN's, including the PLN model with descriptions of the three stages of Buiding, Maintaining, and Activating, with factors affecting decisions during each stage.

This article discusses the benefits of personal learning networks to help professionals learn and grow. The authors used a literature study, interviews, and survey to help determine the effectiveness of personal learning networks.

Article discussing structure and content of PLNs and the networking skills needed to use them.

The authors in this article first delve into the structure and purpose of networking for professionals, but then segues into how using those skills can be used in creating and utilizing a PLN. A visual to show how the PLN model looks also helps to explain the purpose and value in participating in a PLN. While the article is slightly outdated as it speaks to how technology can work best with a PLN, the basic structure and values of a PLN is well explained.

This source is focused on PLNs. It defines them as relationships and connections that we make with other professionals. It talks about the advantages of creating networks with other professionals, and that those connections can be both intentionally or unintentionally built. It also discusses ways that professionals can create and maintain their own PLNs.

This article looks deep into personal learning networks. It looks at learner as an orchestrator of PLN. It also looks into factors related to building, maintaining, and being active in personal learning networks.

The author explains the benefits of PLNs to help educators get new skills and improve they ones that they already have. He also discusses how the structures of PLN are and how you can get benefits from PLNs. The illustrations of this article help to understand the stages of the networking process and an example of a personal professional networking model.

This article presents in an interesting model for teachers to create personal learning networks. The portion about the "learner as orchestrator of a personal learning network" was particularly enlightening. While at times the article verges into "how-to" territory, the underlying theory discussed provides strong context and explanation of the mechanics involved.

This article defines a personal professional network as "an egocentric, personally and intentionally created network of people set up by an individual specifically in the context of her professional activities," and discusses how a PLN supports an individual's growth and learning. The authors examine the strengths and benefits of PLNs and analyze how PLNs are built, created, and maintained. Studies were conducted that resulted in the finding that there are three stages of the networking process with nine factors that influence personal professional networking, concluding in the creation of a visual model of the PLN.

I found out that both strong and weak connections make up a person's learning and that each are important for different reasons. Strong ties help you create knowledge and encourage active collaboration between you and someone else (or more than one someone.) Weak ties Give us access to new information that we wouldn't have without them. In this unit, I learned that knowledge in the future relies not as much on what we know ourselves as being able to connect with people who become receptacles of knowledge. We tap into them as needed, making it unnecessary for us to be an expert in everything. Weak ties allow us access to these sources when the need arises. I also liked this quote, because it explained a bit about how to build these PLNs. "Grabher and Ibert (2008) proposed a three-layered approach, consisting of a communality layer (strong ties), a sociality layer (weak ties) and a connectivity layer (very weak ties)."

@Buffy Nallion I found value referencing the Personal Learning Model. http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewFile/3559/3131/43945

This article explores research on professional networking resulting from a literature study, interviews, and a survey. It defines and shares the benefits of a PLN. It explores a model of personal learning networks where the learner is the builder of the network. Several factors for selecting connections are addressed including interests, influences, and attitudes of the learner. Three levels of connections are described including communality, sociality, and connectivity - moving from strong to weak connections. The article lists supporting technologies for PLNs.

This article uses a networking model to examine how professionals manage connections and which factors push them to connect for the purpose of learning. Existing PLN technological solutions tend to focus on enhancing communication, but it is unclear if the technology affects the attitude of professionals and their intentions for network to learn.

This article discusses professional learning networks, which is different than personal learning networks but similar in so many ways. Professional learning networks are targeted to support the individual's growth just like a personal learning network. This article presents a model of a professional network for creating a personal learning network.

The article captured my attention by opening with " professionals need to perform flexible and independently in ever-changing environments." This makes me think of preparing students to be college and career ready! The earlier we can engage and immerse students and ourselves in PLN the more ready we will be for the ever changing future! Thanks for sharing!

This article draws comparisons between behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and how they all relate to connectivism. Connectivism has come about with the age of technology, and has gradually become its own learning theory.

Provides an overview of learning theories in terms of creating instructional environments. Discusses principles and limitations of connectivism and concludes that how people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. Connectivism provides insight in to learning and tasks.

This is is a good breakdown on the history of the connectivism theory and school of thought. It highlights how it the theory is beneficial in our digital age because other theories like behaviorism, cognitivism,and constructivism operate under the tenet that learning occurs by majority inside of a person. It reiterates the point that the network or "pipe" is more important than the content within it.

Explanation of connectivism, including contrasts to behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Interesting quote: "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today." I'm not sure I totally agree with that statement...

Very interesting piece on the how the half-life of knowledge is shrinking. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the last 10 years and is doubling every 18 months.

George Siemens ideas on the limitations of traditional learning theories and connectivism.

This articles gives information about the basic thought behind Connectivism. This article even gives the background information about the limitations of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism in the realm of technology and knowledge.

This background paper reviews the limitations of common learning theories in the digital age. Siemens then describes connectivism.

"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." This is a fantastic quote in this article. Our foundations for education are highly impacting the way we learn and soak up the knowledge around us. Everyone in this world needs to gain more knowledge, learn new techniques, and grow their thinking to become a harder worker, more valuable asset, and a better person in general. It is critical for the society to build on the foundations of their knowledge now so we can overcome those future problems and struggles in the future. Technology is opening doors for people to create, develop, and build knew foundations of education.

The resource discusses the need for a changing view of learning due to the development of technology tools to aid learning and information sharing. Many learning theories have not incorporated the use of technology or connectivity. Previous learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism have limitations presented in this article to support the need for connectivism. An important thought stated by the author, "We derive our competence from forming connections". This article states the importance of experience to learn knowledge.

In this piece, Siemens explores behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and their deficits when it comes to learning in the digital world. He explains how Connectivism addresses the change in learning in that it is no longer an internal activity because of technology.

In the opening section it describes the community of practice as being different from the typical teacher development model because it reaches "beyond individuals and toward alignment". This confused me at first, because it seemed to oppose the other information about communities of practice. I had seen a community of practice as a way for individuals to find what they need. However, as I read on, I realized that it was referring to the fact that teachers are now linked to one another and can work together to find coherence and best practices.

As an English teacher I can see the value of the example in this brief. The English department gets together and reflects on similar commenting styles for students to revise papers. They study which commenting helped the best after students turned in their revised copies. My English department just had to do this type of collaboration, but we were analyzing introduction paragraphs written by students and how we could improve teaching this. Unfortunately it was one of those times that were "mandated from the top down" as the brief mentions. Our collaboration was not voluntary and our department is not cohesive. I liked this idea of creating a community of practice with my department, but I am not sure how to get everyone on board Think of the power a CoP would make if it were campus wide, cross-curricular.

A research brief produced by the National Council of Teachers of English, this publication focuses on three aspects of a successful community of practice: mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. Although the phrasing is different, the central concepts are similar to other reports on this topic. It does, however, also break down the needs of institutional support as a necessary condition for these communities to thrive.

The national Council of Teachers of English reviewed Communities of Practice as they worked to develop better feedback for student writing. Successful Communities of Practice have been shown to be beneficial provided that specific characteristics are in place, including a common goal. Both face to face CoPs and online CoPs need these specific elements. What sets communities of practice apart from other professional development models is their reach beyond individuals and toward alignment

I found this article or brief by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) helpful in that it gave context to how teaching organizations view of the communities practice theory. The article paints a picture of how schools try to use the theory as a framework for collaboration. I appreciated how it presented the goals of COPs in schools with some possible pitfalls. The main takeaway being that COPs are less successful when they are implemented "from the top down". It still drives home the reality however that COPs do need an organizational structure and good leadership, but that connections and shared vision are still the cornerstones of COP's. The article was published in 2011 and appears to be preparing it's readers for the wave of new media. It references blogs as emerging COPs and drives home point that online communities, while not face-to-face, still need strong leadership and organizational structure to be successful. It ends by providing questions to consider when trying to form COPs.

Re: The main takeaway is that COPs are less successful when they are implemented "from the top down". I agree with this statement, The most successful CoP that I have been involved in were initiated within the district, but the administration was not overseeing the work being done. This freedom allowed for a more relaxed and teacher supported group. The department was kept in close communication, however, as some time to open our community funds were necessary and therefore it was important to have an advocate.

Thanks Dana. I always like reading David Warlick. He has a way of getting to the heart of the matter. The "Many PLN Paths" diagram in this article is particularly useful. I like the way he constructs the relationship between the technology tools as "aggregators" and the learner who maintains the connections.