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From Harvard business school this text by Dr. Etienne Wenger with its brief outline is for "cultivating" communities of practice.

The author provides seven principles for creating effective CoPs. Each of the principles is detailed throughout the article in an effort to get the most out of your CoP. These principles are geared towards corporations and business but many of them can easily be transitioned into the classroom.

While this article overall is about designing a CoP, I felt it was insightful because it informs the reader of factors that contribute to a successful CoP and the elements required to form one.

ASU Developed new online social networking program, Devil2Devil. It is a private & closed system. While all students are able to join, it is aimed at helping freshman connect with their peers.

Etienne Wenger discusses elements of Communities of Practice, with a focus on the private sector. Though the discussion is pertinent to all uses of CoP. Noted as a crucial component is how the community is managed by facilitators, for that is who is ultimately responsible for caring for the domain of information. And who must know what the group needs in order to prosper. Where the information is being shared by peers to address questions and challenges in common. While interactions among community members include cultural and structural components, there is space for each participant to realize their identity through connections and engagement

Shelfari is an online book club with the ability to share book topics and discussions. Groups can be public or private. The Sayre HS group has a discussion on what students plan to read this summer.

This text is similar to others posted in that it highlights the main features to the communities of practice theory. However, this particular text's focus draws to the readers attention the importance of the commitment factor in order to form a successful community of practice. A community of practice can exist in haphazardly fashion, but when the commitment is to the common purpose and shared experience the success will be more vivid. It also alludes to the seven principles outlined by Etienne Wenger which include: shepherd the evolution, encourage internal leadership, weave private and public space, invite multiple level of participation, find rhythm between familiarity and excitement, build momentum, and develop both communal and personal identity. The author states that the communities of practice platform is the perfect place for new and unattempted concepts or ideas to be practiced with nurtured care.

I could relate to several of these points - the negatives of being connected. Specifically losing time from other things and no longer being private. But they are also not negative enough that I would stop being connected!

danah is a researcher who studies "social media, youth practices, tensions between public and private, social network sites, and other intersections between technology and society." In addition to her research publications, she tweets and blogs about youth use of technology.

Written by dkapuler on Oct 31, 2012 01:27 pm theLearnia is a new (beta) site for educational videos. This is done through a social network aspect that allows teachers to upload videos into "lessons" and then share w/ students. Users can then discuss via public/private messaging about the video. This is an ideal site for online learning.

"Yammer is a private social network. Work in groups, share files, co-edit content and more with their free Basic plan."

Virtual Nerd's patent-pending tutorial system provides in-context information, hints, and links to supporting tutorials, synchronized with videos, each 3 to 7 minutes long. In this non-linear system, users are free to take whatever path through the material best serves their needs. These unique features make Virtual Nerd a viable alternative to private tutoring.

Internet Safety blogs, tutorials, protecting your computer, keeping your personal info private

Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, securely and privately show content to your friends and family, or blog the photos and videos you take with a cameraphone.

Great website for students and teachers to take notes on projects and daily work. Prevents misplacing the notes and difficulty in reading them because of messy handwriting.

This article by Wenger and Snyder in the Harvard Business Review is a great reflection of a community of practice (CoP) by the creators themselves in a well-known publication. While the article is in-depth and covers every aspect of a CoP, the included chart may have been the most helpful part of this article to really break down a CoP and the difference between that and other groups.

In this article the author provides an introduction to the concept of communities of practice, describes benefits and utility for business, and strategies for implementation in that context.

The highlight of this article for me is that CoPs have to be organic in their organization and management.

This article gives teachers 4 different PLNs they can explore for free. They have ready made networks that teachers can join and participate in free of charge. It describes each forum and how private or public each are. Along with specific topics that are being addressed.

This is a really great resource for learning about PLNs for teachers and figuring out which PLNs would work for you.

4 Fantastic and Free Professional Learning Networks for Teachers This article provides 4 free PLN tools for teachers to help them use social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate, and create with other educators worldwide. While Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn can be used by teachers, these PLN tools are designed with teachers in mind. Covered in this article are The Teaching Channel, Digital Is, KQED Education, and Twitter. https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/10/06/4-fantastic-and-free-professional-learning-networks-for-teachers.aspx