Dujardin, F., Edwards, K., & Beckingham, S. (2012). Diigo: Social Bookmarking in a Professional Communication Course. Transformation in Teaching: Social Media Strategies in Higher Education (pp. 243-274). Informing Science.

This paper described a study examining the use of Diigo in an online Master's in Professional Communication program. Diigo was introduced to address students' difficulties in writing a literature review. Students were asked to use Diigo to share and comment on their annotated readings.

Researchers found the use of Diigo was a significant factor in improving grades. They felt their goal had been achieved because student attainment was higher than in the previous year.

Sharda, N. (2010). Using Storytelling as the Pedagogical Model for Web-Based Learning in Communities of Practice. In N. Karacapilidis (Ed.), Web-Based Learning Solutions for Communities of Practice: Developing Virtual Environments for Social and Pedagogical Advancement (pp. 67-82). IGI Global.

Sharda's research is on the use of storytelling as an effective pedagogical model for enhancing learning in a community of practice using Web-based tools. Communities of practice provide opportunities for learning by sharing knowledge and experience, while storytelling can make the knowledge and experience sharing discourses more engaging. However, crafting engaging stories remains a challenge. The author discusses how she used new Web 2.0 tools to allow almost anyone to create engaging educational stories and use these in a community of practice.

Teeter, C., Fenton, N., Nicholson, K., Flynn, T., Kim, J., McKay, M., O'Shaughnessy, B., et al. (2011). Using Communities of Practice to Foster Faculty Development in Higher Education. From Here to the Horizon (Vol. 4). Presented at the The 31st Annual STLHE Conference, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, SK.

This paper describes the communities of practice initiative (a blended approach of in-person and online) at McMaster University designed to engage groups of faculty, staff, and students to share ideas. The authors found that the communities of practice provide a forum of safety and support that encourages the generation of new ideas and risk taking, in turn contributing to the learning experience of members. The communities also give an opportunity for faculty to engage in cross-disciplinary scholarly discussion of their pedagogical practices.

Hill, J. R., Song, L., & West, R. E. (2009). Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications. American Journal of Distance Education, 23(2), 88-103.

This article explores how social learning perspectives can be used in the design, development, and implementation of Web-based learning environments (WBLEs). They believe there is an important relationship between perceived sense of community and perceived learning processes, because from a social learning perspective, it is important to create and sustain a sense of community within WBLEs. One way to do this is to provide diverse opportunities for social-peer interaction, e.g. group collaboration and communication.

Harris, S. R., & Shelswell, N. (2005). Moving beyond communities of practice in adult basic education. In D. Barton, K. Tusting, D. Barton, & K. Tusting (Eds.), Beyond Communities of Practice (pp. 158-179). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The authors report on technology-based communities of practice developed for adult basic education (ABE) learners in Britain. ABE is that part of the British education system concerned with literacy, numeracy and language development in adults. In this setting, communities of practice are primarily used as peer mentoring tools to help avoid long periods waiting for assistance, or conversely dominating the attention of the instructor. Instructors can instead focus on managing and regulating social interaction in the communities of practice.

Polin, L. G. (2010). Graduate Professional Education from a Community of Practice Perspective: The Role of Social and Technical Networking. In C. Blackmore (Ed.), Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice (pp. 163-178). London: Springer London.

Polin discusses how students in two graduate degree programs at the School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University could benefit from communities of practice. These students, almost exclusively part-time or commuter students, have little opportunity to interact with faculty or other students outside the classroom. Polin believes it is through communities of practice that these important connections can be made.

Sánchez-Cardona, I., Sánchez-Lugo, J., & VŽlez-González, J. (2012). Exploring the Potential of Communities of Practice for Learning and Collaboration in a Higher Education Context. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46(0), 1820-1825.

The authors describe a project creating communities of practice for the library system of a higher education institution in Puerto Rico. They conclude that communities of practice facilitate formal and informal learning throughout an organization; promote the sharing of explicit and implicit knowledge among its members; and provide formal and informal scenarios for the development and diffusion of tacit and explicit knowledge, promoting learning and advancement of new competences among community participants. This proves to be an advantage for organizations requiring constant renewal, using knowledge as an important asset in a rapidly changing environment. Additionally, they found that organizations obtain financial benefits, minimizing the need to invest more resources in formal training since community of practice members contribute to their own professional development.

Monaghan, C. (2006). Communities of Practice: Learning Opportunities in Adult and Higher Education Classrooms. Adult Higher Education in the 21st Century: Conversations, Collaborations, and Deliberations (pp. 12-21). Presented at the 26th Annual Adult and Higher Education Alliance Conference, Dallas, TX.

Monaghan's paper describes introducing communities of practice into two graduate level courses. She outlines the difficulty students had establishing communities of practice. She concludes that students needed additional training to develop skills in 1) hospitality and networking, 2) engagement, and 3) conflict resolution. Hospitality is being welcoming to all, open-minded about the diversity of interests that each learner brings to the community, and valuing another's expertise and trying to see how it might enhance your expertise and interest. Networking is establishing connections and is an important link to hospitality. Hospitality helps to welcome and integrate new members into the community, and networking helps members solidify their membership and sense of belonging along with their contribution to the community.

Lea, M. R. (2005). "Communities of practice" in higher education: useful heuristic or educational model? In D. Barton, K. Tusting, D. Barton, & K. Tusting (Eds.), Beyond Communities of Practice (pp. 180-197). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lea believes most of the focus of Communities of Practice in higher education has been on the movement of the novice learner from the periphery to full membership within a community. Instead the author believes attention and research should be directed toward participants who have either made a conscious choice to stay on the periphery or have actively been excluded from full participation in the practices of a community.

Hara, N. (2008). Communities of Practice: Fostering Peer-to-Peer Learning and Informal Knowledge Sharing in the Work Place. Springer.

Hara's book documents a fascinating study he conducted observing three listservs and the various ways they did or did not succeed as communities of practice. In comparison to face-to-face communities of practice, Hara concludes that online communities of practice fall short in one crucial area (what is described as the most important component of a community of practice), the sharing of cultural knowledge. The concept of cultural knowledge is an understanding both of one's beliefs about a practice and one's professional responsibilities within a practice. Hara believes this can be especially detrimental to young workers who are new to a profession because they have not yet had a a chance to obtain much cultural knowledge. Hara believes technological advancements may overcome these shortcomings of online communities of practice, but in the meantime they should be used to supplement face-to-face interaction.