Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

This site explains in plain terms communities of practice. For example, it explains that a community of practice is not just a club. It is a group of people who are committed to a certain domain of interest.

This was a concise, but well written overview of the definition of communities of practice.

Communities of practice are used across a variety of groups of people. According to Etienne Wenger, there are three characteristics that constitute a community of practice: domain, community, and practice. Communities of practice exist on small local scales, to worldwide networks. This allows people to share and obtain knowledge about common practices with others who are actively engaged in the same domain.

Allows the reader to determine the general guidelines to what a community of practice is. Cites examples ranging from artists seeking transformation to surgeons trying to discover new methods. The article is very simple, yet effective in describing a community of practice.

by Etienne Wenger CoPs are formed by people who are engaged and interested in common domains. These can be done in many domains as long as there is an underlying interest. CoPs provide a new way to learn from one another in a safe environment. All members take responsibility with their members to access knowledge while sharing new ideas.

In this article, Wenger provides a quick overview of what a Community of Practice is. I like how she discusses the three components of a CoP and gives an example of what is not considered a CoP in each component. She addresses that just because something is a community, doesn't make it a Community of Practice. She also discusses where the concept of a CoP is being applied. It is helpful to see that it is being applied in many different fields including: education, government, organizational design, and businesses.

This website, from the National Center for Dissemination of Disabilities Research, identifies 3 characteristics of strong communities of practice: the domain, the community, and the practice. It briefly identifies what makes COPs unique and identifies specific applications. There are additional links in the sidebar that provide more information about COPs and prompts for further research.

This article gives an overview as to what communities of practice CoP are. It describes the characteristics of CoP: domain, community, and practice. The article stresses that CoP are not just like-minded people, but they are where people can interact with others to learn with and from others. CoP rely on active participation. Sharing and learning are at the heart of CoP.

Provides a good, crisp explanation of CoP. This is more of a recap, but sometimes saying something in another way helps to get the point across better. What I particularly liked about this one is that it emphasizes how these communities interact based on a passion that they'd like to learn more about or to improve skills.

This article discusses communities of practice in a very understandable, clear way. It describes communities of practice as individuals working together in collaboration with a common goal, or passion, in mind. I feel that one of the most vital parts of my job as an educator is to collaborate with other teachers about best practices to use in the classroom. It was fun to read this informative article!

This is a great overview of Communities of Practice. I appreciate that it distinguishes between a community and a community of practice because "not every community is a community of practice." I also appreciate that it gives where the concept can be applied.

The article provides a definition of communities of practice and gives examples of these communities. It also gives the three "crucial" characteristics of communities of practice.

Wenger's excerpt focuses on a crucial aspect of CoPs - the difference between a community and a CoP. Wenger outlines the three characteristics of a CoP and the role each plays in executing a CoP. (1) The domain in a CoP is not just a group of people. It is a network of people with similar interests and commitment to the growth of that interest. (2) A community engages, shares, and collaborates in order to learn from one another. (3) The practice of a CoP involves creation. The members act as "practitioners" that develop and share over time and through continuous interaction.

This article discusses how the community of practice is a shared domain between its members or those who engage in the community. It also says not all communities are all communities of practice. To explain that, it lists the three important parts that help show it is a community of practice. It states those parts are the domain, the community, and the practice. With that, it explains that all three should be developed within the community itself.

The author of this article explains that a community of practice is more than just a community. Communities of practice have to have three elements. The three elements are the domain, the community, and the practice. The domain is a shared interest. The community is people engaging in joint activities and discussions while helping each other and sharing information. The practice is the members of practice are practitioners. Communities of practice are being applied in business, organizational design, government, education, etc. Communities of practice have become a learning system throughout the entire world. They help practitioners take responsibility for managing knowledge, create a direct link between learning and performance, and create connections without formal structures.

Kayden, what a great site and explanation of communities of practice. I particularly like the distinct description of what a community of practice is including what it is not!

This site gives an outline of three factors that make a community one of practice vs. a non-specific group of people. The domain, community, and practice all combine to create a community of practice. The site then goes to explain where the concept of a community of practice is applied furthering the idea of "practice," as well as why they are catching on in workplaces and organizations.

An introduction to and application for communities of practice.

This article provides helpful information on the topic of communities of practice. I was also interested in seeing how CoP are used outside of education. I question whether CoP that develop with "cultivation" are as effective as those that are self-organizing.

This is a great resource for communities of practice. It breaks down the characteristics of a community of practice between the domain, the community, and the practice. This resource also provides a table of examples of what makes a good CoP. It is very helpful in understanding where CoPs are commonly used and how they can be beneficial. Very helpful resource when first learning about CoPs.

This resource is a basic overview of the concept of communities of practice. It discusses the background from which it was created, and gave some specific examples of COPs in the real world. The best portion dealt with how COPs are used in other areas aside from education. There are also some excellent links.

This page look at the definition of a community of practice and includes there critera that are essential: the domain, the community, and the practice.

As others have also suggested, this article gives a good overview of CoPs applicable to real world integration. For example, I tend to focus on the realm of current day educational CoPs at a school or district level. This article goes beyond that by providing examples of other forms of CoPs. One that struck my interest was the "tribe learning to survive" example. This definitely gives a broader perspective on the reach of CoPs, in that, they can be traced back to the primordial beginnings of human interaction.

This article, by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner in 2015, gives a wonderful introduction of what a community of practice is and why researchers and practitioners find them to be a valuable way of communicating and learning. You get a good perspective of what communities of practice looks like, where the concept comes from, and where the concept is being applied. Myths about communities of practice and suggested readings are also included.

What are CoPs? This article breaks down the terminology for Communities of Practice and explains what they are (and aren't). One common theme that appears throughout the article are the ideas of intention and implementation. CoPs are not just interest groups for casual entertainment. They are formed with intent and with the purpose of implementing ideas. Social media has removed the boundaries of who can form/join CoPs, and the sources of information are virtually endless.

This overview from 2015 is written by one of the anthropologists who coined this term when studying apprenticeships. It describes the 3 crucial characteristics: domain, community, and practice; its origin; its uses in a variety of settings; and refutes various myths about COP. A pdf is available.

This is a great overview of COPs. The author defines COP's and gives the three major characteristics: domain, community, & practice (and goes on to clearly define each of these). He explains the origins of COP's, describes them and gives examples of COP's today, addresses common myths of COP's and provides an influx of resources. A great site with a lot of valuable info!

This article outlines what communities of practice are and what they look like. It also describes how these communities are used in a variety of fields.

Wenger-Trayner give an overview of what constitutes a community of practice (CoP). It differentiate between a community and a CoP. Three features of CoP are given: domain, community, and practice. It is more than common interest; it involves interaction among practitioner who want to learn from each other. The article is helpful to understanding how to develop a PLN.

Often times grasping a new concept is difficult without examples to show what what a particular concept might look like. This article has a sub-head that reads: "What do communities of practice look like?" There are boxes with questions like "requests for information," "seeking experience," and "reusing assets." If you click on the plus/ minus sign on the boxes, you get taken to a short example.

In this fairly in-depth article, Etienne and Beverly Wenger- Trainer, focus on many different aspects of Communities of Practice. Some of the key elements they name regarding CoPs are: they are intentional, they can improve performance among members, the members have a shared domain of interest, the members have a commitment to the group, and the members build relationships that enable the to learn from each other. The 3 main element of a CoP are the domain, the community, and the practice.

Great share @MrsLieberman356! It's quite in-dept but chalk-ful of excellent information on CoPs and their objectives.

Thanks Joanna! When reading about CoPs myself, I love how they say that they're intentional. Through reading this article as well as others, I really see why that's an important piece to it!

According to this article, three characteristics are crucial in order for a community to be considered a "community of practice." A community of practice is not merely a club, it has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest. In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. A community of practice is not merely a community of interest-people who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They develop a shared collection of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems -- a shared practice. http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/

A brief overview and introduction of the concept and uses of communities of practice. This article shares theories and what it should look like instead of the "How" it should be done. They share the background of the concept and how it fits into the teaching environment.

This article gives a brief overview of the concept of communities of practice. Communities of Practice are groups that share a passion for what they do and share how they can do it better. The domain is a network of connections between people. The community is the activities and discussions share among the group. The practice is sharing the tips and tricks of how things work.

This delivers an overview of CoP's and discusses what a CoP would look like. It discusses the background and how it would fit in the learning environment.

This site breaks down what distinguishes Communities of Practice from communities.

This resource illustrates a CoP first, and then it uses this example to explain the components of CoPs: domain, community, and practice. It further provides examples fo what CoPs look like.

A great introduction into communities of practice. These communities require three things: commitment to the mission/goal, a community, and a shared role (or practice).

This website was created to explain CoP by the developers of the practice. The website explains what CoP is and what it looks like. The websites explains where CoP came from and how it can be applied in the workplace in different environments. The authors also diffuse any myths about the CoP so that others can understand what it is.

This article goes in depth on the three requirements for a CoP. It also goes through several examples of what a CoP looks like in various activities.

This is a great resource with videos about communities in practice. I really enjoyed the table about communities of practice vs teams.

This resource had both videos and a visual table to explain communities of practice. I liked how they described it using the terms: "Communities of Interest and Communities of Action". I think that is important because people can access their own specific interest catered directly to them.

I think this is a great resource to have for Communities of Practice. It provides a clear definition of Communities of Practice and also provides videos and visuals to provide further clarification.

CoP's a great place to share ideas, resources, post questions/concerns with other professionals within your contetn area. Great video and explanation of CoP!

This is a great place to get started because there are videos as well as text. The diagram toward the bottom of the page by Heather Smith and James McKeen from the School of Business at Queen's University is particularly useful. Often knowing what something is is easier when you know what it is not! Good stuff, thanks.

This article discusses that the idea of communities of practice (CoP) is that learning occurs in social contexts that emerge and evolve when people who have common goals interact as they strive towards those goals. It mentions the negotiation of meaning which involves two components: reification and participation. The article also compares communities of practice with teams and community of practice as knowledge management.

This article describes in detail the development of CoP and the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. There is a short video embedded that gives an example of CoP in the workplace at Caterpillar University. At the bottom of the article it shows a table that contrasts teams and CoPs. This gives a good visual on what the differences are in each category.

I especially like the way that this resource outlines the difference between teams and CoPs. It makes complete sense and is very intuitive but it is extremely useful to have it outlined in the chart format.

Lave & Wegner are the originators of the idea of 'Situated Learning' which is described as being fully engaged and "learning to talk instead of learning from talk." Within CoPs, participants engage in frameworks with structure. Alcoholics Anonymous was a good example from this article.

Sometimes when I spend time researching and learning about new concepts, I get lost in the details of definitions and citations. What I liked about this article was the table comparing CoPs to Teams. It breaks it down and compares the two in a way that makes sense.

As many have already commented on, this article gives a nice foundation for what CoPs are and their framework and purpose in society. I especially like the analogy chart made between CoPs and teams, showing what makes up each, how they may be similar, but how they are different.

This article summarizes the work of Lave and Wenger on the theory of communities of practice. It discusses how participation in communities of practice leads to learning and contributing to community goals. The article also includes a helpful chart that outlines the differences between communities of practice and other types of teams or focus groups.

This article explains the idea of communities of practice (CoP) and has some great videos to further explain giving examples. There is also a nice chart that shows the difference between a team and a CoP, which can be a common misconception that they are not the same thing.

This article gives insight to Wenger's components of learning, and then discusses the differences between teams and CoPs. I found this very helpful, as it can be easy to confuse the two at first. Through this chart, one can better understand the objective, membership, organization, termination, value proposition, and management of CoPs and compare this information to that of teams.

The communities of practice concept is explained in detail with many references to the work of Lave and Wenger. The article speaks to communities of practice as social learning in the workforce for organizational development, change management, and knowledge management.

This article offers an introduction to communities of practice. It also examines impacts on learning, makes distinctions between teams and offers direction for benefits for knowledge management.

Communities of practice, credited to Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, is a concept that claims that learning occurs through social interactions when people have a common goal and they interact while moving towards obtaining the goal. These communities are best ran with reification and participation. The alignment of these two concepts are what directs the communities of practice to their common goal. A community of practice is different than a team. A team has a goal, but their goal is to finish a specific task or project while a community of practice's goal is to share knowledge and learning on a particular subject. Teams also have a leader and disperse once the goal is completed while communities of practice are self organized and only disband when there is no interest left in learning that topic.Communities of practice facilitate the exchange process of knowledge.

A CoP evolves when people (educators) have common goals and collaborate to meet those goals. The chart comparing CoPs and teams was really helpful. The objectives, membership, and values are all distinctive differences when comparing CoPs and teams. Thanks for a great link!

This short article outlines what communities of practices are and provides a useful table showing the differences between them and teams. This chart is from Heather Smith and James McKeen from the School of Business at Queen's University (2003). They discuss the objective, membership, organization, termination, value proposition and management through the lenses of communities of practice and teams.

This article is a good, brief description of a CoP. I found analyzing the chart helpful for a a better understanding of a CoP. I previously considered a CoP to be a formal learning group. Now, based on the article you've provided, I can see how a CoP can be informal and include marginal group members.

Re"construction of his/her identity through these communities" Finding your voice and place in a CoP is important, as you need to be an active member to achieve the greatest return.

This article is an outstanding review by Mark K. Smith of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger's theories of social learning through communities of practice. It gives a great overview of the theoretical foundations as well as additional explanations of those theories.

This article outlines the theory and practice of communities of practice, and discusses the idea that learning is social and comes from of our experience of participating in daily life. The authors identify a variety of types of CoPs that all humans are engaged in, even if they are not formally identified as such. A CoP is defined along three dimensions: what it is about, how it functions, and what capabilities/resources it has produced. Also emphasized are the importance of the relationships formed between the people within the CoPs - hence, the community in CoP. Stemming from that, they extend the idea of CoPs to apply to the classroom culture and environment and discuss the need for educators to cultivate a similar idea to best facilitate learning among their students.

The point that I learned from this article is that communities of practice go beyond the acquisition of knowledge and skill. They build relationships where people within the community work together to share their skills, knowledge, and interests they have learned in order to complete new or more complex tasks. We learn best through active participation.

Articles like this one make it clear that we are actively involved in communities of practice every day, without even realizing it. This is largely due to the internet; now, if one needs to reach out to another person for advice on baking, for example, one can use online forums or message boards to connect to others in their community of practice. This was not possible before the internet, or at the very least it was difficult to accomplish so easily. I'm interested to learn a little more about what COPs might have looked like before the internet.

Learning is social and takes place by participating in daily life. Learning takes place situationally in communities of practice. These communities of practice exist all around us: home, work, school, etc. As we pursue our goals within our groups, learning occurs. Members off s community of practice (CoP) are united by common activities and by what they learn through participating in those activities. A community of practice is defined by three factors, "what it is about," "how it functions," and "what capability it has produced." For a community of practice to be effective, it needs to "generate and appropriate a shared repertoire of ideas, commitments and memories." There also need to be resources like documents, tools, procedures, and a shared vocabulary. The the developers of this theory, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, focused on the kinds of "social engagement" that caused learning to take place. People join groups and initially learn from the periphery. Eventually, they become more proficient through their participation as they move toward the center of the group. The situation in which the learning occurs has a significant effect on the learning.

After reading through this article, I kept coming back to this quote: "Rather than looking to learning as the acquisition of certain forms of knowledge, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger have tried to place it in social relationships - situations of co-participation." These are ideas I try to integrate into my classroom on a day-to-day basis because healthy social relationships can enhance learning experiences due to students becoming vested in goals. Students are more willing to put their feet outside of the box, without fear of sharing and participating in these learning environments---and they become active inside members of these groups, rather than outside onlookers.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share the same job or a common interest in a subject. They come together to form a link to help each other perform in the world around them. This article talks about the value of communities of practice and how and why they work.

Eckert, P. (2006). Communities of practice. ELL, 2, 683-685. In this article, Mrs. Eckert does a great job in simplifying what a community of practice entails and means. She allows you to visualize the communities you belong to as well as other communities of practice you interact with or observe on a daily basis. One important distinction is that the author of this work is written from the sense of sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology and not from an educator's mind set. Irrespective of this standpoint, you can see direct correlations to where students understand themselves and what communities of practice your own student population may fall under. In order to understand the social development of communities of practice Mrs. Eckert does a good job in breaking down common cores that can emerge from memberships. The linguistic side she writes, "A white working class Italian-American woman does not develop her ways of speaking directly from the larger categorical working class, Italian American, and female, but from her day to day experience as a person who combines those three memberships. Her experience will be articulated by her participation in activities and communities of practice that are particular to her place in the social order."(Eckert, 2006) Building upon that theory, she discusses the importance of social space "Emma Moore's study of teenage girls in Northern England (Moore 2003) traced the gradual split of a group of somewhat rebellious "populars" as some of them emerged as the tougher "townies" in their ninth year. In the process, the vernacular speech patterns of the "townies" intensified in opposition to those of their more Conservative friends". (Eckert, 2006) While the article sheds more light on the development of speech patterns and dialects through the medium of communities, we can also see the definition in practice in which a collection of people gather together over a common interest and then orients to their new surrounding

This is just a basic definition of communities of practice. It is a very easy way to understand it.

Communities of practice (CoP) are created through a community of people who have common interests. In communities of practice, Eckert (2006) explains "a community of practice develops ways of doing things, views, values, power relations, and ways of talking" (p.1). CoP's have a way of providing a personal identity and a way of speaking within a CoP.

The author's viewpoint on the learner interaction with content was interesting. Social learning is me and COPs are us.

This article makes the reader think. Janet Clarey poses the question "are social learning and communities of practice the same thing?" Her idea is that they are not. She makes the distinction between them as social learning is taking in all information from social settings. It cannot be tracked as far as acquisition of knowledge. Communities of practice focus on sharing and collaboration of information and can be tracked.

It's an interesting article. I think social learning might be part of a community of practice - I certainly use it that way. I use my professional network to learn and question and explore, much like Clarey describes. But it's within my community of practice, because I also share, invite, and collaborate as part of the process. I believe there is little dialogue in life that can be classified as cleanly as Clarey defines these terms - I think we fluidly move from one position to another.

This article compares and contrasts "social learning" and "CoPs." The major difference in my eyes has to do with the formality of the latter. CoPs aim to track the conversations and bring like-minded people with similar goals together to grow alongside each other. I appreciate this article as it gave me a clearer vision of CoPs.

This post's author discusses the differences between Social Learning (where learning is generally unorganized and done by observing, talking, questioning and learning is often not formal or unintenational) and Communities of Practice where learning is more intentional and happens between communities of individuals with common interests.

I like the table they provide that asks the question that a community of practice would ask for each category. I like how they always use the word "we" because of the community aspect.

This is a great intro to communities of practice. I've been referring to this site as I work on my creative expression. I like how its written in plain language and easy to understand. The way the theory is broken down is also really helpful.

I appreciated the definition. Specifically, I appreciated the distinction between a community and a community of practice based on these three characteristics: the domain (an identity defined by a shared interest(s), the community (engaging in joint activities. Interestingly, a website or having the same job/title is not a community unless there is mutual learning), and the practice (mutual interests do not make a community of practice; by definition, members must be practitioners.) I also found interesting that 1) learning can be the reason or an incidental outcome and 2) sometimes people may not even know that they form a community of practice (for instance, nurses meeting regularly at lunch to discuss their prof. practice.) Thank you for sharing!

Etienne Wenger-Trayner explains what CoPs are, where the idea originated, and how the idea of CoPs are being applied in different domains.

This website provides an introduction to Communities of Practice, which includes the characteristics of a CoP, examples of Communities of Practice, and how the theory is being applied.

This article was incredibly helpful in my comprehension of CoPs. It explains what they are, their three domains, what they look like, and how they are being applied in real life.

This is a great resource giving the reader an introduction to CoP - a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.. The best part of this resource are the 3 critical characteristics of a CoP (domain, community, and practice) explained well.

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.

Although many organizations create groups that include people of varying specialties to complete specific problems, people are organizing themselves into communities of practice, informal groups who share "expertise and passion" for a common interest. These communities are new to the business world because their spontaneous, informal nature makes them difficult to supervise. Managers cannot mandate communities of practice, they can only create a supportive environment. Members self select based on common interests and perceived advantage. The authors provide examples from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Hewlett-Packard. While communities should not be forced into creation, managers can cultivate them by identifying potential CoPs that will benefit the company's "strategic capabilities", provide infrastructure to them, and assess their value to the business through "nontraditional methods." Business managers need to realize the wealth of potential available to them through communities of practice.

Prior to my studies in the Educational Technology program, I had never heard of the term Communities of Practice. Until I read this article, I have only seen research about CoP in education. This article begins by discussing CoP in business, and how long CoP has been around as well its benefits for businesses. I was really surprised to hear how long CoP has been around, you would think more businesses would invest the time to develop them. A couple examples mentioned show that it can take up to a year or more before change is implemented, but the long term benefits are worth it. Also, I noticed that another article broke down information in a table, much like the "Snapshot Comparison" section in this article. This is a nice way to compare things in an easy to read and understandable format.

This article, while a bit longer, introduces and explains communities of practice in an in depth and thorough fashion. I enjoyed the comparison to real-life companies organization and the history coming all the way from Ancient Greece. Two of my favorite comments states that communities offer "creative ways that foster new approaches to problems" and "they give you both the golden eggs and golden goose that lays them". It makes me realize how essential deeper understanding and knowledge can be developed within these types of communities. The article also develops an understanding of a comparison chart of different types of work groups to show when using communities of learners are most effective.

Learning is the process of participation and does not just have a beginning and an end. Learning is ongoing and must be collective within communities. Learning is not just a form of knowledge but is co-participation and social relationships.

This quote from the article: "A Personal Learning Network can be seen as one's gateway to continuous learning" is a true statement. Continuous learning is vital in life. This article has some remarkable points that make PLNs so important and an easier way to gain knowledge.

I think this article illustrated a number of valid points. This day and age only thrives with the means of PLN's. When we look in the past back to the 80's and 90's, it is very evident how we've evolved as a society. Back then, it was almost unheard of to have practical means of communication among those across the nation and across the world. We are so fortunate for the advancements of modern technology and networking.

This article built a strong case for belonging to a Personal Learning Network. It is imperative to keep up with today's resources and knowledge base. The small amount of time I used to build my PLN has proven to be so beneficial. I appreciated the final thoughts of the article to help guide me throughout this process. I am excited to strengthen my PLN and grow professionally this semester and beyond.

This article makes a case as to why Personal Learning Networks are an important part of continuing education. She describes this age as one of constant influx and change and therefore encourages people to use their PLN's to tackle new practices with a sense of creativity and innovation.

This is a great article to pass on to educators who want to know why a PLN is necessary and how connectivist theory makes it possible. Connectivism facilitates continuous learning, exchange of thoughts, and validates insights. Establishing networks allow teachers to tailor a professional development plan, and it doesn't need to take place at the faculty meeting or on teacher work days.

This elaborates on how chaos theory relates to all this, something I didn't really understand until I read this particular article. Additionally, it gives you an idea about the skills required in order to build a proper PLN... Here's a telling quote from the article... "In short, the concept of teams working shoulder to shoulder every day, literally and metaphorically standing by each other, talking over problems and challenges at their desks, is slowly being replaced by virtual teams who interact via social tools and platforms, use Webex for meetings, and update each other via enterprise social networks and WhatsApp. This is why the skill of being able to build one's Personal Learning Network is essential. It's time for everyone to take charge of their own professional development. One of the ways to keep on top of our game, and remain on the cutting edge of relevant skills and knowledge, is to be a part of communities of practices and to focus on building and maintaining our Personal Learning Networks with a deliberate intention to learn, share, and collaborate."

I really like this article. It is always good to read about the "why" behind our practices. The article explains that "A Personal Learning Network can be seen as one's gateway to continuous learning." This reminds me of the thinking behind connectivism, that connecting to a network of resources and people will help us become lifelong learners as we continuously connect to new resources and knowledge.

Wegner talking about CoP. Again, although it is a short summary overview, it makes several key points which help my understanding. Firstly that the challenge which can arise in a CoP can become like a sort of curriculum which is wired on and developed. Learning, sharing happen and even new knowledge creation. As he talks about tools he makes it clear that such online tools are not in themselves CoP bbut the tools which enable them. Interesting and digestible.

I like this overview a lot. Thank you for posting. He makes CoPs sound so helpful and the people that are in them so positive and available. It makes me want to join one right now!

I enjoyed this video quite a bit. He's point at 3:25 regarding the correct usage of tools in CoPs seems obvious, but it emphasizes the need for management and organization in successful CoPs.

I really like that you chose a video. This is a great summary of what a CoP is and what it needs to be successful! Defining a community of practice is not easy but using the correct tools appropriately can make all the difference!

This was refreshing to watch a video instead of reading an article about these topics. I think that it was powerful when he mentioned that it is the learners duty to organize and be in charge of how they would like to learn and what they would like to learn. We interact daily with our coworkers, friends, family, etc. We can and do learn from all of them, it is up to how what we want to learn and to what extent.

I really enjoyed watching this video. I had searched for some videos on Communities of Practice, but this is clearly the best one I have seen. It provides a clear explanation of CoP's and even some information on what it takes in order to be successful.This is important because it shows what a successful CoP should look like.

This site describes communities of practice (CoP) as "groups of people who share a passion for something that they do, and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better." It then goes on to describe the history or CoPs, when and how to use them (providing a flowchart for cultivating communities of practice), and concludes with tips, examples, and related resources.

This resource outlines CoPs and provides relevant examples. Explains that the emphasis of these communities is the quality of content shared by individuals. States that the creator to consumer ratio is 0.07%. Where's the YOU?

This article provides an overview of, applications for, and tips the use of a community of practice.

This article give not only the basic idea of a CoP, but also gives tips and lessons, examples and stories, and more references for those interested in learning more. Some of the resources are in Dutch (?), so be aware.

Great summary of CoPs and their usefulness in education. I like how the article explains that they can be short term or long term depending on the purpose and goals of the community. I also really like the graphic and saved it to my desktop!

The image in this article is great! The tips section is also helpful when you are thinking about creating a CoP. Overall, great article with great examples.

This is a really great resource! Like Ryann, I love the image within this page. It really puts some of the important aspects of communities of practice in the simplest terms possible. I love the emphasis on key questions to ask when thinking about CoP. Consistent attitude is something that needs to be taken to all communities! If the purpose is to teach and learn, then the attitude needs to be there to match.

I like how clearly the difference between CoPs and PLNs are explained. CoPs are co-owned and there is a commitment to create together and work together. "The best communities of practice aren't just a framework for delivering the status quo" ... they become "a vehicle for systemic change'. A short and effective presentation.

I like this resource because it comes directly "from the source," Etienne Wenger, who came up with the terminology and brought the concept more into the forefront in education. The clear definition and examples of what a CoP looks like are also beneficial in reviewing the theory behind the concept. I also appreciate the background information Dr. Wenger provides in this resource, as it helps the reader to understand how communities of practice originated.

I posted a link to another publication by Wenger, but found this resource to be more succinct in the discussion of CoPs. As a new student in education, this summary is especially helpful when attempting to understand the "theory behind the concept".

Even though I am becoming more acclimated to the non-linear arrangements of websites and the Internet, in general, it is still nice to see a well formatted document that clearly lists its points and is somewhat old-fashioned in presenting more recently cultivated information. This is the type of arrangement I needed to help me visualize CoP's.

How to guide on using Communities of Practice in higher education.

A step by step guide for designing and cultivating CoPs from the Educause Library of free resources

I really enjoyed this article as it did provide a very clear distinction to a CoP and how they generate around a particular goal or common objectives. The one aspect of the article that I found really fascinating dealt with how to create a CoP and how it spoke of the cultivation of a CoP. It is not something that grows automatically, but must be intentional in nature. This requires the design, formalization of the community, and planning activities and core concepts for the CoP. It is not imperative that a CoP is fully structured from the beginning as the CoP will ultimately identfiy its main tenants over the period of growth.

This guide provides a practical interpretation of the theoretical underpinnings of communities of practice (CoPs) in higher education. The guide begins with a definition, review of the purpose of CoPs, as well as their lifecycle. The authors also outline the stages of development in a CoP. This section includes guiding questions and activities to help others facilitate the development process within their own CoPs. I found this resource to be helpful in visualizing the process of developing CoPs.

This source is set up differently than the others that I found. It is focused more on why communities are important, and how to build them. It also provides some good visuals that represent types of communities, how to grow communities, and different ways to grow and cultivate those relationships and communities.