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Almost the first thing that gets built when anything needs management is a good measurement system. It allows tuning, enables detection of deviations from norm, and gives feedback on the effect of changes and initiatives. Communities of practice are complex creatures, and thus their measurement is not simple. The number of perspectives that can be used is enormous. At the same time, the availability of data for each of them is very different, and the temptation to use subjective management impressions is high. So the history of CoP management is full of references to indicator-building, to attempts at significant reporting, and to a wide variety of more or less objective measurements. But we have not found a coherent, complete set of measurements that could be used to consistently evaluate not just one CoP, but a set of them, and eventually even to benchmark different ones, along most of the lines that can be affected by management. So we've attempted to put forth a simple, practical list and brief explanation of straightforward indicators that can be implemented in most CoPs, and especially in those with an online component. The first result of it is the linked white paper, but it should not be the last one.

Welcome to the DARwiki, a resource and a meeting place for distributed action researchers. If you are new to Wikis you may like to visit introduction to wiki or experiment in the sandbox. You can also ask for help by adding a question here.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) Primary purpose SROI aims to help organisations understand and manage the social, environmental and economic benefits (value) that they are creating. It is a measurement approach, developed from traditional cost-benefit analysis that captures the economic value of social benefits by translating social objectives into financial measures and focuses on the most important sources of value as defined by stakeholders.1 The SROI model developed by nef is designed to promote the inclusion of all stakeholders' voices in the way organisations make decisions about allocating resources.

"Online community building is a key role of a the community manager, This role is a fairly new one, and although it has its roots in the roles of those who managed bulletin boards and discussion forums - when they were often known as facilitators - the role is still emerging and evolving. However, the role of a Community Manager is essentially to encourage, foster and support the engagement of participants in the community, although the way this takes place will depend on the nature and purpose of the online community"

"Community manager is a role that more companies will adopt in the coming years. Jeremiah Owyang provide a huge list of companies who have such a champion already, and more recently gave businesses a scorecard for whether startups should have a community manager. "

"One of the top 10 questions in social media marketing asked is "How do we kick start our community?" This post aims at providing some resources for brands that are preparing their community strategy. The old adage of the field of dreams isn't true -if you build it-they won't neccesarily come. Brands must have a kick start plan to be successful with their community. Below, I'll list out some practices I've heard from companies that have had successful communities, and I'd ask you chime in and add more ways, let's get started, I'll be as specific and actionable as possible."

"As a matter of fact, the questions that zip through my mind everytime I think of how I can improve my own skills at community building, are so many that I always end up with more unanswered doubts than solutions. * How do you nurture engagement inside your community? * How do you keep the community going? * How do you get people to socialize inside a new community? To get some answers to these critical questions, I have briefly taken hostage online facilitation and community-building expert Nancy White during her last Rome visit, a few days ago.Nancy is a truly experienced person in this area and she always speaks out of the ongoing in-depth experience she has with real communities, both online and in real life. Her answers are non-technical, pragmatical, and if you are not into community building yet, quite enlightening."

"So you want to build an online community? Here's how you do it."

"Networks grow from separate nodes, to a hierarchical organization where one node manages the connections, but the true power of a network is unleashed when every node knows what the goal is and the nodes coordinate to achieve it. It is this unleashing of the power of the network that we want to facilitate. But if you build it, they may not come. Networks take nurturing. Using the gardener or landscaper metaphor, yesterday I said that networks need seeding, feeding, and weeding. "

Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what's possible. This is good news for those of us intent on changing the world and creating a positive future. Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections. We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage, and commitment that lead to broad-based change.

Why Facilitate Online? Online group interactions do not always "happen" spontaneously. They require care and nurturing: facilitation. The core of facilitation and hosting is to serve the group and assist it in reaching its goals or purpose. Some describe this role as a gardener, a conductor, the distributed leadership of jazz improvisers, a teacher, or an innkeeper. It can be this and more. Levitt, Popkin and Hatch, in their article "Building Online Communities for High Profile Internet Sites" wrote, "Communities are organic in nature and site owners can't make them successful or force them to grow. As site owner can only provide the fertile ground on which a community may grow, and then provide some gentle guidance to help the group thrive. Much of the challenge in fostering an online community is social, rather than technical." Facilitation is a balance between functions that enhance the environment and content, create openness and opportunity, and functions that protect the members from harassment.

Content and Community (CoPs with Nancy White) We have talked throughout this series on communities of practice about "content." Well, what the heck is content, why is it important and how do we make the most of it - especially when there is a LOT of it. First the what and why, then one idea about how to work with volume.

There are growing expectations among college students to be able to access and manage their course materials over the World Wide Web. In its early days, faculty would create web pages by hand for posting this information. As Internet technologies and access have matured over the past decade, course and learning management systems such as Blackboard and Web CT have become the norm for distributing such materials. In today's Web 2.0 world, wikis have emerged as a tool that may complement or replace the use of traditional course management systems as a tool for disseminating course information. Because of a wiki's collaborative nature, its use also allows students to participate in the process of course management, information sharing, and content creation. Using examples from an information technology classroom, this paper describes several ways to structure and use a wiki as a course management tool, and shares results of a student survey on the effectiveness of such an approach on student learning.\n\nKeywords: Wiki, Course Management, Collaboration, Web 2.0, Content Creation, Student Learning.

Mediated Cultures: Digital Ethnography at Kansas State University netvibes site for mike wesch's course using rss feeds etc

mike wesc purpose driven research project on anonymity kansas uni ethnography/social anthropology on web 2.0 trends

Extending the grid to support collaboration

Need to check whether the report has anything appropriate with regards to the Huddersfield project trial. May be lessons to be learned with regards to using collaborative online software to reduce meeting times.

Etienne Wenger is one of the founding fathers of Social Learning Theory and the concept of "Practiced Communities". People are learning together - every individual deals and engage in many different communities of practice. Here people negotiate and define what competence and knowledge is. To know something or to be competent builds on the individuals experiences of being in the world - learning is a constant transformation or journey of the self.

Twitter: Better Late Than Never Tuesday, April 7, 2009 With so many high-caliber people finally digging in (acquiesce?) to the utility of Twitter, I'm finding myself approach such widespread new-found enthusiasm with mixed emotion. On the one hand, I'm grateful that people are finally realizing what we've been saying for years: Twitter can be an extremely powerful tool/experience. On the other hand, I feel somewhat dismayed that it has taken so long for folks to catch on. Regardless, I'm excited for the direction now being taken by leaders in my new district.

Introduction to Blogs

Basic introduction to blogs which could be useful for colleagues involved with your trials.