Individuals with common interests, anywhere in the world, being able
to communicate and collaborate with others to develop their interest
or move their thinking forward. Individuals getting together somehow
to learn; to learn not in a formal classroom and not in isolation, but
to learn as part of a community, a community that is enabled and
supported by Internet technologies and tools. A community of
individual learners, who are happy to share what they know, what they
are doing and what they are thinking with others. By sharing their
learning they would be stimulating and supporting the learning of
others.
Sounds like a good idea, and the good news, web supported Communities
of Practice are here today, available to anyone who wants to create
one, or join one.
I have followed some of the discussions at
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/facilitating-online-communities?hl=en
and have begun to relate them to my experience of setting up a
community. In January 2008 I set up a Community of Practice, a group
of people who share the an interest in ePortfolios and PLTs.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/eportfolios-and-plts?hl=en You do
not need to be a ‘brain surgeon’ to be able to handle the ICT/
technical bits needed to set up a community but you do need a reason
or some motivation to make you do it. It took 10 minutes to create the
Group using Google Groups. I decided to do it, my motivation, simply
because having searched many different discussion groups/forums etc, I
was disappointed to find that ePortfolios and PLTs were not really
attracting much attention. I thought that they deserved more
attention. I suppose that was the stage where my arrogance/self belief/
enthusiasm came into play, I decided to do it.
The Group that I ‘decided’ needed to exist, does not include everyone
who has an interest in ePortfolios and PLTs, it only includes some. I
began to think about how Communities of Practice do actually ‘start’
or come into existence and how they evolve or develop.
To find a group of other people who have a similar interest is not
enough. There has to be some catalyst that brings individuals together
and initiates a dialogue. With your patience, and with my Reflective
Learner hat on, I will look back at the ePortfolio and PLTs group, and
try to explain how the 100+ individuals did come together.
I invited some people who I knew had an interest in ePortfolios and
skills; I, and early members, promoted the group through Blog posts
and discussions. Once members began to post to the Group, other people
found the group through internet searches. Although at this stage the
Group did develop a life of its own, it did need regular ‘pump
priming’ posts to keep the discussions going. I need to learn more
about the dynamics of Communities of Practice. Part on me thinks that
if a group does need regular posts to keep it going, there might not
be a real reason for the community to exist, or that a community must
have a ‘minimum’ membership level that will enable it to survive and
develop.
I am beginning to think that Communities of Practice have a Life cycle
starting with the initial ‘coming-together’; moving through an active
phase, where a percentage of the group contribute, through to the
disbandment stage when discussions are either exhausted or some agreed
objective has been achieved.
For an individual to want to join a Community of Practice there has to
be something in it for them. They need to either learn something, be
able to influence something, to do something that will benefit others
or raise their personal status or self esteem. Some might enjoy the
opportunity to communicate with others or simply enjoy and value
belonging to a group of like minded people.
To join a community is the easy bit. Having joined, individuals tend
sit back and follow discussions before they decide to contribute. If
the discussion is not of interest to them they will not contribute.
Once a Community of Practice has been formed there must be some ‘pump
priming’ discussions or activities that will engage others in the
Community, and will encourage them to contribute. It is not enough
that Web 2 provides the tools that enable individuals to contribute
and collaborate, the vast majority of individuals need encouragement
and support before they will participate and contribute. A lot needs
to be done to encourage and support individuals so that they do
contribute, participate and collaborate. Somehow, for Communities of
Practice to be ‘successful’, we need to encourage learners to develop
an attitude where they value their own thinking and believe that it
deserves to be shared with others
Effective participation is an important skill for learner of all ages.