Resources

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beachhttp://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com

http://ncaect.wikispaces.com/

Define community.

A Definition of Community

Communities are quite simply, collections of individuals who are bound together by natural will and a set of shared ideas and ideals.

“A system in which people can enter into relations that are determined by problems or shared ambitions rather than by rules or structure.” (Heckscher, 1994, p. 24).

The process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations. (Wikipedia)

Virtual Learning Communities of RelationshipA community built on relationships promotes special kinds of connections among people. These connections might be based on a shared concern, issue or learning problem, but in each instance, the emphasis is on the relationships built among participants. Issues of commitment, trust and values are inherent in any relationships which emerge in the community. (Teacher Leaders Network)

Virtual Learning Communities of PlaceIndividuals in this type of community enjoy a common habitat or locale. (My Space, Second Life, World of Warcraft)

Virtual Learning Communities of PassionCommunities of passion reinforce people's commitment to other people, to common goals, shared values and shared conceptions of being and doing. This can be as trivial as a shared interest in wine making, or as profound as a shared search for truth.

Virtual Learning Communities of MemoryA virtual learning community of memory is based on a shared past or a common sense of history. (Holocaust Survivors Network)

Looking Closely at Learning Community Design

4L Model (Linking, Lurking, Learning, and Leading) inspired by John Seeley Brown http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/2006/06/roles-in-cops.html

This model is developed around the roles and interactions members of a community have as participants in that community.

Linking  These are visitors who find a community by one means or another. They may have bookmarked the site or added it to their RSS reader. They are in a “testing” mode to determine if this community if of interest to them and worth giving more of the time and attention.

Lurking Often the largest segment of a community, these individuals pay attention to the activity of the group and occasionally participate in various activities. Wenger calls this group Legitimate Peripheral Participants (LPP). They may be interested in greater involvement, but either don’t feel worthy or don’t know how. For others the content may only be peripheral to their work. 

Learning These are regular visitors who contribute to the community regularly. They are considered “members” of the community. Occasionally , they may take on a project or event leadership role as either an “audition” for a more core role or as a way to lead despite overall time unavailability.

Leading At the core of a community are the Leaders of that community. Leadership is a matter of commitment and willingness to contribute on a consistent basis. Leaders may or may not be designated via title. Roles, other than community coordinator, may evolve as needed. Wenger says it is the responsibility of leadership to “build a fire” of activity that is strong enough to draw people to the community and encourage greater participation.

consumer - The first phase is where participants (often referred to as lurkers) simply read and explore the posts of others. Far from being passive as the word lurker suggests, consumers can be very active participants in an online community - just not yet visible to others.

commentor - as this label suggests, these people make comments on others posts (either on blogs, or in discussion forums), often seeking clarification, agreeing with a statement, or offering a suggestion or link to something similar.

contributor - as this label suggests, contributors are those who have started their own blogs or who initiate new threads on discussion forums. They are confident about putting forth their own ideas etc.

commentator - a commentator is someone who frequently takes a 'meta' view of what is going on, providing a level of leadership within the community. Their contributions will often draw attention to the 'bigger picture', making links with other work - analyzing and synthesizing the contributions of others.

NETWORKING IN COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

helps us reach for helps us reach for what we need, what we need,

according to our according to our contexts and contexts and

knowledge levels.knowledge levels.

provides us with provides us with opportunities for opportunities for

experiential experiential learning with learning with different tools different tools and platformsand platforms

builds an online builds an online professional and professional and social presencesocial presence

helps us gain confidence and practicehelps us gain confidence and practice and then apply experience and then apply experience

to our teaching and learning. to our teaching and learning.

MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACHSYNCHRONOUS

ASYNCHRONOUS

PEER TO PEER WEBCAST

Instant messenger

forumsf2f

blogsphotoblogs

vlogs

wikis

folksonomies

Conference rooms

email Mailing lists

CMS

Community platformsVoIP

webcam

podcasts

PLE

Worldbridges

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/google_whitepaper.pdf

My community work…

Del.icio.us

http://del.icio.us/abpcjohn

Tech Enhanced Learninghttp://techenhancedlearning.wikispaces.com/ 21st Century Teaching and Learninghttp://abpc.wikispaces.com/

21st Century Wiki

Wikis

Tech Enhanced Learninghttp://techenhancedlearning.wikispaces.com/

21st Century Teaching and Learninghttp://abpc.wikispaces.com/

EduBloggerConhttp://edubloggercon.wikispaces.com/

21st Century Collaborative Wikihttp://21stcenturylearning.wikispaces.com

Look at What We Can Build When We Work Together!

Blogs and RSS

My Bloghttp://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com

RSShttp://www.bloglines.com/public/snbeach

Blogging Communityhttp://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers

Blogs

Elluminate

Tapped In Discussion

Really active and consistent participation within the community. Community members really start to moderate themselves. It isn't just the moderator that handles issues. And members greet someone when they are new and answer questions and do not just point newbies to a FAQ doc. Members have a sense of ownership.

Size of the community isn't as important as results. Participants ask themselves what is the benefit of membership? What is the value added?

What Makes a Healthy Community?

Don't freak out when you have a problem in the community. Communities, like families, have problems. You can work through them.

Community organizers should view their role as part of the community, not feel they own it.

Ranking should be made on the value of the contribution, not the number of times you post. If it is just the number of times you post, then a person who is a drag on the community might be considered high status because of frequency of posting.

Better title for the organizer is community instigator. Have the philosophy that everyone is a leader. Ask what do you bring? Where are your talents? There is a place for everyone and everyone in their place.

Is there such a thing as a community that is too large? If it is too big, you have to think through how to break down areas and build community for the new subset communities.

What Makes a Healthy Community?

Community organizers should view their role as part of the community, not feel they own it.

Ranking should be made on the value of the contribution, not the number of times you post. If it is just the number of times you post, then a person who is a drag on the community might be considered high status because of frequency of posting.

Better title for the organizer is community instigator. Have the philosophy that everyone is a leader. Ask what do you bring? Where are your talents? There is a place for everyone and everyone in their place.

Is there such a thing as a community that is too large? If it is too big, you have to think through how to break down areas and build community for the new subset communities.

What Makes a Healthy Community?

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.Alan Cohen

Quality teaching requires strong professional learning communities. Collegial interchange, not isolation, must become the norm for teachers. Communities of learning can no longer be considered utopian; they must become the building blocks that establish a new foundation for schools.

- National Commission on Teaching, 2003, p.17

Questions…Comments… Discussion