Building Online Communities of Practice Teresa Almeida d'Eça 19th APPI Conference Creativity: A Password to Success Lisbon, 20 April 2005

Aim of the session show tools that help build online communities of practice (CoPs) carry out online professional development (PD) have an impact on students bring a "breath of fresh air" into the learning process

Meet some Webheads in Action Webheads in Action Yahoo Group Michael Coghlan (Australia) Susanne Nyrop (Denmark) DafneGonzalez (Venezuela) Rita Zeinstejer (Argentina) Buthaina Al-Othman (Kuwait) Barbara Dieu (Brazil) Sharon Holdner (USA) Hala Fawzi (Sudan)

See where they are in the world!

What is a community of practice (CoP)? a group of people with a common interest and different levels of expertise who communicate synchronously and asynchronously and learn collaboratively, constantly scaffolding one another

The Webheads in Action community of practice a worldwide group of EFL/ESL teachers with a common interest: technology-enhanced EFL/ESL and different levels of expertise: newbies to experts who communicate daily through and chat and learn collaboratively, constantly supporting one another, as is happening today!

What types of tools do we use? 1 synchronous tools: live, real-time communication chat / instant messengers (IMs): Yahoo Messenger / MSN Messenger learning communities: Tapped In basic virtual classroom: Alado fully-featured vClass: Elluminate at Learning Times

What tools do we use? 2 asynchronous tools: delayed mode, not in real time web pages voice mail: HandyBits / Horizon-Wimba / SitePal (with animated avatars) learning management systems (LMSs): Yahoo Groups / Moodle blogs / photo blogs / audio blogs

What uses can these tools have? TEACHERS

What uses can these tools have? STUDENTS

How the Webheads have used these tools 1 professional development (PD) (webcasting) presentations BaW Yahoo GroupBaW Website Belnate Blogs: 1 Belnate Blogs: 1 (Learning Times) BaW05 AidenBaW05 Aiden (recording) (Alado) RecordingRecording of Michael Coghlan's presentation at Yahoo Messenger

How the Webheads have used these tools 2 team teaching planning & participant chats at YM socializing... Sunday chats at TI, at 12:00 GMT TESOL PP 104 Website Tapped In

How the Webheads have used these tools 3 synchronous and asynchronous discussions with students webcasting students' final projects (Buth Al-Othman and Dafne Gonzalez) Happy Online (a joint project organized by Aiden Yeh, with guest speaker Michael Coghlan) Alado Live / synch session Asynch discussion

How the Webheads have used these tools 4 voice mail HandyBits SitePal (with animated avatars) SitePal Bruno, 6F (17Mar05) Guilherme (8Apr05)Aiden Yeh (14Apr05)

How the Webheads have used these tools 5 blogs Blogger LiveJournal Bravejournal Xanga Custom-made Bee-coming a Webhead goin' upstream On The Trail Webhead Fiesta Blogging my thoughts away BelNATE blog Sus Nyrop's K-log Have Fun with English

How the Webheads have used these tools 6 photoblogs Buzznet audioblogs (Audio)Blogger Fabulous trips Webheads Cake Baking Adelaide, Education and Life World Around Webheads

Ingredients for creating and sustaining a CoP HIGH TOUCH human contact distributed CoP = high tech + high touch TI YG YM LT Alado moderator/s members collaboration socialization friendships f2f meetings Blogs HIGH TECH comm. tools

Conclusion Creating and sustaining a community of practice is a form of Creativity and a password to success! It has been so for many Webheads in Action and their students for more than three years. Join us and take part in the fun and F.U.N. (Frivolous Unanticipated Nonsense) of online collaborative teaching and learning. You will enjoy it... and so will your students! Thank you!

References Jones, Chris. What is a Community of Practice? TESOL 2003.What is a Community of Practice? Stevens, Vance. Voices having heard F.U.N. in online communities of practice. TESOL 2004.Voices having heard F.U.N. in online communities of practice Webheads Index Page If you have any comments or questions, please me at