EGOCOPS E-Guides Online Communities of Practice

Workshop aims To report on the experiences of the EGOCOPs (online groups of E-Guides working in several different areas of learning) To present some ideas for creating and developing online communities of practice.

Workshop outcomes: By the end of the workshop participants should: understand how learning can be thought of as participation in a community of practice have acquired some knowledge of the EGOCOPs project and what was learned from it know some of the factors that can promote or inhibit the development of a successful online community of practice

What is a community of practice? A social entity recognised as such by its members who are bound together in a sense of joint enterprise that emerges from a mutual understanding of a problem, or issue, and a desire and commitment to solve it. (Peter Bond, 2004)

What have Communities of Practice got to do with learning? Learning lies in the relationship between people (rather than in the internalisation of knowledge) There is an intimate connection between knowledge and activity Educators should encourage the development of CoPs

Can a Community of Practice exist online? Yes – but…

EGOCOPs Aims: Develop and disseminate understanding and knowledge in six key professional areas for E-Guides Develop and disseminate understanding and knowledge in relation to online communities of practice and how best to moderate them

EGOCOP 1: ESOL EGOCOP 2: Family Learning EGOCOP 3: Making E-Learning Work for You EGOCOP 4: Skills for Life (Literacy) EGOCOP 5: Handheld Devices EGOCOP 6: EGOCOP Moderators The six EGOCOPs:

[Provisional at the time of writing as project evaluation is ongoing] Online communities can be a successful way of creating and sharing knowledge but… You will never be 100% successful with 100% of the participants EGOCOPs Lessons learned (1):

[Provisional at the time of writing as project evaluation is ongoing] Value was added by using not just discussion forums but a variety of communication tools (e.g. chat, wikis, blogs) Short timescales seemed to improve participation. EGOCOPs Lessons learned (2):

How to create a successful online Community of Practice 1.Think about timescale and boundaries 2.Choose one or more of the different communication tools that are available 3.Provide skilled and proactive moderation for discussion groups 4.Dont expect 100% success with 100% of the participants who sign up

1.Think about timescale and boundaries: Structured course or short intensive activity Discussion forum More open-ended group list (e.g. Apollo)

2.Choose one or more different communication tools Discussion forums (bulletin boards, message boards, computer conferencing) lists (mailing lists, groups) Blogs Wikis Chat Good, old-fashioned

3.Provide skilled and proactive moderation Provide lots of support at the start Consider the time required for successful moderation Think about Gilly Salmons five-stage model

Gilly Salmons five-stage model 5 Development 4 Knowledge construction 3 Information exchange 2 Online socialisation 1 Access and motivation

4.Dont expect 100% success with 100% of the participants who sign up!