Please note: This blog post is a course related assessment for the Master of Arts in Learning and Technology program at Royal Roads University.
For assignment 2, I chose the topic of Communities of Practice in Higher Education. As an individual who works in a teaching and learning centre, Communities of Practice are often used to bring people together with a similar interest and with varying levels of knowledge and experience on the topic. With several new technologies being introduced in my workplace, I thought this topic would be appropriate to review the literature on Communities of Practice, to have academic research backing my suggestions of implementing Communities of Practice in the near future.
I look forward to reviewing any questions you may have, completing the second phase of this assignment and updating you shortly on if my suggested Community of Practice idea is implemented at Durham College.
Please visit the Google Sheet to view the spreadsheet in a new window.
Deborah Carter says:
Before commenting on CoPs, I browsed the CAFE @ Durham College. The website reflects a dedicated team serving faculty. Fingers crossed that your suggestion of CoPs will be (or has been?) accepted as an implementation.
I focused my browsing to Learning Technology section. I found a resource [Create your own video] crafted by one of your colleagues, Erin Banit. As soon as I saw the paper cup holder, I had to try it. Kudos to Erin and the team at CAFE. Thinking way too far ahead in the course, Assignment 4 in LRNT 524 is a video. I did not see Creative Commons licensing on the resource. I wonder IF you and the CAFE team would be receptive to offering the resource to our colleagues in LRNT 524 with the caveat that any questions or concerns beyond the resource go to the Royal Roads University IT services, of course. Thanks for that brief preamble.
You stated:
With several new technologies being introduced in my workplace, I thought this topic would be appropriate to review the literature on Communities of Practice, to have academic research backing my suggestions of implementing Communities of Practice in the near future.
With that purpose in mind, I wonder how you honed your annotated bibliography to those five articles.
Your statement illustrates how often in the role of practitioner, we need to choose the research path that seems to fit the best for our purpose and audience. I am sure you found the CoPs research had many paths and contexts to follow. I appreciated how you situated the research studies in their contexts when commenting in your Google Doc.
I am not sure IF you will be continuing with this path in LRNT 524 or of any other research you have overviewed. I will take this opportunity to offer two resources that I consider in my practice. I have added links to the website with the authors’ bios or additional resources:
Wenger, E., White, N., & Smith, J. D. (2009). Digital habitats: Stewarding technology for communities. Portland, OR: CPsquare.
website: http://technologyforcommunities.com/about-the-book/about-the-authors/
Wenger-Trayner, E., Fenton-O’Creevy, M., Hutchinson, S., Kubiak, C., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (Eds.) (2014). Learning in landscapes of practice: Boundaries, identity and knowledgeability in practice-based learning. New York: Routledge.
website: http://wenger-trayner.com/resources/
Looking forward to further conversations along the way in LRNT 524.