A CoP is a Community of Practice. Tapped In is a virtual community that went online in 1997 through a grant from the National Science Foundation. It is still in existence today and would probably be another good source for the case study project in this class. May of the original features of Tapped in that were in pace when the initial article was written are still in place today including teacher office space, meeting rooms, new, a place to find resources, and a place to collaborate with other professionals. The emphasis of the project was built on Teacher Professional Development (TPD). I think this project was successful as the staff analyzed the needs and values of the users. Personally I can relate to the concept of CoP. One of my primary means for getting information about the LMS that I support and ideas for online pedagogy is through an electronic mailing list. I am part of a very active community that shares resources. I get many emails a day. Some I have immediate interest in, most I delete knowing that if I do need the knowledge I can search the archives and go back to the threads. I do agree that virtual communities work only if you have groups of people who are willing too to take the time to contribute to the body of knowledge. I believe that professionals will commit to a virtual CoP that they can find useful and validating.
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Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteLike you I'm a member of several e-lists that feed me information that I have an interest in. And the Delete key is always easy to use.
I think that virtual communities are really not that much different from real communities (except they can rise and fall very quickly). Tapped In has been successful because every new generation of teachers continue to discover its usefulness, education is an ongoing area of interest, and there is a large body of potential users. This is the recipe for building a successful CoP.
Like both of you, I too am a member of several communities that send me numerous emails. I have thought about unsubscribing. The problem is I'm afraid I will miss something. There are a lot of redundant messages, but there are a few that are informative and interesting. I have not looked at Tapped In, but Jennifer's blogs have perked my curiosity. I'm going to visit TI. Thanks, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteAll of this is so new to me. I get facebook updates, but I tend to find them frivolous and silly. I would like to find communities to join in which I have an interest in the subject matter. This class has given me some great ideas of websites to check out.
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