She also used the Common Craft video on social networking.
She asked us to think about the networked teacher and their personal learning network [PLN] - no two teachers will have the same PLN, even though they may overlap. And so, creating a PLN is not about the tools or technology. You are in control of your own PLN; indeed, in your own PLN, you are the facilitator!
She then asked us to think about communities of practice and what they meant to us ... some people were able to visualise them as villages ... nests even! But in each, there were people, a place, social interaction and common interests. Everyone agreed that developing one's own identity in a community of practice is very important.
Twitter is a community of practice, but is there knowledge creation as well as knowledge sharing going on [Bronwyn said she hadn't seen much of the former].
Tips for running successful communities ...
- Think carefully about their format ... are their activities designed to work in real time or can they be completed asynchronously?
- Will they be large or small, public or private?
- Who will own the community?
- What is the purpose of the community? - there is a need to keep communities relevant and focused, or people will lose interest.
- Consider putting a poll on the front page of your community to try and engage people from the beginning.
- Generate content .... not just knowledge share ... that people can walk away with.
- Accreditation and recognition - ways to give people something
- Rhythm ... get a mental calendar going for people ... meeting, newsletter circulation ie a core of activity ... and keep to the dates that have been agreed.
Quest Atlantis Global Teacher Community - Bronwyn doesn't create content but she pulls it together from teachers [and many are in overseas locations]
Other examples of communities of practice ...
Tapped In
Classroom 2.0
Scratched -
MirandaNet
Jokaydia
ICT Register
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