David, Robert, and others,
I've enjoyed lurking on this list.
As founder and director of Tapped In, the site (and research) the 
Robert mentioned, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about 
our site and our research.  Our latest paper on communities of practice 
is published in two places, The Information Society journal (2003), and 
in an edited volume
Schlager, M. S. and Fusco, J. (2004).  Teacher professional 
development, technology, and communities of practice: Are we putting 
the cart before the horse?  In S. Barab, R. Kling, and J. Gray (Eds.)  
Designing Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning. Cambridge 
University Press.
A draft copy is at http://tappedin.org/tappedin/web/papers/
best,
mark
On Dec 4, 2005, at 8:09 AM, David Rosen wrote:


> Colleagues,

>

> Robert Kelley, a member of the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education 

> Distance Learning Advisory Board, posted the message below about 

> online communities of practice to the Advisory Board's Moodle.  With 

> his permission, I am re-posting it here. Do you participate in an 

> online CoP?  If so, tell us about it. Who organized it? For what 

> purpose(s)? How does it work? What do you see as its benefits for you 

> and others? Is this discussion forum a CoP for you? If so, tell us 

> why.

>

> David J. Rosen

> djrosen at comcast.net

> -----

>

> I have been interested in and am currently working on developing 

> online communities of practice (CoP's) for teachers and 

> administrators.

>

> CoP's can be defined as small groups of people held together by “a 

> common sense of purpose and a real need to know what each other 

> knows... an effective hothouse in which new ideas germinate, new 

> methods and tools are developed, and new communities are rooted. The 

> CoP can help professionals gain access to, and facility with, ideas, 

> methods, content, and colleagues; help novices learn about the 

> profession through apprenticeship and peripheral participation; and 

> enable journeymen to become valued resources and community leaders 

> through informal mentoring and participation in multiple work groups."

> [ http://tappedin.org/tappedin/web/papers/2002/TIEvolution.pdf ]

>

> A community of practice is also a ‘community that learns.’ Not merely 

> peers exchanging ideas around the water cooler, sharing and benefiting 

> from each other’s expertise, but colleagues committed to jointly 

> develop better practices.” In the CoP literature, learning is viewed 

> as a social activity that occurs as newcomers and journeymen move 

> through an established community’s professional hierarchy toward 

> expertise.

>

> Learning opportunities occur primarily through informal interaction 

> among colleagues in the context of work. Newcomers gain access to the 

> community’s professional knowledge in authentic contexts through 

> encounters with people, tools, tasks, and social norms. New practices 

> and technologies are adopted by the CoP through the evolution of 

> practice over time. Thus, a CoP can be an effective hothouse in which 

> new ideas germinate, new methods and tools are developed, and new 

> communities are rooted.

>

> I've listed some papers that explore the theory and practical sides of 

> CoP's. The first link has research from one of the longest running 

> projects, called Tapped_In. It's pretty technical but deep into the 

> paper it discusses the common issues: 

> http://tappedin.org/tappedin/web/papers/2002/TIEvolution.pdf

>

> Some easier reading includes: 

> http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitywhatwhy.htm

> http://www.fullcirc.com/community/networkscatalystscommunity.htm

>

> Bob Kelley

> ---------------------------------------------------------

> National Insitute for Literacy

> Technology and Literacy mailing list

> Technology at dev.nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

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>

Mark Schlager
Associate Director of Learning Communities
Center for Technology in Learning
SRI International
333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025
mark.schlager at sri.com
(p) 650-859-2881 (fax) 650-859-3673
ctl.sri.com  www.tappedin.org  www.cltnet.org
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