Communities of Practice (CoPS)

       As I progress in learning to be an online educator, I realize that I want and need to collaborate with others that have the same interest not just for social purposes but to maintain teacher professional development.

        What I need is called a Community of Practice. “A community of practice consist of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger-Trayner, & Wenger-Trayner, (2015). I learned that Communities of Practice were common even in ancient times.  For example, in classical Greece, groups of various types of potters, masons and metalworkers bonded together for social purposes and a business function, training beginners and spreading modernizations.

       Presently, my Community of Practice consist of my professor and a classmate both have a passion for what they do, and I learn how to do better from our interactions. Informally we speak each week separately, they motivate me, and they share innovations and information.My goal is to grow my community of participants with functional expertise in online learning and instructional design that creates a culture of inquiry, interest, and problem-solving and explore other tools to stay connected and informed.

       A way that I could use Community of Practice throughout my profession as an online educator to stay abreast of new practices in my field is to remain involved with closed group discussions on Facebook and Twitter. Participation in an online community can foster frequent engagement, joint initiative, and a shared collection of expertise. “Twitter chats exhibit elements of CoPs and benefit teacher professional development” (Johnson, Bledsoe, Pilgrim, & Lowery-Moore, (2019). Some time ago, I joined a MATLT group on Twitter through the suggestion of a professor, and it was informative and useful for feedback, but I was remiss in continuing involvement in the chats.

       As an online educator, I can also develop or use existing CoPs to support students in online learning utilizing social networking sites to promote teacher and social presence and using chat discussions to engage the students by moderating a dialogue presenting an educational topic by developing five or six focused questions. In the online course that I am designing on the Jim Crow Laws, I am utilizing social networking sites for one of the discussions to motivate my students and stimulate conversations about the topic and to provide a platform for an exchange of views, information, and to establish a connection with peers.  



References

Johnson, M., Bledsoe, C., Pilgrim, J., & Lowery-Moore, H. (2019). Twitter: A Tool for Communities of Practice. SRATE Journal, 28(1). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1203420&site=eds-live&scope=site

Wenger-Trayner, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B., (2015). Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/