OLC: The task and the search....

Started a new course on Wednesday, Online Learning Communities, which is part of the Online Learning Certificate Program, and got my assignments for the Fall term. The class member introductions revealed a variety of skills, educational and instructional experiences, and intentions for participating in the course. There appears to be a wide range of experience among the students as regards the development and design, the delivery, and the past participation in online learning environments. Reasons for taking the course were diverse and included

• building proficiency in building online learning communities and delivery of online courses for adult learners
• establishing online communities of practice to facilitate faculty work and build strong community participation in collaborative projects
• providing community socialization experiences for young students
• utilizing online learning community environments for collaborative sharing and problem solving
• exploration of the online learning community environment as a vehicle for delivery of developmental courses for older adult learners to further online self-learning and reduce fear of computer learning
• becoming familiar with the operation of various online learning communities and communities of practice
• applying online learning communities to rural education needs to improve student and faculty development opportunities

I always enjoy hearing what experiences and skills the other students bring to the class. We were asked to define community and what is involved in the building of community. I would say that a very important first step in building any community is to get people to "show up." Once there are members present, then the purpose for "showing-up" is an important factor in whether a communion of thought and action will follow through the member's level of participation and the dynamics of the group. The introduction of members and the sharing of intentions, skills, experience, and expertise provides a pathway to participation among group members and begins to "break the ice." I am anxious to read the mini-autobiographies of the group, which is similar to the profile that is sometimes available for members of online learning communities.

The Task and the search....

My first OLC task has been to peruse the net and locate three exemplar online communities of practice. My first method for finding information was to google "online communities" and follow links to various sites. Although I found a great deal of links, the terms did not yield what it seemed the task called for. For example, I found a great many social networks such as myspace.com, facebook.com, and others. Then, I googled "online learning communities' and that seemed to bring me closer to what I needed to find, except it seemed too broad and the focus seemed more on designing online course delivery rather than building community.

My next tactic was to ask a few people if they knew of any online communities that were helpful or useful for members--more than just social networks. The first community I visited was BizNik.com, Business Networking that Doesn't Suck, that caters to the business community in different cities around the US and offers employment networking and development opportunities as well as opportunities of collaboration and a variety of sharing venues. I surfed and googled and followed links to see just what was out there in cyberspace. Some communities are social, some require payment for membership, and others encompass particular disciplines, research projects, or professional practice. Finally, I reviewed articles about online communities of practice, since these types of communities seemed pertinent to building a meaningful space for collaboration and sharing within professional education environments. I found some excellent examples of collaborative and/or community spaces that might well fulfill my course task. I have roughly divided the communities I have found by intent: professional practice communities, professional networking/resource communities, and personal sharing/social networking communities as follows:

Professional Practice Communities/Project Communities

• CPsquare.org - The Community of Practice on Communities of Practice
• Learnweb.harvard.edu - Portal for Two Educator Learning Communities
  * learnweb.harvard.edu/ent - A Community for educating teachers about uses of new technology
  * learnweb.harvard.edu/alps - A Learning Community of Educators Dedicated to the Improvement of Education
• ProjectZero.org - Community Driven Commercial Development of Software -experimental dynamic interaction with user communities to inform development
• Webheads.info - Online Community of Practice of Teachers and Educators Practicing Professional Development through Web 2.0 and Computer Mediated Communication
• Dgroups.org - Development through Dialogue - An online home for groups and communities interested in international development
• Ngolearning.org - LINGOs: Learning for International NGOs - Convenes, facilitates and supports a number of inter-agency communities that are formed around priority topics such as project management
• Learningtimes.org - An open community for education and training professionals with opportunities to interact and network with peers from across the globe.

Professional Networking/Resource Communities

• Biznik.com - Business Networking that Doesn't Suck
• TeacherTube.com - An online community for sharing instructional videos
• Elluminate.com/community - Elluminate e-learning products commercial user community for live eLearning and web collaboration
• SeniorNet.org - A technology access and education community for 50+ seniors

Personal Sharing/Social Networking Communities

• Well.com - A Destination for Conversation and Discussion
• elearningcommunity.com - E-learning Community 2.0 - A social site for knowledge seekers and a marketplace for infopreneurs

In surfing the net to find exemplar communities of practice, I found many interesting sites, articles, and research projects. I look forward to delving into more OLC topics and related sites and learning the best practice for creating online learning communities.