What is a Learning Community ?

I believe a learning community is a coming together of Individuals who are interested in developing their knowledge on a particular topic. 

The dictionary definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community ) of community, refers to "those living in the same locality", therefore community requires a commonality of location for individual participants. 

When we consider this in the online world, the commonality of location is very important as this may be the only forum where dispersed participants or community members are able to meet. Therefore it seems to be essential that there is an online space that is a dedicated resource for the community to develop in and around, such as a LMS, website, wiki or blog.

McInnerney and Roberts (2004) propose that along with "a gathering of people" a community also requires "a sense of belonging". From my experiences with various online communities, as mentioned in my previous post, I can appreciate how a 'sense of belonging' is an essential component to individual participation in a community, as it encourages a feeling of security and as a result enables participants to find their voice; by having the courage to comment and communicate within the community.

So a learning community requires a collection of participants with a common desire to develop knowledge in a central accessible location where participants can feel secure. 

Blogging is always an interesting exercise, as it often generates more questions for me, but perhaps that is the underlying purpose. I look forward to hearing my colleague's perspectives on learning communities to formulate a final understanding of what makes a learning community, particularly as it relates to online.

Learning Communites I have been involved in for EDIT517

The following series of blogposts serve to support my participation in a unit of study which contributes to my Graduate Certificate of eLearning, 'eLearning Communities EDIT517'

In this post I will list learning communities that I have had experience with. In subsequent postings I will consider the definition of a learning community.

If you are interested in discovering in more detail my journey with eLearning so far you can refer to my previous blogpost, however to keep on track I will list the online learning communities that I have previously been involved in and briefly comment on the nature of the community and my involvement. 

Australia eseries is a group of enthusiastic learning professionals from many areas of education and adult learning who come together to share information and collaborate with other professionals. As the name suggests it is targeted at Australian educators however it is not limited to Australia as they have connections with Steve Hargadon's 'Classroom 2.0 Live', being a similar American online learning community.

I have tracked the activities of the group on and off over the past 2 years and participated in some Webinars. There is always something going on with this group, to keep participants interested and the the community managers/facilitators encorage involvement by community participants.

C4LPT is an online learning community that is designed for an audience of workplace educators with a focus on workplace learning. The founder Jane Hart is famed for her annual compilation of Top 100 online tools for the year gone by. 

I came across the work of Jane Hart when I first discovered the Internet Time Alliance. 

I have not yet participated in one of the online courses on offer (at a small fee).

Communities of Practice (CoP) in my workplace setting

In my workplace there are several communities of practice that are currently available and I am involved in. below I have outlined 2 communities that require my involvement ad part of my job role. 

• NSW Learning CoP comprises various L&D professionals from within my organisation, from Commercial Insurance (CI) Personal Insurance (PI) and Learning Advice Services (LAS) who come together bi-monthly or quarterly via Video conference to discuss current issues and share ideas. I have actively participated in this community in an effort to organise and conduct the synchronous sessions to enable the community to 'stay alive' amongst the many busy participants. 
• National Training Capability Leader (TCL) CoP Is a newly formed community forum. Whilst the participants within the community have all been working in the same capacity for over 2 years, the synchronous forums (via Video conference) have only just commenced. This will be a good example of a developing community that I will be able to observe as it grows and develops. I have had little to do with the co-ordination of this community and intend to involve myself as a participant rather than a coordinator.

There are many learning communities that I would like to be involved with however my work and home commitments do not allow the time. One community that I am very keen to further explore is Jokaydia particularly as it relates to Massively Minecraft (Minecraft is currently my 10 year old son's 'thing')

From this day forward

I have returned. It has been over a year since my last post and I am committed to posting frequently (committing but not to a timeframe, we shall see how it goes). I am planning to use this blog as a journal/eportfolio/bookmark repository for my own purposes. To record what I read, what I think about what I read and also what I need to come back to.

I am still employed as a TCL (Training Capability Leader) and I am undertaking a Grad Cert in eLearning with UNE. I go through phases of favorites. At the moment I am keenly reading for my course, sometimes I am all consumed by Twitter, other times I am reading blog posts, while all the time still listening to my Podcasts and watching TED talks.

I am currently reading A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011). Today I spent some time watching videos from The COFA Online Gateway http://online.cofa.unsw.edu.au/ . I stumbled upon this link from Stephen Downes' oldaily newsletter to which I subscribe via email. These posts are not intended to proliferate with philosophical thoughts(although there may be a few) but rather to keep me on track, wherever that track may lead.

Background info on me for EDIT521

I am employed as a Training Capability Leader (TCL), because you can't have an acronym for the title 'Trainer,' and in the Insurance industry acronyms are rampant. I have been in this role (or variations of this role) for 7 years; you may have already guessed that I love my work and the business(es) I work in. My work currently requires face to face training of new starters who will be working in a call centre selling insurance products directly to customers. I must say that these people are all amazing and they work really hard, they make my job so rewarding. Where have I been? My journey with eLearning began 3 years ago when I commenced maternity leave with my youngest son. I was keen to keep my mind active, whilst spending time at home with a tiny baby and I wanted to find out more about eLearning and online facilitation, so I enrolled in an 'online facilitation' course with Gipps TAFE, this was a great intro to using tools such as Blackboard, Elluminate and just generally to what online learning was really about. When this course was completed and the baby was out and in a routine, I committed to another course titled 'Facilitating online communities 2010' (FO2010) with Sarah Stewart from Otago Polytechnic NZ. This course changed my perspective about learning online, and was instrumental in directing me to where I am today. Learning online is no longer one of my interests it is and is fundamental to who I am. That was all a bit deep wasn't it? So I have built an online network of resources and tools that keep me informed about current trends in eLearning and any new tools that are available (usually open source). I have dabbled in MOOCs (Massive Open Online courses) and I am willing to admit that I am addicted to podcasts and my iPhone; which allows me access to Twitter and FeeddlerPro (to read blogposts). I felt as if I had really turned a corner as an L&D professional and when I returned to work, after 18 months, my role had changed, I was no longer the dedicated State training resource within a growing insurance business (Apia) but I was now part of a team of 17 trainers across NSW which services 4 major businesses and 12+ smaller businesses, within one of the biggest General Insurers (Suncorp) in Australia, but I felt like I had stepped back in time. No-one really was interested in what I had developed into a keen hobby and wanted to develop into my professional practice.Hardly anyone used Twitter, and if they did it was mostly for personal use with friends rather than professional development. I was witnessing all of this amazing work happening in The field of Educational Technology (via my PLN) but I was just standing on the outside looking in. I am determined to make a change in my organisation, so I ask nearly everyone if they listen to podcasts or TED talks and what they recommend. When I hear of people who are studying online I want to know what tools they use, how they manage their learning and what they like or dislike about their learning. Yes I am one of those (annoying) people who asks lots of questions when they first meet someone. I also latched onto our internal social media tool -Yammer, and slowly but surely I am getting people (both frontline staff and Trainers) connected to Yammer and some do use it, but would post maybe once a month. Where am I going?  I want to provide training that is available online or face to face and a blend of both, I think flexibility is what people require to allow them to manage their busy work and personal schedules. I would like to find ways to deliver training to existing staff using webinar tools, share info through social media, promote a culture of self-directed learning. I have access to Microsoft suite of products at work and have used Microsoft Office Live Meeting tool to deliver a one hour training session, however this was not received well as the learners were all in the same role but spread across the country in various locations, and they were keen to meet face to face and expected training to be an opportunity to achieve this, whereas their manager was determined to save costs. 

?Week 10 - Why do I want a website, I've got a blog?

For the past 2 years I have been sporadically blogging; usually depending on which course I am completing. When I considered the option of a website I was a little confused as I don't have a business to advertise or promote, I am just a person, why do I need a website?I have a blog. then I took the time to watch Pilar's video on Google sites, how easy is it to create a site, and with the assistance of 'templates' I could see why and how I could use a blog.

 This time next year my family (my husband, 2 sons aged 8 yrs and 2 yrs) and I intend to travel from the east coast to the west coast of Australia, over a 3 month period. The details are still coming together but my plan is to support my son in keeping a blog as a daily or weekly record of where we travel and what we see, this way our friends and family back home can see what we are doing. When I saw the templates on Google sites I realised that we could have a website, that would serve to house photos, show a map record of our journey, countdown the days - the possibilities are endless!! and we could have our blog feed into the website.

It never ceases to amaze me at how creative people can be when you give them the opportunity. Often in my job I will be in a discussion with someone about a project they are working on and I will say that I saw a great tool that I think would work really well for them in what they are doing. I am slowly realising that you can't give others your vision, you have to put stuff (tools) out there and let them take what they need, when they need it. following on from what I have just said, and considering this weeks reading re:online activities I think that an important thing to remember when developing or creating online tools is to maintain a level of diversity and variety in the activities as different activities might suit different learners at varying stages in their development, so the trick is to not get stuck on one 'tool or technique' like - discussions (as I considered in my previous post) but rather mix it up and trust that some activities will be liked 'less' than others but perhaps this makes the preferred activities all the better.

So in consideration of this weeks task - What might be the advantages and disadvantages of using a class blog or student blogs for your class? Could a Google Site or web page make a good welcome for students?

A web page, class blog or wiki are all effective tools to welcome and layout a clear path for students to commence their learning journey. I think a key point is to gauge the level of pre-existing skill and exposure a particular learner has had to the technologies being used and then introduce the tools gradually, as we have been exposed to various tools over the weeks. I think that having a fabulously busy website with a plethora of technologies could be overwhelming for some learners and as we all agree put the pedagogy first and don't get caught up in the fancy tools and technologies. Try new things and see what works for your content delivery but also remember that new learners may respond to new tools so always be open to something new. The nature of change in our society is fast paced and as presenters of information and learning we need to 'keep up' with what's new. 

Week 10 - Focus on discussions

Image: Nuvola apps discussion

Of the several activities that Ko & Rossen outline in chapter 7 I am going to focus on discussions, as I have been thinking a lot about this over the past few days.
When I facilitate in a face to face environment with learners who are usually new to the concepts that I am delivering, I find that I can tell them or get them to read but often it is not until they verbalise the concept themselves that 'the penny drops'. This may relate specifically to their learning style, but it is a very neccessary part of their learning. Discussion is a key component in face to face training and I have seen some trainers sabbotage the learning by taking over the explanation and delivering the answer, rather than letting the learner think it through (out loud) which leads them to the answer.
Whilst I am familiar (& comfortable) with discussions in a face to face learning environment I have been thinking about how(& where) these discussions would take place in an online environment.
There are 'discussion boards' available on CMS (course management systems) which I have used before and have found them to be very useful if the facilitator interacts regularly and draws out the ideas and discussion going on.
Social Media such as Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter provide a forum to conduct discussions. Many groups will conduct synchronous 'tweetchats' which uses a particular hashtag and they meet regularly at a specific time and communicate on Twitter using this hashtag. I have not seen many egs of this lately. Using a hashtag always allows for an asynchronous chat, but I think the synchronous sessions allow for a more lively discussion.

On Saturday I participated in the Blackboard/Collaborate session presented by Eric Robertson on how to use Twitter. He showed us how to sign up for Twitter, Tweet using a hashtag, Retweet and direct message. The session was very participatory and allowed for an active discussion within the chatroll. I always find the opportunity to ask questions and comment in the chat to be very 'comfortable'. You don't need to run audio checks to ensure your mic is working and constantly worry that you have not muted yourself. So there is another forum for discussion. During this chatroll discussion I commented that I have been using Twitter more to read tweets, since I have it available on my phone, rather than tweeting myself. I was asked why this is the case, and it made me think of an answer. I know that last sentence sounds ridiculous but it was actually very relevant to me as I realised that this is another benefit of a discussion - you are actually asked questions, which stimulates your thinking. It stimulates your thinking more than if you were provided with a list of questions that have to be answered before or after a class/learning session.
I have considered many times studying using OER course schedules and pacing myself through the readings and answering the questions in ordder to solidify the 'stuff' (information) into my head, this is so static.I always seem to come back to MOOCs or online courses that offer some form of group interaction, and now I have a better understanding as to why....because it is interactive, engaging and it is 'lively' or 'alive'. The group that participates in the learning brings the material 'to life' by sharing their thoughts and interpretations, commenting on each others blogs and asking each other questions. Therefore I believe that 'discussion', in whatever form the facilitator (or the group) decide - whether synchronous or ashynchronous, is a key component for any online course.

As an aside....
Currently there is a lively debate going on about discussions conducted within Change11 MOOC. Several podcasts that I subscribe to (COOLCast & EdTech Weekly) have raised the issue. I have found this interesting and it has made me consider how I will conduct 'discussions'. From my limited understanding there is debate about which platform is the most appropriate to use when conducting weekly discussions with (guest) facilitators and multiple participants (as I understand it sometimes up to 70 people). I do not expect that I will ever have to contend with participants in excess of 20 in a course, so this is an interesting debate to watch develop as it could determine the success of MOOCs going forward.

Note: I still have not addressed this weeks requirements ....What might be the advantages and disadvantages of using a class blog or student blogs for your class? Could a Google Site or web page make a good welcome for students?


I am very taken by Google sites and am very appreciative for Pilar introducing these, I still really have to play around with the tools that Google offers and I know they have some great tools for discussion forums too.
This is my next task but I had to get the above blogpost published as it has been swishing around in my head. 

Image: Flywheel by innnovationtrail.org Creative commons licensed

Can Voicethread build community online?

The plethora of tools and technologies that we are offered in this course may be somewhat overwhelming at times but I think it is important to remember that as an online facilitator we aren't obliged to use all of the tools. You may use some of the tools as a learner to keep up to date in your field (I find Twitter particularly useful to pull in information) you may choose tools to collate information (bookmarking tools like Diigo and delicious) but I think Voicethread is a perfect tool for engaging learners and building an online community.

However, that said, I have not had much success engaging learners previously. See one of my previous blog posts Evaluate facilitation of my Voicethread asynchronous activities

Regardless of my lack of success, following are some examples of how Voicethread can be used to very effectively build a discussion online.

Take a look at this Voicethread presented by Michelle Pacansky-Brock https://voicethread.com/?#q.b908650.i4836718 The first slide contains many comments (both written and recorded audio) which may seem like a lot, but make sure you listen to the first 4 comments as this will also give you the opportunity to see how Michelle has visually recorded herself making a comment, which adds another dimension to this tool.

This Voicethread addresses Managing multi-membership in Social Networks, and offers some useful tips. (Note this Voicethread was linked in the blogpost referred to above)

I invite you to participate in How can you use Voicethread? even if you just make a comment as to whether you have ever seen Voicethread before or have you used it, maybe how you think you could use Voicethread in your practise.

If you are interested in creating your own Voicethread simply follow these instructions.....
http://screencast.com/t/YiPyTekFi