Macdonald, Janet and Hewling, Anne
(2008).
| URL: | http://kn.open.ac.uk/document.cfm?documentid=8696 |
|---|---|
| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
As the name implies, distance tutors commonly work away from campus and rarely have an opportunity for ongoing support and informal development such as that enjoyed by campus based staff. In this context we believe there is much potential in making provision for the development of online communities. This Chapter describes four case studies of the establishment and evaluation of online communities of practice at the Open University (UK). Communities of practice are in use both as a central part of course related professional development, and also for wider pedagogical issues. Platforms in use include online conferences which support online discussion, and new wiki environments which also offer the potential for extending the use of communities of practice to the development and sharing of resources. We describe the variety of ways in which communities of practice are in use, the major factors which contribute to their success, and the social and institutional challenges to sharing and developing resources within a community.
| Item Type: | Book Chapter |
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| ISBN: | 1-59311-864-3, 978-1-59311-864-8 |
| Keywords: | communities of practice; online; forums; wikis; part time staff; distance tutors |
| Academic Unit/Department: | Education and Language Studies Other Departments > Library |
| Interdisciplinary Research Centre: | Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology (CREET) |
| Item ID: | 10691 |
| Depositing User: | Users 772 not found. |
| Date Deposited: | 09 May 2008 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Oct 2012 14:25 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/10691 |
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