Network Identity and Future Direction

1
Network Identity and Future Direction

• Alan Hilliard
• University of Hertfordshire
• Andrew Middleton
• Sheffield Hallam University

2
Outline

• Thinking about sustainability
• Look at the online sites for the PPP SIG
• Communities
• A Hub and Spoke Model
• Activity
• Conclusion

3
Links to Podcasting SIG Sites

• Podcasting SIG WIKI link and links to other
  sites.
• http//podcastingforpp.pbwiki.com/?lS
• Weblog Address 
• http//podcastingforpp.blogspot.com/
•  Podomatic Site 
• http//www.pppsig.podomatic.com/

4
Communities

• Communities of Practice
• Learning Communities
• Communities of Interest

5
Community of Practice

• Community of Practice
• Adopted by Lave and Wenger (1991) as a term to
  describe how professionals learn through
  collaborative and supportive social interactions.

Lave, J and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning
Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge
Cambridge University Press
6
Characteristics of Communities of Practice

• Common Purpose Identified by participants
• Shared membership and leadership
• Participants likely to be at different stages in
  their professional life
• Development of professional practice through
  apprenticeship
• Acceptance of low levels of participation by new
  members, that is legitimate peripheral
  participation
• Development, creation and management of
  knowledge within organizations
• Open-ended, not time bound
• Importance of dialogue, interaction and shared
  narratives

Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005). Virtual learning
communities- A guide for practitioners.
Maidenhead SRHE and Open University Press.
7
Learning Communities

• In learning communities members share control and
  everyone learns, including the facilitator or
  tutor or group leader. Transformative
  communication is the norm, with both sender and
  receiver of messages changed by the
  interactionall participants are engaged in the
  learning experience.
• Wilson, B. and Ryder, M. (1996). Dynamic
  learning communities An
• alternative to designed Instructional system.
  Retrieved 5th June, 2008 from
• http//carbon.cudenver.edu/mryder/dlc.html

8
Characteristics of Learning Communities

• A shared goal, problem or project
• Shared resources
• Shared membership and leadership
• Commitment to improvement of professional
  practice
• Collaborative approaches to groupwork
• Learning and development focused on real
  work-based issues and practice
• Autonomous community members
• High levels of dialogue, interaction and
  collaboration
• Information and knowledge sharing
• Knowledge construction
• Knowledge transfer and knowledge exchange
• Use of information and communication technologies

Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
9
Communities of Interest

• Large groups or networks, perhaps involving
  hundreds of people, and they support the
  dissemination and exchange of information but do
  not necessarily support collaborative learning
  processes. They develop when people come
  together to exchange news or information about a
  specific topic.

Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005). Virtual learning
communities- A guide for practitioners.
Maidenhead SRHE and Open University Press, p8.
10
Simple Virtual Learning Community
Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005). Virtual learning
communities- A guide for practitioners.
Maidenhead SRHE and Open University Press.
11
Patterns of Membership

• There are 4 patterns of membership in simple
  VLCs
• Small core of active members. Closed group.
  Membership remains the same over time.
• Small core membership. Open group. Membership
  changes over time. Core of active members.
• Large membership. Closed group. Small changes
  in membership over time.
• Large membership. Open group. Relatively large
  changes in membership over time. Core of active
  members who provide stability.

Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005). Virtual learning
communities- A guide for practitioners.
Maidenhead SRHE and Open University Press.
12
Managed Virtual Learning Community
Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
13
Benefits/Issues of Simple and Managed VLCs
Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
14
Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
15
Complex Virtual Learning Community
Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
16
Components of a Social Theory of Learning
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice
Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge
Cambridge University Press.
17
Hub and Spoke

• What can a SIG do for you?
• What can you do for the SIG?
• What is the scope of this network?
• What do the spokes look like?
• What does the hub look like?

18
Hub and Spoke

• What type of relationship would be useful to help
  a related group of interests benefit from each
  other's knowledge, activities and experience -
  administrative, knowledge sharing, open or
  closed, formal/informal, funded, etc?

19
Hub and Spoke

• Where do activities (initiatives) begin?
• At the centre
• On the spokes
• Anywhere

20
Looking to the future

• What is the purpose of the community?
• What is the structure of the community?
• Who are the potential community members?
• How will members work and learn together?
• What ICT infrastructure is required?
• What administrative support is required?
• What type of design is required for the virtual
  learning environment?

Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005).
21
References

• Lave, J and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning
  Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press
• Lewis, D. and Allan, B. (2005). Virtual learning
  communities- A guide for practitioners.
  Maidenhead SRHE and Open University Press
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice
  Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press.
• Wilson, B. and Ryder, M. (1996). Dynamic
  learning communities An alternative to designed
  Instructional system. Retrieved 5th June, 2008
  from http//carbon.cudenver.edu/mryder/dlc.html

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