Professional Learning Communities
An Introduction to Building Learning Communities for Managers and Supervisors.
This book has three helpful coaches that support your learning. They are Emma, Bot and Monty. Each has a specific purpose. Click on the coaches below and learn what each of them provides. Remember to click on them whenever they appear at the bottom left of the page.
Names:
Much research is available on what is commonly termed, "communities of practice" or "virtual communities of practices"
OR
CoPs and VCoPs
Community
Defintions for community are both simple and complex. Here are some possible definitions for community.
- A Group of people
- People with a shared geographic region
- People with shared interests or beliefs
We're interested in a more specific idea when we say communities of practice. These are groups of people working together to achieve similar goals. The community in CoP incorporates all the prior defintions. But, they serve a specific and common purpose through their shared beliefs. These communities provide a sense of belonging and purpose.
Communities of Practice bring together people who work within the same profession to learn.
VCoPs bring together the same type of collaborative learning and networking environment, of a CoP, through the use of Web 2.0 applications. These communities are either blended or exist entirely online.
Web 2.0 tools include:
Wikispaces.com
Podio.com
Edmodo.com
Facebook.com
Professional Learning Communities are a variation of CoPs and VCoPs. Within the unit linked to this book, you will learn how to build a virtual learning community to use as a training, coaching and team building platform. Using online tools, the models provided by CoPs and VCoPs can be distilled to work within your company or department.
...of Practice...
What is your practice? Are you health care workers? Do you specialize in a certain type of care?