Webheads was my first encounter with a CoP, as a matter of fact it was my first real encounter with online learning, teaching, sharing, socializing, e-moderating and else. Hence, I have no means for comparing with other CoP's . What first got me into the WIA session was my motivation to learn about online learning and teaching, little by little this motivation increased with the fast learning process I was going through. I have been motivated to learn new things with the encouragement from the other members through their kind remarks, Vance's great modeling skills, and very especially the warm friendship links that I started to create with some members of the community. Tapped In has been the space where this bond started to develop, followed by the special private talks at Yahoo Messenger and MSN with some of the Webheads. I believe that this social bond has been crucial to my involvement in Webheads projects. Meeting some Webheads f-2-f was a gratifying experience, it was like meeting with old friends.
With this experience, I believe that CoP's are the best alternative for long-life learning to take place. Being very social myself, this socially constructed knowledge seems perfect for my learning style.
I will stop now, because my dissertation counselor has warned me to stop webheading around if I want to finish my diss. this year ;-)
Dafne waves bye for now
Don Carroll has offered some interesting points from the field of Conversational Analysis. I would hate to have my typing show up as I worked in chat, as I sometimes have to reign in and delete replies (breathe, don't get upset, etc., etc.) Feelings get hurt easily in an online environment, as Don has shown in his examples from SLART, et al. I like the personal interactions that bolster and fill out the professional discussion in our CoP--this is probably the result of some very unique individuals being members (and you know who you are!) It's hard to beat having warm and loving people at the other end of the Internet writing back to you! (I hesitate to ask, but is this a gender thing?) In the larger sense, this CoP has the advantage of existing among people who don't have to prove anything (as opposed to SLART)--they are already "there," wherever there is, and so they can focus on pedagogical and related issues without getting their sense of being pushed out of joint. So CoPs may really come down to personality issues, which can make or break the catherd. I think we have all been on e-lists where just one individual's anger and rancor have driven us away. Who needs it?
Sorry to pile on the metaphors--this
year's EVOnline courses have been exhilarating, and it's only Week 2!
Thanks for the great discussions.
--Elizabeth
I do agree with you in the fact you suggest here, my question is are there any kind of Netiquette for chat, in order to show it to my students, and even for myself when teachinh with people I only know throw the net?
Thanks,
María Jordan
Just a very brief reply to Teresa's thought-provoking post. She states:
>I see this second component
as a shared practice, a 'practicing together'
as a collective entity (such as when we are trying out new chat platforms
and testing if they work with Windows and Macs, or with just one of them,
or how the audio and video work, etc.). "
I read the "P" in "CoP" in a different light, i.e. as signifying a community bound by a shared set of discoursive and/or social practiceS (capital letter on that) rather than "practice" in the usual sense of repeatedly doing something in order to gain proficiency. In this sense all email lists are communities of practice as each is circumscribed by a slightly different set of "community practices."
That being said, I have to somehow agree with Teresa that WIA seems different to me than all other CoP's I have been involved with both because of the practical aspect of actually doing things together and also the intensely personal dimension of this community -- and, yes, Elizabeth, I suspect that this is, a least in part, a gender thing! Or maybe a Latin thing ; )
Hugs and kisses,
--Don
I came across this site a couple of days ago. Maybe it'll be of some help.
http://chat.englishclub.com/etiquette.htm
The main site is English Chat at
http://chat.englishclub.com/index.html
Teresa
Vance, that is a very interesting experience you told about, as your experiences usually are.
That CoPs are nothing new is something I've gathered from what I've been reading, but then what about them is? What has made this one of the latest buzz words/expressions? Is it the use they are being put to that is part of the innovation, which, in turn, attracts our interest?
Whether WiA is a CoP or just a virtual community, we will only have an answer from our expert in a couple of weeks, I guess. IMHO, if a listserv can be considered one, there's certainly a much stronger case/reason for WiA to be one!
More important than anything to me at this point is the fact that the work we have done this past year was relevant enough to be considered and accepted for a PhD diss. It's both fascinating and an honor that Chris is doing a case study of us.
In case WiA 'is' considered
a CoP, I think that what probably makes it a 'unique' and exciting case
is the fact that we didn't start out as a CoP, nor intended to become
one. True, isn't it? Therefore, we became one naturally, spontaneously,
by accident (!), so to say. As we say in Portugal, "without knowing
how to read or write"!
Enough for today! It's been
very busy in terms of messages. Poor Nigel! I wonder how long it's going
to take him to download such a heavy digest!!!
;-)
Teresa
Secondly, the idea of community implies feeling you "belong" to such group, that is, "to feel happy and comfortable in a place or situation because you have the same interests and ideas as other people" (Longman Dictionary).
IMHO, I think in this group there's not just "practice" and learning -and there's much!- but in my case, an absolute newcomer and not experienced "webhead", plus NN, have been receiving lots of support and warm welcome feedback from you.
Also, the professional way in which all contributions are considered, motivated me to participate because I feel that even my modest contribution "counts". This is very important to foster collaborative work. On the other hand, allowing people to lurk , not forcing the members to participate actively, is something I suppose means respect for each one's pace , style, personality. Following the discussion is also an active way of participating, many times people need to feel a supporting atmosphere to open themselves up. Like our students.
Maybe I'm too Latin too!
Beatriz
While I was reading your message I had an inner contentment; and what happens is that when someone says something good about Webheads you feel that they are saying it about you, likewise, when one of us accomplishes an objective, no matter how difficult or easy it is, we feel proud of that person, and that person, I am sure because I have felt it, feels that the group is in a high way responsible for that accomplishment.
So, this feeling of belonging that you mention as being a characteristic of CoP's, is the "glue" that keeps us together and going.
It feels good to know that you feel comfortable with us :-)
Hugs,
Dafne (from Venezuela in Spain)