EDUC 578 Post #2-Communities of Practice

     According to Wenger, Communities of Practice are "formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor".  To put it simply, he argues that learning happens collaboratively and not individually.  This theory suggests that formalized education is not the optimal learning environment and that students would better learn from others in these different communities of practice.  He distinguishes communities of practice from regular communities by stating that there is a common "domain", which involves a commitment and a shared competence.  Wenger suggests that these communities come in all different shapes and sizes; therefore they can be big, small, in person, online, etc.  Situated learning is connected with communities of practice, because it emphasizes that education is more than "learning by doing" or "experiential learning".  This theory further emphasized that formalized education is not the ideal means for learning. 
     In the inFed article, the author expresses that with communities of practice and situated learning there is a de-emphasis on formal institutions such as schooling.  I see the de-emphasis but I don't know if I agree with completely getting rid of school altogether.  I think that rather than looking at eliminating the formal institution of school in favor of just communities of practice (assuming all children would even voluntarily participate in them), we should use the formal institution as a means to achieve learning through communities of practice.  In Wenger's article he dicusses the difference between internal and external learning through education.  He notes that internal is the learning that takes place within the four walls of the classroom and external is the learning that occurs beyond those four walls, out in the world.  Why not teach and learn within the classroom in a way that is meaningful so that students can take what they learn and apply it in life?  Students will learn more that way and then in turn would be better members in these communities of practice.  In a way, classrooms can become their own communities of practice as long as the teacher recognizes and understands that learning is not one-way, we all teach and learn from each other.  This would take away the assumption that learning is something that individuals do and that learning has a beginning and and end.  There is an assumption in the inFed article that "teaching" only recognizes this assumption of learning having a beginning and and end, but I disagree with this because I believe that the purpose of teachers is to give students a means to recognize their potential and open their minds to many different things, which does not at all support the position that there is an end to learning.   
     The article that I found, which does not completely support communities of learning is Enhancing Education:  Formal vs. Informal Education  http://enhancinged.wgbh.org/started/what/formal.html.  This article suggests that there are benefits to formal education, such as an ongoing learning process within the classroom vs. activities done in after-school programs which are limited to one day because of the changing nature of participants each day.  This article also notes that teachers have a formalized education in teaching, standards, and developing curriculum, vs. people who do not have such training.  This does not discredit those that don't have teaching education as a means for children to learn, but those that do have the experience are better equipped than those that don't.  This article connects with the theory of communities of practice because the theory suggests that people learn better in informal learning situations, which might not be the best option for some students.  Some students need more of a structure and basis that will help them become more successful participants in communities of practice on their own later in life.
   This theory of communities of practice ties in nicely with our Personal Learning Network because we are actually participating in a community of practice by creating one.  The theory of communities of practice suggests that technology expands the possibilities for community, because we are now connected with people all over the world, vs. just people that we know and can see in person.  The inFed article also suggests that we begin in communities of practice in a sort of "peripheral participation" into "full participation", which can be mirrored in our PLN as well.  When we create our PLN, we being as "lurkers", which can be viewed as peripheral participation, and once we grow our network and gain more information, we will start to fully participate and develop our own networks of learning.


A note on my PLN:
*This week I enhanced my blog by changing settings such as the background, text (yes, I ventured into the "advanced" section!), layout, etc.  I also figured out how to add the Class Blogroll, added a picture, completed my second page "About Me" section, and am now adding a third blog.  I also "followed" the rest of my classmates and figured out how to see when they post new blogs.
*I explored Diigo some more and made sure to add the links to the webpages I found for my first assignment, added the link from this assignment and linked up with the rest of my classmates.  I also went into the Learning&Teaching group and I read an article and everyone's comments, then I commented myself!  
*I also wrote my first tweet, but I still need to upload a picture so I'm not an egg and need to figure out how to post a link within the tweet.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
      

EDUC 578 Post #1-PLN Website Information

Upon learning that I would have to create and participate on the web through a Personal Learning Network, I was very apprehensive because it seemed so daunting.  After reviewing these three websites, however, it does not seem as daunting as I pictured it to be.  I will need assistance with all of the required tools, because I am not as "tech-savvy" as I should be, but I am not as intimidated by this task as I assumed I would be.

The first site that I reviewed was an article called, "Eight Ways to Build Your Personal Learning Network with Twitter, Google Plus, and More".  The link is:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1770997/how-to-build-your-personal-learning-network-with-twitter-google-plus-and-more

What I liked about this article is that it was short and sweet and gave a couple of quotes I liked and one useful piece of information that I will most likely use when building my PLN.  I liked the idea of "no one learns alone" and how having a PLN expands your knowledge through what other people know and share.  I also liked how the author described the PLN as a "group of people who feed your learning head."  This article also pointed out that when you create and develop a PLN, you become a contributor, not just a consumer.  The one useful piece of information from this article that I plan on using once I create my PLN is on Twitter there is a hashtag #ntchat, which stands for New Teacher Chat.  I think this will be very useful for me and I will develop as an educator greatly from it.


The second site that I reviewed was through Google entitled, "Creating a Personal Learning Network with Web 2.0 Tools".  The link is:


http://sites.google.com/site/buildingapln/


This site was very useful because it has links to both videos and articles on how to establish your PLN.  There were videos on how to set up and use a Twitter account, how to create a blog, how to create a Podcast, etc.  The link that I found particularly useful was a link through the blog page, which gave useful tips for blogs.  There were lists of different blog sites you can use, and then there was specific sites for teachers.  There were also links of different blog programs you can use with students, which I think would be useful for any teacher looking to incorporate technology into the classroom.




 The third site the I reviewed I found will be the most useful to me as I develop my own PLN.  The site is called, "The Educators PLN-The Personal Learning Network for Educators".  The link is:


http://edupln.ning.com/


The reason that I feel that this site will be the most useful to me as I develop my own PLN is because this will be a site that I network on.  This site not only has information on how to develop your own PLN and links to blogging information, but it is in itself a forum for education discussions, links, events, etc.  There is even a tutorial for how to navigate the page itself!  This site contains podcasts of the leading voices in education, education events, a discussion forum where you can either begin or comment on a discussion (all geared toward education), and video that other educators post.  There is even a Top Content section that helps filter out all of the videos.  I did not get a chance to view the videos or links, but I know as I delve deeper into creating my PLN, I will become a part of this website!


Hope this information was helpful to others as well!


Sherilyn

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog...this is my first one ever, so I'm pretty excited!  Hope you enjoy it...

Sherilyn