Digital Delights

"This story is a good example of the difference between social networks and communities of practice. In an open network the potential for online outrage and group orthodoxy is large. It is the major criticism of social network platforms like Twitter. In a community of practice, membership is usually controlled and activities are monitored by people who want the community to be a place of learning. I belong to several of these and have had heated debates in them. But the difference here is mutual trust. While we may disagree, we respect each other. We are not shaming people in public.

As online activity grows, we all need safe places to learn and reflect. Yes, be engaged on public platforms, but find a safe place to have deeper conversations. Nurture these communities for diversity of opinions and experiences. I believe that it is essential for every citizen today to develop and engage with a diverse network of knowledgeable people in order to make sense of the world.

Citizens also need somewhere to integrate their learning and get trusted advice. This is one of the objectives of our perpetual beta coffee club. It is also a core component of personal knowledge mastery and the Seek > Sense > Share framework to which I was referring in my tweet"

"The development of communities of inquiry, highly engaged in the cocreation, discovery and development of knowledge, capabilities and skills, is enabled by learning management systems, collaborative platforms and social-constructivist teaching activities (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Garrison & Anderson, 2003). This paper explores the current state of communities of inquiry (COI) in teaching and learning in the digital age, including the technology to support learner presence (Shea & Bidjerano, 2010) and personal learning environments. It also argues for the communities of inquiry model to evolve into a learning model, that recognizes the importance of motivation, self-efficacy and personal skills in effective communities of inquiry.

The paper addresses five key questions examined through the lens of the Community of Inquiry Model:

• What skills and abilities need to be developed for teachers and learners to fully leverage the power of communities of inquiry? What are the prerequisites for effective learning?

• What are we learning from the growth of peer-to-peer learning and peer assessment which supports the power of communities of inquiry?

• What can emerging technology approaches to adaptive learning and adaptive assessment bring to the practice of communities of inquiry?

• What are the known best practices and emergent next practices for communities of inquiry?

• What are examples of communities of inquiry in action from a variety of settings around the world?"