Community of learning

Definition

Closely related to Wenger's concept of a social learning system which is made up of a network of communities of practice.

Types of learning communities

A learning community may consist of any or all of the following types of communities. They differ in the level of collaboration, the way they are formed and their objectives.

• Community of practice: a group of people that take part in a common activity, talk and share information about this activity and define themselves in relation to it.
• Community of interest: a group of people that come together to address a problem of interest to all. They may or may not be from the same community of practice.
• Task-based community: a group of people that works together to accomplish a defined task. They may or may not be from the same CoP.
• Knowledge-building community: a group of people that works together to produce a body of knowledge.

Online learning communities

An online learning community uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) to take part in the activities of the community. The computer-supported environment may be a support for the learning that takes place within a community or the community and the learning may exist entirely within the virtual environment.

Examples

• The TECFA Community Portal

References

• Marick, B. Boundary Objects, Visible Workings: Adequate Understanding of System Internals, pdf (accessed June 24, 2006)
• Riel and Polin in SA Barab, R Kling, JH Gray. (2004). 'Introduction', Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning, Cambridge University Press pdf