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.

A community can be described as a group of people whose identities within the group are defined by the form of their participation, interactions and relationships within the activities of the group. A community of learning is a community whose purpose is to engage and promote activities and interactions that allow for individual socially-constructed learning.

• An attempt at a longer, more thorough definition

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. The pedagogical equivalent are learning networks.
• 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 (used to be that, not anymore)
• learning networks
• knowledge-building community model

References

• Hole, Grete Oline and Anne Karin Larsen, VIRCLASS: the Virtual Classroom for Social Work in Europe - a toolkit for innovation? EuroDL, HTML
• Klamma, R; M Rohde & G Stahl (Eds.) (2005) Special Issue on: Community-Based Learning: Explorations into Theoretical Groundings, Empirical Findings and Computer Support. SigGroup Bulletin, 24 (4) 1-100 PDF - HTML
• Marick, B. Boundary Objects, Visible Workings: Adequate Understanding of System Internals, pdf (accessed June 24, 2006)
• Martel, Véronique (2005). Émergence d'une communauté d'apprentissage en réseau à l'ordre primaire : l'activité de transformation d'un environnement d'apprentissage par la direction, les enseignants et les élèves (étude de cas), Master thesis, Université Laval, HTML
• 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
• Special Issue: Computer Support for Learning Communities. Guest Editors: Markus Rohde, Volker Wulf, Gerry Stahl in: Behaviour & Information Technology (BIT), Volume 26, Number 1, Jan-Feb 2007, 94 Pages. Taylor & Francis, ISSN 0144-929X. Summary (All articles except the intro are access restricted).