Digital Communities of Practice (CoPs)

From HLWIKI Canada

A digital community of practice is a controversial concept

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Introduction

" ...groups of people who come together to share and learn from one another - either face-to-face or virtually - are held together by a common interest in a body of knowledge and are driven by a desire and need to share problems, experiences, insights, templates, tools, and best practices." - What is a CoP?

A community of practice (CoP) is a term used to describe groups of people who share a deep and abiding interest in a project be it their collective vision or new directions for an organization. A CoP evolves organically due to members' interests in a set of ideas that make up a domain and may be fostered through mutual knowledge sharing. It is through a process of sharing information and experiences that learning takes place thereby making it possible to develop personally and professionally (Lave & Wenger 1991). CoPs co-exist in digital contexts using social media such as blogs, wikis and web 2.0 tools. Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger described this learning perspective in the 1990s but the practice has existed for as long as people have come together to talk, share and create things.

In 2009, Wenger, White and Smith recontextualized communities of practice for digital environments in their book Digital habitats: stewarding technology for communities. Of note in the book is the idea of "technology stewards" which recalls the importance of librarians and our work in the digital age.

Application of tools in digital CoPs

The choice of specific tools, platforms and features depends on the orientation of the community in which you find yourself. In Digital habitats nine possible community activities are identified as a way to create and promote a CoP:

organize regular meetings
have open-ended conversations
work on projects
work with content
acquire access to expertise
maintain relationships
stimulate unique individual contributions
cultivate a community
serve a context of users (as in a library).

Seminal works

Lave J, Wenger E. Situated learning; legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Community of practice was introduced in 1991; "Learning itself is an improvised practice: a learning curriculum unfolds in opportunities for engagement in practice." pg. 93
Wenger, White, Smith. Digital habitats: stewarding technology for communities. 2009.
- Technology changes what it means "to be together"; digital tools are now part of most communities’ communication practices
- Wenger develops a new literacy and language to describe the practice of stewarding technology for communities
Wenger Etienne. Communities of practice; Learning, Meaning and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Wenger E, McDermott R, Snyder WM. Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School. "How to do it" informed by theory ...
Lave J. The practice of learning. Understanding practice; perspectives on activity and context. Cambridge University Press, 1993.

From preface: "...participants agreed, on the whole, on four premises concerning knowledge and learning in practice":

...knowledge always undergoes construction and transformation in use
...learning is an integral aspect of activity in and with the world at all times; that learning occurs is not problematic
...what is learned is always complexly problematic
...acquisition of knowledge is not a simple matter of taking in knowledge; rather, things assumed to be natural categories, such as 'bodies of knowledge,' 'learners,' and 'cultural transmission,' require reconceptualization as cultural and social products.