Tim Cunningham is the Development Director at Triple A Learning. He has worked in international schools for 26 years. He discusses how Moodle communities of practice can help address the challenges of professional isolation experienced by educators in international schools. Two case studies are presented: 1) how a Moodle course was used to connect librarians from different schools, and 2) how workshops, mentoring groups, and shared content in Moodle are helping teachers obtain credentials. Communities of practice are defined as groups who share interests and deepen their knowledge through ongoing interaction.

1. IRELAND & UK
MOODLEMOOT
2012
Global Communities of Practice
Tim Cunningham
Development Director
Triple A Learning
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

2. IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

3. BACKGROUND
“The IB and me”
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

4. Tim Cunningham
• Development Director
• Moodle user 4 years (now 2.x)
• ex- head of school / teacher in
International Schools
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

5. My 26 year nomadic
lifestyle working in
IB schools
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

6. International (IB) Schools
in 3371 schools
in 141 countries
3-18 (K-12) programs
academically rigorous / challenging
inquiry based
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

7. Challenges?
• isolated
– geographically
– linguistically
– culturally
– “Who you gonna call” ?
• training / Professional Development
– expensive
– massive carbon footprint
– one-shot deal (if you’re lucky!)
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

8. CASE STUDY 1
The Librarians
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

9. Librarians
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

10. “Workshop”
Moodle ‘course’
Experienced subject matter expert
Create in PowerPoint > Articulate
Short, structured engagement
A temporary “Community of Practice”
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

11. IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

12. Example of an Activity
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

13. What happened?
• Shared
– Perspectives, concerns, questions, ideas
– Resources (in Wiki also Diigo group)
• Created
– Action plans
– Personal learning journals (blog)
– Community of Practice
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

14. Who turned up?
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

15. Community of Practice
• "groups of people informally bound together by shared
expertise and passion for a joint enterprise”
– (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 139)"
• "…a group whose members regularly engage in sharing and
learning, based on their common interests.”
– (Lesser & Storck, 2001, p.831)."
• "Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a
concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and
who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by
interacting on an ongoing basis."
– (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p.4)
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

16. IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

17. CASE STUDY 2
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

18. Multi-faceted issue
Approaches
– Community
– Parent
– Student
– Teacher
• “Bridge to Success”
• Help teachers bridge the gap
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

19. Approach
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

20. Workshops in range of topics
• Short
• Focused
• With experienced teacher facilitating
• Live sessions (WiZiQ)
• Attendance recognized for state teaching license credentials (CPD points)
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

21. Groups
• 1 mentor: 10 mentees; ‘course’ view to submit ideas for feedback
• WiZiQ classes for coaching
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

22. Pre-populated content (in English, Spanish and French)
• Entire units for Grades 9 and 10
• Assessment tasks developed to introduce Diploma-style assessment
Searchable by
• Subject
• Age-level
• Objectives
• Assessment criteria
• Context
• Skills development
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

23. REFERENCES AND FURTHER
READING
Lesser, E. and Storck, J. (2001), ‘Communities of practice and organisational
performance’, IBM Systems Journal, Vol 40, No 4
Mitchell, J. and Young, S. (2002), 'Communities of Practice for the National Training
Framework' , Reframing the Future, Adelaide, South Australia
Wenger, E. (1998a), 'Communities of Practice: learning, meaning and Identity',
Cambridge University Press, New York.
Wenger, E. (1998b), ‘Communities of Practice – Learning as a Social System’,
Systems Thinker, June.
Wenger, E., and Snyder, W. (2000), ‘Communities of Practice: The Organisational
Frontier’, Harvard Business Review, v. 78, no. 1, pp. 139–145.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W., (2002), 'Cultivating Communities of
Practice, A Guide to Managing Knowledge', Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Mass.
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012

24. IRELAND & UK
MOODLEMOOT
2012
tim@triplealearning.com
@TripleA_MYP
triplealearning.com
IRELAND & UK MOODLEMOOT 2012