2. What is Cop Community of Practice is a group of people share the same needs, interest or passion on a certain topic, they interact regularly to learn how to do it better, and to add value to the topic. They don’t necessarily work together, but they meet in regular basis to solve problem, find solutions, discuss topics and explore ideas to develop tacit understanding that they share.
3. Three characteristics are crucial to Cop The domain: Cop has identity defined by a shared domain of interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people. The community: within their domain of interest, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other and share information. They build a relationship that enable them to learn from each other, they meet together to discuss issues that help them do better job. The Practice: A community of practice is not merely a community of interest, They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems, namely a shared practice. This takes time and sustained interaction.
4. network learning Learning in which information and communications technology (ICT) is used to promote connections: between one learner and other learners, between learners and tutors; between a learning community and its learning resources. it concern in building formal relationships with other independent actors to share knowledge, and experience and to learn from each other as well. The network partners have a set of common activities and regular events are organized. According to this definition, networks are more institutionalized and organized than unregulated exchange mechanisms or communities of practice. Resource Centre for Development of the Skat Foundation (2004)
5. The relationship between cop and network learning Community of practice and network learning are two aspects of social structures in which learning take place The main aim of both networking for learning and communities of practice is to do something better in response to a changing environment. As Wenger notes: ….. Even in a setting so historically and institutionally determined, communities must tune their practice constantly in their attempt to get the job done. Both approaches are looking directly at both practice and practitioners Both approaches are focusing on participation as an important characteristic of communities and networks.
6. Practical implantation for the relationship A virtual Community of Practice (CoP): Is a network of individuals who share a domain of interest about which they communicate online using forums . Virtual Cop is becoming widely spreading in higher education institutions, to enable communication, and interactivity among participants and integration of collaborative pedagogical models, specifically through information communications technologies
7. Virtual COPs Virtual COPs provide their members with direct access to information and interaction at the time and place most convenient to them. Such access includes: Information resources and best practices / strategies Knowledge bases to which members can contribute their work and findings Colleagues engaged in similar work and tackling similar challenges Experts who may be able to clarify issues and provide references
8. References http://journal.km4dev.org/index.php/km4dj/article/viewFile/9/4 http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm Resource Centre for Development, Skat Foundation (2004) International networks for knowledge sharing: lessons learnt Unpublished paper, 10pp http://www.skat-foundation.org/publications/pdf/ks-network-summary.pdf http://www.educause.edu/ELI/Archives/VirtualCommunities/576?bhcp=1
