Social, Ethical and Legal Responsibilities in the Use of ICT

Do you think you are ready to interact with a CoP? Watch the video below where Prof. Melinda dP. Bandalaria from the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) lectures on 'Online Communities of Practice' and covers how being in a community of practice can support the professional development of teachers. She also investigates various digital tools and platforms that can support teachers find such communities.

Communities of practice are groups of people such as teachers or even students who share a common interest. Often such groups develop because of one member’s special interest in a topic, or they can be set up specifically to share ideas and experiences. Communication between members may be by email, by videoconferencing, or increasingly by using social networking tools.

Communities of practice occur when teachers and learners together co-construct courses, continually add to and comment on courses, and share these with others on the web. When teachers engage with other teachers using web tools to share their experiences, the richest form of communication takes place. Hence the position of communities of practice is at the top right corner of the e-Learning Categories model.²

So do you think you are ready? Want to go and find some CoPs?

^{2. Anderson, J. (2010). ICT Transforming Education: A Regional Guide. UNESCO.}