Communities of practice in the digital age

Although researchers and practitioners have recognized that online Communities of Practice (COPs) can be valuable tools for knowledge management, there is little quantitative research about this relatively new phenomenon. This dissertation helps fill the gap by investigating how individual members of text-based, asynchronous online COPs adopt knowledge contributed by others for their own problem solving. For this purpose, this dissertation methodologically utilizes dual-process theories of information processing. It first verifies the appropriateness of the theories by replicating previous research in the new domain. Then, the behaviors and effects of factors that are not previously researched in this way, yet especially pertain to online COPs, are investigated. It is hypothesized that genre conformity and information consistency operate as two heuristic cues in the knowledge adoption in online COPs. It is also hypothesized that focused search and the presence of disconfirming information increase elaboration likelihood during dual-process knowledge adoption. These hypotheses were tested and partially supported with survey data collected from members of two online COPs with different characteristics. This dissertation contributes to both IS research and the dual-process theories. Contrary to the cue-filtering paradigm of previous media research, it expands the computer-mediated communication (CMC) literature by identifying additional cues that are utilized for CMC-based knowledge adoption. It invokes the notion that the CMC context plays a dynamic role in ongoing knowledge adoption processes, both through elaboration likelihood and through interactions between the dual processes. Moreover, it advances the situated view of knowledge adoption by demonstrating that how members search for information and how current information compares to prior knowledge matter in online COPs. Focusing on the pull technology of online COPS, it offers another theoretical link between CMC technologies and knowledge management. Practically, this dissertation provides us with new insights into the utilization of online COPs for improving organizational knowledge management. It also suggests new directions for designing software systems to better support knowledge sharing in online COPs.

Aim/Purpose: The study aims to explore the dimensions of identities in relation to an online community of practice (CoP) and how the dimensions of identities influence the way teachers behave on their online CoP. Background: One of the emerging approaches for teachers’ professional development is through a form of community of practice, through which teachers learn through collaboration and active learning. In line with the progression in technology, online communities of practice have been widely accepted as one of the possible approaches for teacher professional development that can enhance the opportunity for collaboration. Even though online CoPs provide a better platform for collaboration and sharing best practices among teachers, some issues lead to a failure of any online CoPs. Day, Sammons, Stobart, Kington, & Gu (2007) stress the importance of understanding the aspects of identities and their impact on how teachers perform and commit to any activities and that an understanding of teachers’ identities is central to any analysis of teachers’ effectiveness, work, and lives. Previous research, however, studied the aspects of identities in the perspectives of the development of their identities as teachers in the context of their daily interaction with significant others in face-to-face mode. However, there has been very little research that has focused on teachers’ identities in relation to their participation in online communities. The extent to which their identities influenced the way they interact, engage, and contribute to their online CoP is still debatable, although it was profoundly stated that identities play a great role in shaping teachers’ behavior in their offline CoPs. Taking this into account, this study aims to identify the dimensions of identities in an online CoP setting and how these identities influence their capacity to involve themselves in online sharing through communities of practice (CoPs). Methodology: This research employed a case study approach which involved 16 teachers from six high performing secondary schools. The selection of the participants was made through purposive sampling. Data was generated through in-depth one-to-one interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis through which the emerging themes were carefully identified. Contribution: The study has successfully identified the dimensions of identities in relation to teachers’ participation in an online CoP, which adds to the current body of literature. The result of the study also illustrates how these dimensions of identities interrelated to each other that led to the teachers’ level of participation in an online CoP. Having an in-depth understanding about identities also would provide a better understanding of why the members reacted the way they did and, and how the dimension of identities plays a role in this. Findings: The result of the analysis indicates four main dimensions of identities, i.e., personal identities, professional identities, learner identities and member of the community’s identities. These dimensions were found to influence each other. Overall, there are seven factors seen as ‘immediate’ causes leading to the final outcome (participation in online CoPs), i.e., beliefs in the benefits of informal sharing activities, perceived importance of online sharing activities, perceived role in community, willingness to initiate discussions, willingness to respond, acceptance towards others’ comments, and beliefs in the benefits of online communities. Personal identities affected not only their jobs as teachers but also influenced their commitment towards their participation in the online CoPs in this project. Their prior knowledge and experience influenced teachers’ perceived competency in using online sharing applications. Their prior experience also impacted the way they perceived the benefits of online activities (teachers’ identities as learners) and their attitudes towards them. The findings indicate that different individuals had different sharing preferences, and the differences were partly driven by how they conceived of professional development as well as how they perceived themselves professionally. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study also indicates that to ensure the success of any online professional development for teachers, it is essential to take into consideration the aspect of endorsement by senior management, e.g., principals or coordinators from a district or state level. It is also critical for stakeholders to understand the working culture of teachers and their conception of professional development to ensure any new policies is in line with teachers’ identities. Recommendation for Researchers: The analysis in this study was developed by exploring the reasons behind the teacher’s behaviors. In the future, it will be more meaningful for new researchers to consider the dimensions of identities when they develop any online CoP. Future Research: This study was conducted using a qualitative approach. The emerging dimensions of identities can be used by future researchers as a basis to do quantitative research that covers a larger sample size, through which a generalization can be made. A causal network that was developed in this study can be tested using inferential statistics.

This article reports the results of a qualitative study of success factors and barriers to the development of virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice at Caterpillar Inc., a Fortune 100 multinational corporation. The study identified several prerequisites for successful knowledge management through virtual communities of practice: knowledge sharing as a key element of the corporate culture; employees regarding knowledge as a public good belonging to the whole organization, and not as their individual asset; communities self-organizing around specific performance-related problems or areas of professional interest of their members; and communities supported by volunteer managers and active core groups of experts. At the same time, the study has identified a number of important barriers to virtual community development. Specifically, even when employees give the highest priority to the interests of the organization, they tend to shy away from contributing knowledge for a variety of other reasons not related to information hoarding. In addition, corporate security considerations and concerns about the accuracy of the information and the potential information overload could clash with the need to promote spontaneous generation of information. Suggestions for overcoming the identified barriers, future research directions, and implications for HRD professionals are formulated.

This chapter provides a classification of virtual communities of practice according to methods and tools offered to virtual community members for the knowledge management and the interaction process. It underlines how these methods and tools support users during the exchange of knowledge, enable learning, and increase the user ability to achieve individual and collective goals. In this chapter virtual communities are classified in virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice and virtual learning communities of practice according to the collaboration strategy. A further classification defines three kinds of virtual communities according to the knowledge structure: ontology-based VCoP; digital library-based VCoP; and knowledge map-based VCoP. This chapter also describes strategies of interaction used to improve the knowledge sharing and learning in groups and organizations. It shows how agent-based method supports interaction among community members, improves the achievement of knowledge, and encourages the level of user participation. Finally, this chapter presents the system’s functionalities that support browsing and searching processes in collaborative knowledge environments.

Virtual Communities of Practice (vCoP) is a nascent approach to professional development for simulation educators (Thoma et al., Simul Healthc. 2018;13(2):124-30). vCoPs overcome geographic barriers to accessing expertise and professional networks and may promote ‘democratisation’ of voices in the simulation community. However, the optimal process for creating, nurturing and joining vCoPs in healthcare simulation is not well understood.We report on the establishment of our healthcare simulation hybrid podcast/blog—Simulcast (www.simulationpodcast.com)—utilising the conceptual framework of Wenger’s three dimensions of Communities of Practice. In exploring these dimensions—joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire—we hope to contextualise vCoP within professional development approaches for simulation faculty and invite readers to engage with our existing community.

The re-emergence of pneumoconiosis, particularly among coal miners (ie black lung), in the USA is a challenge for rural communities because more miners require specialized care while expertise is scarce. The Miners' Wellness TeleECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) Clinic, jointly held by the University of New Mexico and a community hospital in New Mexico, provides structured telementoring to professionals caring for miners, including clinicians, respiratory therapists, home health professionals, benefits counselors, lawyers/attorneys and others, forming a virtual 'community of practice'. This approach has not been utilized and evaluated previously. The study's bimonthly program uses the ECHO telementoring model, which uses technology to leverage scarce mentoring resources; uses a disease-management model that is proven to improve outcomes in other disease states, by reducing variation in processes of care and sharing best practices; uses the principle of case-based learning with highly contextualized discussions, which fulfils key learning theory principles; creates a virtual community of practice; and uses an internet-based database to monitor outcomes. This 1-year cross-sectional study from September 2018 to September 2019 used geographical mapping of all attendee locations, web-based continuing medical education surveys completed by attendees using iECHO software, and a Research Electronic Data Capture-based survey of a convenience sample of participants, which obtained detailed information on demographics, knowledge, self-efficacy and collective efficacy. Knowledge sharing among participants was examined using insights and methods from social network analysis. Subgroup analysis involved comparisons between clinical and non-clinical professional groups, and between new and existing participants. Groups were compared using Fisher's exact test for categorical variables, and non-parametric Wilcoxon ranked sum test or student's t-test for continuous variables. Participants were largely located in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots of the USA. In a convenience sample of 70 participants, clinical professional groups such as clinicians (29%), home health professionals (20%) and respiratory therapists (17%) constituted the majority of the stakeholders. Participants demonstrated the lowest knowledge score on 'legal pneumoconiosis' among the knowledge areas questioned; reported low self-efficacy with respect to managing miners' conditions and interpreting test results; and rated the learning community highly in terms of trust (86%), willingness to help each other (93%) and being closely knit (87%). Analysis of knowledge sources indicated that participants receive substantial proportions of knowledge from individuals outside of their stakeholder and professional groups, but proportions differ among clinical and non-clinical professional groups, as well as among 'fresh' and existing participants. The present study demonstrates the successful creation of a virtual multidisciplinary community of practice in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspot rural regions of the USA, with participants reporting multidisciplinary knowledge transfer. The community is regarded highly by participants in relation to trust, willingness to help and being closely knit. This innovative educational approach may help ensure the delivery of high-quality interdisciplinary care to rural miners in pneumoconiosis mortality hotspots in the USA.

Communities of practice, described as social structures which enable knowledge to be managed by practitioners, are recognised as important to the social fabric of knowledge (Wenger, 2004). As a result of the internationalisation of business and the development of enabling technologies, there has emerged the notion of Virtual (online) Communities of Practice (VCoP), where members make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to share stories, knowledge and practices. This new phenomenon raises some issues for the ways knowledge communication occurs at work. Little is known about the application of communities of practice theory in the virtual domain, especially in relation to the communication of knowledge across cultural boundaries. This paper draws on qualitative data from a study of several VCoPs to explore their members' communication and cultural experiences. The findings identify some barriers to sustaining communities of practice in a virtual context, and the issues which exist when organisations intentionally create these communities for specific organisational purposes. These issues include the transition of legitimate peripheral participants to full practising members of the VCoP; cultural diversity in intercultural VCoPs; and the ways in which VCoPs are constructed by management to meet a transient need, rather than allowed to emerge.

Students at all levels are heavily immersed in social network sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Social networking is indeed not only playing an increasingly important role in students' social life, but also for teachers. Educators are now turning to use Web 2.0 tools to promote students' ability to assist in creating, collaborating and sharing content. Facebook is a free and most popular social network site. Its primary purpose is to provide an online communication platform for users to make new friends and interact with them. A Community of Practice (COP) is a group of people who share their knowledge, ideas and practices in a common domain or topic [1]. A virtual COP means the communication between members are using electronic channels, such as email, discuss forums, blogs and wikis, etc. Since virtual COPs encourage collaborative and sharing recourses in knowledge domain on the Web, it may be an ideal model for the online learning community. This research aims to explore the use of Facebook features to foster virtual COPs. We further intend to investigate how Facebook can enhance collaborative learning and knowledge building in this virtual COP. Two classes of subdegree students have been chosen to participate in this study. The data will be collected quantitatively and qualitatively in nature, consisting of students' posting messages and comments on the Facebook, surveys on the students' reflective experiences using Facebook as communication and collaboration tools, and group interview with each instructor. This research will shed some lights on effective ways to promote virtual Community of Practice.

Virtual Community of Practice: Electric CircuitsDisseminating effective practices for engineering education requires developing pedagogicalcommunities that bring together faculty from many institutions. Through an NSF-funded ASEEeffort aimed at facilitating faculty development in research –based instruction, we led an onlineVirtual Community of Practice (VCP) around the teaching of introductory Electric Circuits. TheVCP comprised 20 faculty members who were broadly diverse in terms of geography,institutional characteristics, and teaching experience. Meetings were held using Adobe Connect,with materials shared and discussions held through an online portal built with Open Atrium. Thisplatform carried many advantages – such as allowing a large group to interact and view acommon presentation, while also facilitating smaller break-out groups – but it also posed logisticissues inherent into any use of technology for group interactions. Leaders of the circuits VCP –along with VCPs on other topics in electrical engineering – were trained by a Leadership VCP inadvance of its sessions.The Electric Circuits VCP comprised 9 weekly 90-minute sessions, each including learningobjectives and an assignment for participants. Breakout groups within each session promotedinteractions among subsets of the participants; these were critical for encouraging broadparticipation, with each breakout group reporting back to the full VCP afterward. Pre-plannedtopics included (1) Introduction to the Circuits VCP, (2) Overview of Research-basedInstructional Approaches, (3) Learning Objectives and Bloom’s Taxonomy, (4) StudentMotivation, (5) Teams, and (6) & (7) Making the Classroom More Interactive. The topics forsessions (8) and (9) were developed by our VCP community during preceding weeks: (8)Simulation and Hands-On Learning, Assessing Impact; (9) Great Ideas that Flopped. In additionto the weekly meetings of the entire VCP, participants interacted via ad hoc small-groupmeetings, email and polling to collect opinions and ideas, and additional material provided aftereach session.Nearly all participants reported that they are making significant changes in their Circuits coursesbased on their VCP experience. Topics that elicited the most interest from the participants, basedon their post-VCP feedback, were: (1) Flipped Classrooms; (2) Hands-On Learning based onInexpensive Measurement Hardware; (3) Assessment. Participants are also developing topics forcollaborative research and a workshop to share what they have learned with faculty from otherinstitutions. Leaders in implementing flipped classrooms, MOOCs, and other new pedagogyhave also been invited to work with the group both offline and during regular meetings.The VCP model proved to be effective at establishing a diverse pedagogical community, withoutthe resource and time constraints of regular in-person meetings. There are still some limitations,however. Those faculty who are particularly dedicated to undergraduate instruction – and thusare the best candidates to participate in a VCP –often have limited time for activities that maynot have immediate impact on their daily responsibilities. Also, interactions in large onlinegroups may not suffice to promote a strong working relationship. Based on the personalexperience of the authors, a substantive collaboration requires regular online face-to-faceinteraction followed by additional electronic exchanges as materials are finalized. Despite theselimitations, our initial implementation of the VCP model provides a guide for other groups tocreate similar virtual communities for other aspects of engineering education.

The aim of the paper is to revisit the concepts of knowledge and learning in virtual communities of practice (VCoPs). Despite a great variety of approaches and successful examples of deployment of VCoPs, little research attention is paid to developing models or frameworks conceptualizing knowledge and learning in VCoPs. The review of the selected literature has enabled to propose a multi metaphorical framework of knowledge and a conceptual model of learning in VCoPs. The author uses a metaphoric approach to address the idea of paradigm shift and suggests a non-linear perspective on knowledge evolution affected by technological innovations. The multi metaphorical framework under consideration shows the shifts from behavioral learning to networked learning where VCoPs are located. The definition of VCoPs and their features are paid special attention to in the research. VCoPs are viewed from three overlapping dimensions: Community of practice, virtual domain of technology enhanced learning and discipline-based learning community of practice. Such a view represents a conceptual idea of discipline-based VCoPs which arises when three main components interplay: domain (virtual environment where teacher-student social interaction takes place); the community (the principles of apprenticeship as a learning model); the practice (developing the repertoire to solve problems within the discipline context). Also, the suggested multi metaphorical framework enables viewing learning within VCoP from knowledge- creation metaphor which leads to examination of learning from the perspectives of activity theory. Activity theory is used not as an analytical tool in the research but mainly as a descriptive approach to delineate learning within VCops as a technology mediated activity. The knowledge is constructed within the community, but the interaction and learning are mediated via digital artifacts. Applying principles of activity theory, VCoPs can be analyzed as complex systems where subjects interact with the community using technologies. Systems approach is applied to work out a logical model of learning activity in VCoPs consisting of axiological, cognitive, professional-educational, technological, communicative, reflexive components. The proposed model should be considered as a schematically descriptive model of learning within VCoPs because complex systems cannot be perceived using one approach due to their multidimensional and complex nature.The paper concludes by the discussion of the findings and recommendations for further research. The topic is of interest because better understanding of the concepts of knowledge and subsystems of learning concept in the era of technologies is sure to enhance teaching practice.

Social media plays a huge part in Filipinos' lives. In the area of learning, the proponents observed the emergence of an online community of practice using Facebook groups that has over 350 members. The aim of the chapter is to answer the question: How do online communities of practice engage students to learn and build new knowledge? The objective is to propose a framework that will guide readers to build their own online community of practice based on its learning context. To achieve the objective, the proponents use the inductive approach of grounded theory using action research. Results show that community members used different Facebook features to support their ongoing community of practice. Further studies may also assess the applicability of the framework in other areas of development.

Social media plays a huge part in Filipinos' lives. In the area of learning, the proponents observed the emergence of an online community of practice using Facebook groups that has over 350 members. The aim of the chapter is to answer the question: How do online communities of practice engage students to learn and build new knowledge? The objective is to propose a framework that will guide readers to build their own online community of practice based on its learning context. To achieve the objective, the proponents use the inductive approach of grounded theory using action research. Results show that community members used different Facebook features to support their ongoing community of practice. Further studies may also assess the applicability of the framework in other areas of development.

The Problem Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) share many features of digital learning networks (DLNs). Their work is ecosystemically connected, and they operate on overlapping continuums. This makes understanding how they function and decisions about which term to use difficult. The Solution This article outlines points of convergence and divergence between VCoPs and DLNs. It explains how the term, complexly coevolving, clarifies their brackish connections, and the proposed term, glocal peer-learning practice networks (GPPNs), is needed to describe their intersecting existence. The Stakeholders Organizations and networks that seek to quickly and comprehensively describe the scale and scope of their work. Researchers who seek to unify terminology for better evaluation and advancement of the field across societal sectors. Practitioners and funders who aim to develop or strengthen work against issues of global concern using combined features of VCoPs and DLNs.

Practice, that is, the execution of work relevant tasks, can take two forms: actual and espoused practice (Brown & Duguid, 1991). Espoused practice is formally and deliberately planned: formal organizational structuring, product manuals, error detection, and correction procedures represent just a few examples. Actual practice represents the solutions to problems and the execution of tasks as they really happened in a given context. Processes of knowledge generation and transfer are different for espoused or actual practice (Orr, 1996). While traditional modes of organizing work practice focus on espoused practice, newer organizational forms focus on actual practice: Communities of practice are groups of people bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise on behalf of an organization (Wenger, 1998). To support effective work practices in an ever more distributed work environments, collocated CoPs are complemented by virtual communities of practice (VCoPs). Its members interact supported by collaborative technologies in order to bridge time and/or geographical distances. Toolkits of computer-mediated environments facilitate community building in addition to personal interaction (Hinds & Kiesler, 2002; Walther, 1995; Wellman et al., 1996). There is a shared understanding that VCoPs are an especially effective organizational form for knowledge creation both within companies (Kogut & Metiu, 2001; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; von Krogh, Spaeth & Lakhani, 2003) and between companies (Constant, 1987; Vincenti, 1990). Therefore, VCoPs are managerially desirable forms of virtual communities (Rheingold, 1993; Smith & Kollock, 1999; Wellman et al., 1996) in which learning in practice takes place; that is, professionals stick together because of exposure to common problems in the execution of real work. The “glue” which binds them together is a powerful mixture of shared expertise and experience, as well as the need to know what each other knows. Given that VCoPs offer such potential to enhance intellectual capital and to enrich social processes within companies, we look more closely at the social and knowledge generation processes within VCoPs from a managerial point of view. Viewed from this angle, VCoPs represent a difficult challenge for managers who want to profit from using them as an arena for desirable learning in practice. Although VCoPs are believed to be a desirable organizational form for knowledge generation, they are preferably modeled as a rather emergent phenomenon and believed to be only marginally manageable. Thus, on one hand, managers are urged to believe that VCoPs are something beneficial while, at the same time, they are told that VCoPs cannot be managed deliberately.

Practice, that is, the execution of work relevant tasks, can take two forms: actual and espoused practice (Brown & Duguid, 1991). Espoused practice is formally and deliberately planned: formal organizational structuring, product manuals, error detection, and correction procedures represent just a few examples. Actual practice represents the solutions to problems and the execution of tasks as they really happened in a given context. Processes of knowledge generation and transfer are different for espoused or actual practice (Orr, 1996). While traditional modes of organizing work practice focus on espoused practice, newer organizational forms focus on actual practice: Communities of practice are groups of people bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise on behalf of an organization (Wenger, 1998). To support effective work practices in an ever more distributed work environments, collocated CoPs are complemented by virtual communities of practice (VCoPs). Its members interact supported by collaborative technologies in order to bridge time and/or geographical distances. Toolkits of computer-mediated environments facilitate community building in addition to personal interaction (Hinds & Kiesler, 2002; Walther, 1995; Wellman et al., 1996). There is a shared understanding that VCoPs are an especially effective organizational form for knowledge creation both within companies (Kogut & Metiu, 2001; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; von Krogh, Spaeth & Lakhani, 2003) and between companies (Constant, 1987; Vincenti, 1990). Therefore, VCoPs are managerially desirable forms of virtual communities (Rheingold, 1993; Smith & Kollock, 1999; Wellman et al., 1996) in which learning in practice takes place; that is, professionals stick together because of exposure to common problems in the execution of real work. The “glue” which binds them together is a powerful mixture of shared expertise and experience, as well as the need to know what each other knows. Given that VCoPs offer such potential to enhance intellectual capital and to enrich social processes within companies, we look more closely at the social and knowledge generation processes within VCoPs from a managerial point of view. Viewed from this angle, VCoPs represent a difficult challenge for managers who want to profit from using them as an arena for desirable learning in practice. Although VCoPs are believed to be a desirable organizational form for knowledge generation, they are preferably modeled as a rather emergent phenomenon and believed to be only marginally manageable. Thus, on one hand, managers are urged to believe that VCoPs are something beneficial while, at the same time, they are told that VCoPs cannot be managed deliberately.