Virtual Learning and Real Communities

Abstract

Blended learning is examined via the experiences of teachers participating in qualification-bearing online professional development courses while simultaneously engaging in everyday professional practice in the classroom. A “communities of practice” framework guides the interpretation of teachers’ perspectives of their membership, identity, activities and experiences in the online and school communities. While online courses tend to emphasise participation as a vital component of socially constructed learning in the virtual environment, the evidence from this study suggests that online courses can also promote the contextual learning opportunities which exist in the everyday experiences of teachers in their local communities of practice.