Virtual Communities Of Practice Research Articles

Reflexive Views of Virtual Communities of Practice among Informal and Formal Caregivers of People with a Dementia Disease.

Knowledge seems to mitigate the consequences of dementia and new educational strategies are required. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the reflexive views and experiences of virtual Communities of Practice (vCoP) among informal and formal caregivers of people with dementia and explore vCoP as a tool for learning and knowledge development. Data were collected in a sequence of virtual workshops and analyzed and synthesized using thematic analysis. For the informal caregivers, one main theme emerged: Learning and support, comprising three subthemes: Strategies for learning; Creating emotional support; and in need of professional support. Among formal caregivers, one main theme emerged: Professional development, comprising two subthemes: Sharing and gaining knowledge and Knowledge as a professional tool. vCoP and collaborative learning using an educational platform seem to support learning and professional development among informal and formal caregivers, respectively. As a collaborative, virtual activities seem to provide practical and emotional support and promote professional development; vCoP seem to have the potential to promote the resilience and sustainability of care. Further research is necessary to gain an understanding of the effects of Communities of Practice (CoP) and vCoP and their successful implementation in care practices as well as the potential of using CoP in continuing professional development, CPD.

Leadership development in virtual communities of practice: The case of school principals from the GCC Region

AbstractThis study explores the potential of virtual communities of practice (vCoPs) in fostering leadership growth that aligns with the diverse needs and challenges faced by school principals. The study employs a qualitative research design, and conducts semi-structured interviews with 16 school principals from K-12 schools belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Findings suggest that vCoPs offer a rich environment for school principals to engage in collaborative learning, knowledge sharing, and professional networking, all of which contribute to their differentiated leadership development. Findings suggest that vCoPs offer flexible personalized learning paths that can support instructional, digital, and distributed leadership development of school principals. This advancement is made possible by creating a supportive and secure environment that is fortified by resilience, group cohesion, and robust feedback mechanisms. Additionally, vCoPs contribute to leadership development by fostering collective efficacy, cultivating shared beliefs in driving positive change, and disseminating these principles throughout the educational leadership community via social influence.

Developing a Community of Practice through Social Media to Facilitate Continuing Education of Medical Practitioners in Medical Research

The emergence of COVID-19 has highlighted the significance of research in medical practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Indonesia, where healthcare challenges are prominent. Therefore, this study introduces Arcandcoresearch, a non-institutional-based virtual Community of Practice (vCoP), aiming to address the research capacity gaps among medical practitioners. This study aimed to understand the possibility of using several social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp) in the vCoP for continuing medical education of general practitioners regarding medical research. Through Instagram, the project has gained substantial follower growth (1003 followers within 19 months); most were 25-34 years old (69%). Within six months, 124 medical practitioners participated in five sharing sessions via Zoom meetings. All participants who completed the feedback form were satisfied with the content delivery of the sessions. The recorded sharing sessions were then uploaded to the YouTube channel. It already had 150 subscribers until September 2023, with 397 viewers for the videos uploaded in 2022. We facilitated participants to discuss any concerns related to medical research in the WhatsApp group, which already had 24 participants. These preliminary results highlight the potential of Arcandcoresearch to impact medical research culture positively in LMICs. The next steps should be conducting thorough program evaluations and developing strategies for sustaining virtual engagement.

Developing a Community of Practice through Social Media to Facilitate Continuing Education of Medical Practitioners in Medical Research

The emergence of COVID-19 has highlighted the significance of research in medical practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Indonesia, where healthcare challenges are prominent. Therefore, this study introduces Arcandcoresearch, a non-institutional-based virtual Community of Practice (vCoP), aiming to address the research capacity gaps among medical practitioners. This study aimed to understand the possibility of using several social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp) in the vCoP for continuing medical education of general practitioners regarding medical research. Through Instagram, the project has gained substantial follower growth (1003 followers within 19 months); most were 25-34 years old (69%). Within six months, 124 medical practitioners participated in five sharing sessions via Zoom meetings. All participants who completed the feedback form were satisfied with the content delivery of the sessions. The recorded sharing sessions were then uploaded to the YouTube channel. It already had 150 subscribers until September 2023, with 397 viewers for the videos uploaded in 2022. We facilitated participants to discuss any concerns related to medical research in the WhatsApp group, which already had 24 participants. These preliminary results highlight the potential of Arcandcoresearch to impact medical research culture positively in LMICs. The next steps should be conducting thorough program evaluations and developing strategies for sustaining virtual engagement.

Virtual communities of practice for novice occupational therapists: a vehicle for learning, support and professional identity strengthening?

Healthcare practitioners delivering services in rural and underserved areas need timely access to appropriate knowledge to optimise the care they deliver. Novice generalist occupational therapists in South Africa experience this need as they respond to a high demand for hand therapy. Embedded within a study aimed at identifying their support and development needs, this article describes participants' experience of a virtual community of practice. A qualitative case study design was employed. Nine occupational therapists participated in a virtual community of practice that met fortnightly for meetings and interacted on WhatsApp. Data were collected through photo elicitation, facilitated reflection, and case discussions. An online survey questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' experience of this virtual community. Thematic analysis was applied to the anonymous responses submitted by participants (n=7). A number of strategies were employed to ensure the trustworthiness of results including prolonged engagement, member checking, peer examination, reflexive reading and writing, triangulation, and a dense description of participants to enable readers to evaluate the transferability of results. Three themes were generated from analysis. The first theme, versatile support, describes participants' experience of being helped and supported, appreciating the immediacy of support, and being able to share resources. A vehicle for learning captures participants' experience of mutual learning, opportunity to reflect, to acquire knowledge and skills, and develop their clinical reasoning. Finally, the community of practice was grounding: learning opportunities were contextually relevant and participants were able to consolidate their professional values and identity. Participants raised the importance of using online platforms that were accessible, recommended a group size of 5-10 members, and proposed 60-90-minute meetings held weekly or fortnightly. A virtual community of practice provided both support and professional development opportunities for therapists delivering hand therapy. Careful planning and implementation to upscale this intervention are recommended for rehabilitation personnel delivering care to underserved communities in South Africa. The logistics of virtual communities need to mitigate for connectivity difficulties, and online platforms should enable real-time support. Participant satisfaction and the evaluation of implementation outcomes should be considered in the design of virtual communities of practice.

Implementation of a virtual community of practice to promote the empowerment of middle-aged people with multimorbidity: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionEmpowering people living with multimorbidity (multiple chronic conditions) to gain greater confidence in managing their health can enhance their quality of life. Education focused on self-management is a key tool...

Healthcare social network research and the ECHO model™: Exploring a community of practice to support cultural brokers and transfer cultural knowledge

BackgroundProject ECHO® networks at Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CHQHHS) are communities of practice designed to mitigate services and systems fragmentation by building collaborative partnerships addressing priority child and youth health needs. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience the negative impacts of fragmentation in addition to historical challenges of absent or culturally inappropriate health services. Access to culturally safe and responsive services can be improved by engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and similar roles in an online community of practice, supporting the integration of cultural and clinical knowledge and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers in decisions affecting their health.Analysing professional support networks and knowledge sharing patterns helps identify enablers and barriers to partnerships. Using social network research, the multilevel network inclusive of ECHO network members and their colleagues was studied to identify interdisciplinary and cross-sector advice exchange patterns, explore the position of cultural brokers and identify common relational tendencies.MethodsSocial network theories and methods informed the collection of network data and analysis of advice-seeking relationships among ECHO network members and their nominees. Registered members from two ECHO networks were invited to complete the Qualtrics survey. Networks analysed comprised 398 professionals from mainstream health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisation, education, disability and child safety service settings.ResultsBrokers were well represented, both those who hold knowledge brokerage positions as well as cultural brokers who incorporate clinical and cultural knowledge enabling holistic care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients (38 individuals, 17% of network). Professionals who occupy brokerage positions outside the ECHO network tend to be more connected with co-members within the network.ConclusionsThis study is the first application of contemporary social network theories and methods to investigate an ECHO network. The findings highlight the connectivity afforded by brokers, enabling the coordination and collaboration necessary for effective care integration. Inclusion of cultural brokers in an ECHO network provides sustained peer group support while also cultivating relationships that facilitate the integration of cultural and clinical knowledge.

Experiences of Allied Health Clinicians Accessing a Pilot Project ECHO® Program to Support Learning in Pediatric Feeding.

Pediatric feeding disorder is increasing in prevalence, yet low clinician confidence regarding its management is a barrier to care. Targeted clinician training is needed as traditional didactic training programs are limited in both their accessibility and capacity to provide opportunities for the application of theory-based learning. This study examined the experiences of a group of clinicians involved in a multidisciplinary PedFeed ECHO® network, a virtual community of practice established to support speech pathologists, occupational therapists, dieticians, and psychologists in Queensland, Australia, working with children with pediatric feeding disorder. Sixteen clinicians (34% of the total PedFeed ECHO network) from different professional backgrounds, clinical settings, and locations participated in semistructured interviews three months post completion of eight ECHO sessions. Inductive thematic analysis revealed three themes: (1) broad-ranging outcomes of PedFeed ECHO, (2) participant experiences of PedFeed ECHO, and (3) facilitators for future success. PedFeed ECHO was viewed very positively and provided participants with a valuable opportunity for information sharing and collaboration as a multidisciplinary team. Participants described impacts on their professional practice, knowledge, confidence, and professional isolation, as well as service and patient-level impacts. Several facilitators for the success of future PedFeed ECHO cohorts were provided. Insights from participants will serve to improve the design and delivery of ECHO training for future cohorts. Monitoring clinical skill development over a longer period of time and exploring clinician perceptions regarding direct impact on patient care are needed to further validate the impact of ECHO.

Artificial Intelligence in English Language Teaching: Fostering Joint Enterprise in Online Communities

This paper examines the role of Joint Enterprise within Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP) in the realm of English Language Teaching (ELT), particularly in relation to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. The study focuses on the discussions in five open Facebook groups, to explore how teachers collectively navigate the application of AI technologies. The discussions reflect an effort among teachers to not only integrate AI tools into their teaching practices but also to ensure these tools are used ethically and effectively, balancing technological advancements with pedagogical soundness. The findings of the study underscore the critical role of Joint Enterprise in fostering a community that is responsive to evolving educational technologies.

Virtual Communities of Practice on LinkedIn: A Study on Self-directed, Work-related Learning

As a career network, LinkedIn offers access to a wide range of job-related information and a low-threshold opportunity for exchange among experts in various fields. The purpose of this study was to find out which LinkedIn functions are particularly useful for self-directed professional development and to what extent users’ motivation to learn is influenced by their virtual community of practice (VCoP) on LinkedIn. Two approaches were taken to answer this question. First, a literature review on four different learning theories was conducted: self-directed learning, situated learning, social learning and connectivism. The learning mechanisms on social media were then put into the context of those four learning theories. Additionally, the specific potential of learning via social media and especially via LinkedIn was considered. Second, a qualitative interview study with LinkedIn users who were categorised as digital learning experts based on their education and/or profession was conducted. According to the results of the study, LinkedIn offers excellent conditions for professional development. Various functions such as consuming others’ posts, writing own posts, comments or private messages and subscribing to hashtags or newsletters support work-related learning processes. The value of the LinkedIn Learning course platform is controversial. The results also show that VCoP activities can influence users’ motivation to learn both positively and negatively. The LinkedIn activities of others can inspire users, but they can also cause social pressure. The results of the interview study represent an addition to the research field of “learning with social media” and can be used as recommendations for dealing with LinkedIn in order to broaden or deepen one’s professional knowledge. This study especially highlights the use of LinkedIn for lifelong learning with the goal of professional development.

Creation of a National Emergency Medicine Medical Education Journal Club.

Background There are a relatively limited number of emergency medicine (EM) medical education (MedEd) fellowships with few trainees at each program, creating barriers to local collaboration and networking. While best practices for developing MedEd journal clubs exist, there has not been an established national EM MedEd journal club. To address this need, we created a national journal club, the Council of Residency Directors (CORD) MedEd Journal Club (MEJC), to facilitate collaboration and networking opportunities by providing a synchronous online journal club. Objectives Our primary objective was to create a network for collaboration across geographical barriers to form a virtual community of practice (CoP) around the shared domain of evidence-based MedEd. Our secondary objective was to improve MedEd fellows' knowledge, skills, and attitudes surrounding MedEd research. Tertiary objectives included (1) broadening fellow exposure to key topics within MedEd, (2) describing how to develop scholarly work within MedEd, and (3) filling a perceived need for building a national MedEd virtual CoP. Curricular design The concept and objectives of the CORD MEJC were introduced to fellows and fellowship directors through a national listserv in March of 2022. Fellows volunteered to lead virtual sessions via Zoom on a monthly basis. Session fellow leaders independently chose the topics and were asked to submit two to three journal club articles discussing the topic at least two weeks in advance of each session. No topics were repeated throughout the academic year. Impact/effectiveness Our quality improvement survey results indicated that the CORD MEJC is meeting its primary and secondary objectives. Survey results will be utilized as part of a continuous quality improvement initiative to enhance our program structure and curricula for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Exploring value creation in a virtual community of practice: a framework analysis for knowledge and skills development among primary care professionals

BackgroundHealthcare professionals traditional education reflects constraints to face the complex needs of people with chronic diseases in primary care settings. Since more innovative and practical solutions are required, Virtual Community of Practices (vCoP) seem to better respond to learning updates, improving professional and organizational knowledge. However, little is known about the value created in vCoPs as social learning environments. The objective of this project was to explore the value creation process of a gamified vCoP (“e-mpodera vCoP”) aimed at improving the knowledge and attitudes of primary healthcare professionals (PCPs) (nurses and general practitioners) to the empowerment of people with chronic conditions.MethodsA framework analysis assessed the value creation process using a mixed methods approach. The framework provided awareness about knowledge and usefulness in a learning community through five cycles: (1) immediate value, (2) potential value, (3) applied value, (4) realized value, and (5) reframing value. Quantitative data included vCoP analytics such as logins, contributions, points, badges, and performance metrics. Qualitative data consisted of PCPs’ forum contributions from Madrid, Catalonia, and Canary Islands over 14 months.ResultsA total of 185 PCPs had access to the e-mpodera vCoPs. The vCoP showed the dynamic participation of 146 PCPs, along 63 content activities posted, including a total of 3,571 contributions (including text, images, links to webpages, and other files). Regarding the value creation process, the e-mpodera vCoP seems to encompass a broad spectrum of value cycles, with indicators mostly related to cycle 1 (immediate value – activities and interactions) and cycle 2 (potential value – knowledge capital); and to a lesser extent for cycle 3 (applied value – changes in practice) and for cycle 4 (realized value – performance improvement). The presence of indicators related to cycle 5 (reframing value), was minimal, due to few individual redefinitions of success.ConclusionTo reach a wider range of value possibilities, a combination of learning objectives, competence framework, challenged-based gamified platform, and pathway model of skill development seems crucial. However, additional research is required to gain clearer insights into organizational values, professionals’ lifelong educational needs in healthcare, and the long-term sustainability of performance improvement.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02757781. Registered on 02/05/2016.

Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions about the Implementation of Shared Decision-Making in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study from a Virtual Community of Practice.

The incorporation of shared decision making (SDM) is a central part of empowerment processes, as it facilitates greater activation on the part of patients, increasing the likelihood of them gaining control over their healthcare and developing skills to solve their health problems. Despite these benefits, there are still difficulties in the implementation of SDM among healthcare professionals due to internal and external factors related to the context and health systems. To explore primary care professionals (PCPs)' perceptions of the SDM model, based on their preconceptions and experience in clinical practice. A framework analysis was conducted on qualitative data derived from a virtual community practice forum, within a cluster-randomized clinical trial developed in the e-MPODERA project. The most important points in the opinions of the PCPs were: exploring the patients' values, preferences and expectations, providing them with and checking their understanding of up-to-date and evidence-based health information. The analysis revealed three themes: determinants of the implementation process of SDM, lack of consistency and dilemmas and benefits of PCP active listening, motivation and positive expectations of SDM. In our initial analysis, we examined the connections between the categories of the TDC model and its application in the primary care context. The categories related to the model reflect the theoretical understanding of professionals, while those related to perceptions of its application and use show certain discrepancies. These discrepancies could indicate a lack of understanding of the model and its real-world implications or insufficient commitment on the part of professionals or the organization to ensure its effective implementation. Specific targeted training that addresses knowledge, attitudes and practice may resolve the aforementioned findings.

Teacher leadership and virtual communities: Unpacking teacher agency and distributed leadership

This study explored the development of teacher leadership in collaborative online spaces, also called virtual communities of practice (vCoP). Employing a phenomenological research design with semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method, participants were drawn from a single vCoP. The findings underscored the pivotal role of vCoPs in nurturing teacher leadership skills, facilitated by the dynamic interplay of teacher agency and distributed leadership. Teacher agency empowers educators to proactively take control of their learning journey within vCoPs, enabling them to explore areas of personal interest and expertise, including knowledge sharing and project initiation. Simultaneously, distributed leadership empowers teachers to assume leadership roles within the vCoP, irrespective of their formal positions or seniority, involving activities such as guiding discussions and organizing professional development. This harmonious collaboration between teacher agency and distributed leadership fosters a collaborative and inclusive environment within vCoPs, where teacher leadership thrive.

Webinars for teacher professional development: perceptions of members of a virtual professional community of practice

ABSTRACT This study explores the significance of webinars as tools for supporting teachers’ professional development and growth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, as perceived by the teachers themselves. The study employs a mixed methods approach, involving 394 teachers registered on a popular virtual community of practice (vCoP) who completed a survey, with twenty of them participating in focus group interviews. Quantitative data from the survey were statistically analysed using SPSS 25.0, while qualitative data from the focus group interviews underwent theme-based analysis. The findings suggest that teachers highly regard webinars as effective tools for professional development and believe that webinars should be an integral part of future teacher development programmes within the framework of blended learning models. The key strengths and weaknesses of webinars as tools for supporting teacher professional development are thoroughly addressed.

The Impact of Open Educational Resources Based Professional Development on the Bhutanese Secondary Biology In-service and Pre-Service Teachers

This study examined the impact of Open Educational Resources (OER) based professional development of secondary school biology teachers in Samtse Dzongkha in Bhutan. It highlights the importance of teaching and learning biology in secondary classrooms, emphasising its relevance to students' understanding of science, the environment, and their future academic and career choices. Recognising the challenges faced by teachers and students in biology education, STEM teacher educators from Samtse College of Education underwent professional development using OERs and online sessions facilitated by experts from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in India. These educators collaborated with peers from Tanzania, Nigeria, and TISS to develop six-week-long OERs on specific biology topics, which were then shared with selected in-service and pre-service biology teachers in Bhutan through Moodle platform. Additionally, an online Community of Practice (CoP) was established on Telegram to support the ongoing professional development. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilising pre and post-test scores, lesson plans, reflections, and interviews to assess the impact of the OERs on teachers. The CoP network was also analysed to understand communication patterns and knowledge sharing within the community. The results from pre-test and post-test assessments across these modules showcased marginal improvements in teachers' subject content knowledge. Detailed analysis of lesson plans and reflections revealed evolving proficiency in various pedagogical domains. Notably, many teachers sought technological integration, demonstrating an eagerness to utilize digital tools for enhancing student engagement. Despite these positive trends, a significant gap in high expertise levels among teachers was observed, particularly in the Genetics module. This hints at an underlying need for enriched professional development opportunities in specific content areas. Therefore, findings of this study concludes by recommending educational institutions to support continuous professional development for biology teachers through the integration of OERs, thereby improving the quality of biology education.

P16 Centre of excellence on antimicrobial stewardship in Central Uganda

Abstract Background Supported by a Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS 2) grant, our partnership team comprising members from Makerere University, Nottingham Trent University, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital (ERRH) seeks to scale up and enhance sustainability on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in Central Uganda. Building on the achievements of our previous CwPAMS projects, this current initiative aims at strengthening, human, animal and environmental health practitioners’ capacity on AMS in health facilities and the community, as well as promoting increased use of microbiology and prescribing data to inform clinical decisions. Objectives To establish a centre of excellence on antimicrobial stewardship in Central Uganda using a One Health approach with a focus on capacity building, mentorship of lower-level facilities, and knowledge transfer. Methods This project uses a One Health approach involving professionals from the domains of human, animal and environmental health. ERRH, the project hub, is currently mentoring lower health facilities (spokes) in AMS. AMS champions have been identified in each of these health facilities who are leading ongoing activities. The project has also employed CwPAMS AMS assessment tools during scoping visits to assess the baseline conditions at seven lower-level health facilities (one regional referral hospital, two district hospitals, three health centre IIIs and two health centre IIs). AMS workshops have so far been held in two districts (Nakaseke and Butambala) including two general hospitals. Results The project held inception meetings that brought together different stakeholders in AMS. Scoping visits and AMS assessments have been successfully completed across seven health facilities, highlighting different AMS practices, challenges and intervention strategies. Furthermore, mentorship has so far resulted in establishment of AMS committees, identification of AMS champions, and adoption of the prescribing companion app at five of the seven mentored lower-level health facilities. AMS workshops held in the two districts resulted in increased knowledge on antimicrobial practices among the participants. The post assessments from the workshops showed that 73.4% of the participants had learnt the key importance of surveillance in AMS, 89.6% of the participants recognized the role of public awareness in promoting AMS, and 79.8% understood the value of infection prevention and control in promoting AMS in comparison with 51.7% at the pre-assessment (Figure 1). In addition, the online Community of Practice on AMS we established for health professionals in Uganda has seen a notable increase in membership, growing from 420 to over 600 members. Conclusions By engaging directly with front-line health practitioners using a hub and spoke mentorship model, the early stages of this project have provided more information on the prevailing AMS challenges in Uganda, particularly knowledge and training gaps, while revealing promising opportunities such as the existing health care structures and supportive policies. AMS capabilities of health practitioners have been improved by participation in the project, but further work is needed to limit the development of AMR in Uganda.

Measuring the added value of virtual communities of practice for developing the educator role of critical care professionals

In healthcare settings, workplace learning is often supported by clinicians who strive to combine service provision and educator roles. We evaluated an international 12-month programme that supports widely distributed critical...

The Impact of Cl4STEM Online Community of Practice on Science and Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge and Professional Development in Nigeria

Connected Learning for STEM (CL4STEM) is an innovative teacher capacity-building project piloted in Nigeria. It aimed at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers’ capacity building to foster higher-order thinking with inclusion and equity (HOTIE) in their classroom practices. It adopted a model of mobile-based communities of practice (CoP) as one of the strategies for CL4STEM teacher professional development. Hence, this study investigated the impact of the CL4STEM project online CoP on science and mathematics teachers’ subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and professional practice for achieving HOTIE in their classrooms. The study adopted a survey research design involving documentary content analysis and a one-group pre-test-posttest design to collect qualitative and quantitative data to achieve the objectives of the research. The population of the study was all science; biology, chemistry, and physics teachers in senior secondary schools in selected states in Northern Nigeria. Purposive sampling was used to select one newly qualified biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics teacher per subject area from twenty sample schools in the population, thus a target sample size of 80 science and mathematics teachers, 20 each per subject. Content analysis of the module reports and evaluation of lesson plans were used to obtain qualitative data on the science and mathematics teachers’ CoP practices and professional learning. The Pre-test and post-test on the teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge were the instruments for quantitative data collection. The instruments were validated by the project consultant and science and mathematics education experts. Four research objectives and four corresponding research questions guided the study. Descriptive statistics, descriptive content analysis, and descriptive narrative were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that online CoP has remarkably impacted teachers’ subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge and professional development.

Higher education EFL online success model: An adaptation to the DeLone and McLean IS Success Model

This study aims to adapt and extend the DeLone and McLean Information System (IS) success model in the context of an online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) higher education foundation program. The objective is to enhance teaching, learning, and knowledge-sharing experiences within a virtual community of practice (vCoP). The research involved eight experienced full-time university lecturers with master's degrees in English language teaching as participants. They were presented with six open-ended questions followed by interviews. The study addresses the gap between research and practice by assessing the effectiveness of the model in measuring knowledge-sharing and user interaction within the EFL vCoP. The findings highlight the need for tailored models in specific online learning domains, such as EFL, rather than applying a generalized approach to education. The findings have practical implications for designing and evaluating online educational programs and communities, ultimately enhancing the quality of online learning experiences. The study proposes potential indicators of success, paving the way for future research in the field of online education. By identifying and refining these indicators, educators and researchers can better assess the impact of online learning platforms and communities on student outcomes, engagement, and knowledge-sharing.