Comparative analysis of existing educator communities

An analysis of existing educator communities was conducted in order to address these three questions:

1. What will make our community unique?

2. What can we learn from other communities?

3. How can we build on existing communities and resources?

During this research phase I observed selected communities. These online communities and interest groups have in common that they are of interest to educators, require a subscription, and provide an opportunity for ongoing theme-based discussions. Some communities also organize scheduled group events. Appendix I is an overview of communities by type of platform, target audience, and core activities.

1) What will make our community unique?

Listservs and synchronous events are the most common activities offered in the communities reviewed. Moderated and scheduled asynchronous topic-based discussions (seminars) are surprisingly rare. Of the communities reviewed, the Australian Flexible Learning Community is the only one offering web-based scheduled and moderated asynchronous discussions that are well attended. In other cases where seminars are available, they are not well supported by the technology. For example, ITFORUM attempts to restrict any casual discussion during the period that a moderated discussion is scheduled. However, so many ITFORUM members are occasional contributors that this protocol is never adhered to, resulting in the need for constant reminders from the list moderator to members that only posts related to the paper being discussed are appropriate.

Management of community knowledge

Knowledge management is an important aspect of community, and this is an area where SCoPE can offer something unique. A well-organized library of seminar summaries and other knowledge objects that result from community activities will both recognize members’ contributions and assist in advancing these contributions.

In the planning document, a “writer” was identified as a necessary role. The writer and coordinator could work together to summarize and organize outcomes of community discussions.

Focus on research

A focus on research related to elearning and communities of practice will position SCoPE as a quality environment for learning about and advancing our knowledge of online communities and elearning. Involvement of graduate students in community research, and facilitating discussions about that research, will add a unique dimension to SCoPE.

Experimentation with emergent tools

Another area that does not appear to be a core activity in other communities is experimentation with emergent tools that would be of interest to educators and researchers involved in elearning. Introduction of software prototypes to the elearning community, and an opportunity to participate in the design process through focus groups and various feedback options, would offer a unique service to software developers, as well as opportunity for community members to participate in design.

2) What can we learn from other communities?

Communities that support and encourage members to advance their roles within the community tend to be very vibrant. TappedIn (Tapped In, n.d.), for example, offers a help-desk available to new members participating in a chat session for the first time, or interested in setting up an office space. Help-desk staff also offers co-moderator support for members who are new to facilitating discussions.

3) How can we build on existing communities and resources?

As much as possible we want to promote activities in other communities and encourage a mutual exchange of resources. In fact SCoPE could provide a “community watch” service by gathering and publishing information about online events.

An obvious resource exists in eLINC/LIDC expertise and ways to integrate and showcase this talent pool (staff and student work, research, interactive arts etc) should be explored. In addition, there are a number of resources such as blogs and newsletters maintained by educators and researchers that would add value to SCoPE. Some Canadian examples are:

• Stephen Downes (Downes, n.d.)
• Scott Leslie (Leslie, n.d.)
• George Siemens (Siemens, n.d.)

There is considerable interest in learning objects and the development of repositories to support the exchange of learning objects. A goal for SCoPE may be to provide an opportunity to discuss, and simplify the process of contributing, learning objects. Examples of Canadian projects  are:

• Elearning Research and Assessment (ELERA, n.d.)
• Edusource (Edusource, n.d.)
• Edusplash (Edusplash, n.d.)
• BCcampus Learning Object Repository Project (BCcampus, n.d.)

A number of journals are available online. A Canadian example is:

• Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology (CJLT, n.d.)

Also, there are a number of websites that would support SCoPE’s interest in elearning and community research:

• eLearning Reviews (eLearning Reviews, n.a.)

Members of this organization review current elearning research publications.

• ALN Research Centre (ALN, n.a.) ALN is a repository of empirical research related to elearning funded by the Sloan Foundation. Membership is free.
• The Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research (CIDER, n.a.)   CIDER is a research arm of the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University.