Deconstructing an Online Community of Practice

• In Event: Pedagogical Approaches to Teacher Professional Development on the Use of Technology

Abstract

According to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology (2011), new technologies have expanded traditional face-to-face communities of practice across spatial and temporal boundaries into “online communities of practice” (p. 5). Administrators, government officials, and experts are encouraging teachers to participate in these so-called “online communities of practice” (OET, 2011) for ongoing learning and professional growth. Yet, after spending two years examining a popular online community of practice, the Edmodo Math Subject Community, I found that the underlying principles of a community of practice do not apply. In this paper, I examine how teachers participate in the Edmodo Math Subject Community and I propose an alternative way to conceptualize online communities of practice.

Author

• Torrey Trust, University of California - Santa Barbara