This knowledge has slowly evolved, and began when I was an undergraduate. Learning about Vygotsky's theory of social development was most appealing as it illustrated to me how we learn. I was intrigued by the idea that "social interaction precedes development." This effectively meant that in order to learn anything the student must be in a social context, particularly as it is through social interaction that they create meaning. As both an educator and writer, Vygotsky's ideas shape my teaching and learning practice today.
I have found this to be particularly applicable to how my identity is transforming as I further engage in online networks. Rather than remaining "static" due to being on the web in a "scattered and isolated" sense, in my former identity (although I was an active user), I certainly was not linked with other networks. As I began interacting with my peers, my first network, consisting of my role as a lecturer with James Cook University, where I constructed Youtube videos to share with colleagues and students (i.e. Teaching and Learning channel and Language and Literacy channel), I began to feel as a member of a "community or activity system" that was "developing [my] knowledge," and propelling me in areas I had not ventured before.
As a classroom teacher I was mostly engaged in what Riel and Polin (2004) refer to as "task-based learning." I would work with other teachers for a specific period of time to produce resources, a unit outline or some other curricular product. In this community I did feel a "strong sense of identification" with my peers, as we were employed to engage in the task and the organisation that employed us and expected the behaviour. I was also engaged in Riel and Polin's (2004) notion of practice-based communities." This meant that the knowledge was "embedded in the performance and the organisational culture in which it occurs" (Lave & Wenger, 1991 in Riel and Polin, 2004). As a teacher and director of a tutoring business I participated in the community, actualising knowledge through my interaction with colleagues, practices and stories of best practice, but not creating any new knowledge or going beyond the context.
What I am experiencing now as a networked learner is being a member of "knowledge-based learning communities." These are communities that share many of the elements of "communities of practice" but "focus on the deliberate and formal production of external knowledge about the practice (Riel & Polin (2004)." I am achieving this through being a member of the writing community, and actively producing knowledge about the practice, and sharing it with my peers. This is in contrast to the two other learning approaches that both are confined by a time frame and have clearly delineated boundaries. There are no rule or boundaries in being part of a knowledge-based learning community. Sounds like my kind of community.
What particularly appeals about knowledge-building learning communities is how the learning is not confined to moments in time or to any particular organisation. The learning, indeed, is "co-created" by members who "work on living documents or databases of ideas." It is these real-time documents that illustrate a "changing record" of "shared minds" (Riel & Polin, 2004). This is most illustrated by the notion of gaining academic credentials "informally." In a networked world, as espoused by leading contributors like Siemens (2005), individuals can use networked learning methods to collaborate and support each other's research.
This idea has only recently been illuminated through an experience of complaining about NGL with my peers. As I shared my experiencing of drowning in the course requirements my peers were sharing their ways of coping. Paul shared how he was feeling "overwhelmed," and then Musette contributed her approach to handling the subject. She shared how setting "boundaries" and logging onto Feedly daily but only for 30 minutes to check "what's new." She also records her ideas, as they come across to her, on a "voice memo" app on her phone. I found this invaluable and incorporated her ideas into my practice.
Another peer, Brendon, ironically, one that I had said that I identified with the least, referred to one of my posts where he posed the question, "Are our teens becoming de-sensitised to ... significant issues, given the abundance of information present?" He highlights that there are many positives to NGL but also reminds us of the negatives, even though they are outweighed. Here we are commenting on how we see the networked learning environment impacting on our teaching and learning practice, and not only sharing our ideas but also contributing to the knowledge-base that exists on the practice.
The question that has arisen from my knowledge of networked learning-based communities of practice is whether people will be achieving credentials in a non-formal environment. Like I posed in an earlier post about the "badging" system of showing an individuals self-acquired knowledge and skills, and how individuals are now "identifying, adding, annotating, modifying, or extending" within a networked system where they are "making connections ... [as they are] searching, retrieving, and unpacking contributions" (Riel & Polin, 2004). Some are even acquiring informal PhDs! These communities, like I mentioned are not constrained by time or imposed institutional structures, making them organic, evolving communities.
Where does this knowledge leave me know? It propels me further in my journey from novice writer to becoming the master that I aspire to be. I now know that for me to become that master I must be engaged in a knowledge-based community in the real-world of writers who are further developing their craft. Perhaps, in my special way, I will contribute to this knowledge. It will also propel my efforts further as an educator, particularly in the role of learning coach, a field that I have been travelling along, absorbing information and applying in my own context but certainly not contributing to until now. :)
References:
Riel, M., & Polin, L. (2004). Online learning communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical environments. In S. A. Barab, R. Kling, & J. Gray (Eds.), Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning (pp. 16–50). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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