Introduction
As a part of my module in information literacy and communities of practice, I have created a website that has a couple of resources on the module. On the homepage, I have put my picture and a short self-introduction. Still, on the homepage, on the left side, there are links to my university and notes on communities of practice, information literacy, and theorist of learning. Also, there are links to other web pages like the university library, Harvard Referencing Guide, and YouTube video on communities of practice.
This site has been created via Google Sites. This required me to first of all create an email account with Google so as to create my site. During the creation, I had to choose one of the coloristic themes and then insert the contents I wished. Since this site is a tool for information sharing, I have created a space where readers are able to leave their comments on feedbacks.
An individual is said to be information literate, if he is able to know when he needs information, find it, assess it, and utilize it successfully to his need (Snyder 2000, p.386). On the other hand, a community of practice has been known to mean a crowd of people who are in the same career or share the same interest (Allen 2009, p.309). Within these communities, individuals are able to share knowledge and experiences, thereby, learning from each other. Through these communities, people are able to improve their professionalism and also develop personally (Wenger 2009, p.78). It has been found that people tend to seek information from their peers rather than reading books and journals (Wenger E. 1998, p.89).
This is because the communities of the same practice formed are more welcoming. Therefore, communities of the same practice become very crucial in helping one to be information literate. The tools commonly used in this 21st century include discussion boards, file sharing, and blogs (Salmon 2004, p.46).
Reflective discussion about your own learning space
Before the creation of any E-learning space, it is crucial to investigate what the characteristics of a community are. All members of this community have a certain common interest. In this area of interest, each one among them has a certain level of proficiency such that he is able to share valuable information with the other members (Stephenson 2001, p.231). The interest is what is called a domain, and all members must be committed to it. The members of these communities have to re-organize their social setting in a way that it will make it easy for them to actively engage in learning and teaching (Penelope 1999, p.213).
This means that they have to meet in one way or the other. It might be a meeting where they are all present physically or through the internet. Either way, they have to be in a situation where their thoughts are aired and discussed at the same time. Sometimes, these meetings happen in unexpected ways. Since the interest revolves around what members practice, the meeting can occur on a bus with a stranger or a person next to you in a cafe (Giddens 1994, p.67).
Before I started creating my learning space, I had to look at other already created learning spaces, such as Etienne Wenger’s web site, so as to learn one or two things. A learning space is where members of a common practice share information or where the actual learning takes place. In this case, the learning space is a website. I built this site for the purposes of developing myself personally, and to give others an opportunity to learn more and to receive inspiration. Obviously, learning spaces influence the way teaching and learning is done. Therefore, I had to ensure that the site was in accordance with some theories of learning that deeply consider social settings.
Albert Bandura is one of the education theorists who believed that the social setting greatly influenced the way people learn. Adding to the popular belief that the environment influences one’s behavior, he said that, one’s behavior is capable of influencing the environment (Lave 2009, p.80). The learning space (website) created, has the potential to influence other people. Similarly, Lev Vygotsky seemed to have the same idea when he projected the social-cultural learning theory.
This theory stipulates that children have an area slightly past the normal understanding called Zone of Proximal Development. One is able to reach this zone if he has the guidance of an adult who is thoroughly conversant with the area of interest. This means that, with correct guidance from an expert, one is able to comprehend more complicated subjects than would otherwise have.
Jerome Bruner could not agree with the above fellow theorists more. He acknowledged Vygotsky’s idea of other people influencing the learning of children. However, he added that learning is done through 3 main modes; words and numbers, actions, and pictures. His belief was motivated by the fact that these three modes surround us every day and everywhere. Thus, there is no way learning and socialization can be separated (Cooper 2010, p.58). He actually emphasized the use of these modes in learning and teaching. This ideology is common in E-learning. This is seen through the use of images, written text, and sharing of videos.
From the adult learning theory, it is seen that adults prefer to be actively engaged in the learning practice and also prefer to have some suppleness. Adults would rather have a model that gives them more freedom when it comes to participating. Websites and other E-learning tools just offer that.
The site I created is more personalized (since it has my picture and favorite colors) and is an ideal place to exchange information; due to the possibility of leaving a comment. It is also flexible and interactive in the sense that people can leave comments and access information at any time they wish. Comments are posted in real-time allowing the bloggers to collaborate and solve problems simultaneously. There is also a search option where readers are able to search for specific content on the site.
Evaluation of the online learning experience
From the CoP theory, I have been able to evaluate my site to see if it is effective enough. From the module, the objectives should be clearly identified. On my homepage, I have introduced myself and clearly explained the intention of building this site. Also, I have tried to make it as attractive as possible even though I had to choose one of the many color schemes provided. I choose to have my texts in white hoping it would look bold and clear for the reader.
I have used the Basic English language which is okay with many readers since now it’s almost an international language. The site is easy to use since all the links are clearly visible on the left side of any page. Furthermore, the links are arranged in a logical manner from top to bottom. Links start with my university and the following links dive straight into the subject matter.
When evaluating the pedagogical dimensions, I found that the domain here is information literacy and communities of practice (Benedict 2000, p.142). The community comprises students who have a similar module and may wish to find more information regarding information literacy. However, this does not exclude individuals who have the same interest since the information present is easy to understand (McDermott 2008, p.35).
The community that will be attracted to this site will be (are expected) to practice education or are in the field of education. The specific interest is as mentioned earlier; information literacy and communities of practice. The community is expected to participate by leaving comments on the site and also sharing their thoughts on the main subjects (Annalee 1996, p.342).
After reviewing my site and my peer’s site and reading reviews, I found it to have some strengths and also weaknesses. My greatest strength lies in the fact that I have used many differing sources. Every piece of information is properly referenced and well presented. To avoid boredom, I have presented my information in three ways, through text, pictures, and a video (Leigh 2006, p.62). I have used pictures of various theorists and also I have a YouTube video of Wenger explaining what communities of practice are.
Other than that, my site has brilliant colors making it very attractive. The greatest weakness of my site is that it does not have more information on some of the definitions used in my module. So, on its own, it does not give full comprehensive information. Some of the strengths of my peer’s site are; enough referenced information that has been well presented. This means that more research was done and articles and book sections were posted on the page.
A lot of focus was given to the theory; something which I did not do. However, their sites were plain and boring. There were no attractive blends of colors. Also, most of the information was in the text, thereby, the reader is likely to get bored somewhere in the middle. Other sites like Home Communities of Practice are more advanced than mine in the sense that they have weekly activities and numerous resources. I believe my site could be improved if I add more materials; especially on theory.
Working collaboratively
As a group, we held meetings regularly to discuss what should be on our sites. In these discussions, every one of us contributed by sharing ideas, hosting the meeting, and providing resources. However, everyone had to do individual research in the library and the internet so as to come up with relevant materials. It is through these meetings that we agreed on an article on which we would work on. I researched the material that I put on my learning space from the library and the internet. Also, I have given others the opportunity to add any information they feel is necessary through the comments/review page. I have contributed to my peer’s site by leaving comments and my thoughts on the site and the information in it.
Conclusion
Through this module, I have learned how to search and find relevant information on the internet. The information on the internet is vast; therefore, I had to choose the information which I thought would be relevant to my readers. That meant I had to go through numerous pieces of information so as to get the relevant ones. Through the research, I have also gained a great wealth of information regarding education theories and the different types of communities of practice.
On top of that, I have learned to effectively work with others in a group. Group discussions meant that we had to meet at a specific time. This taught me how to organize myself such that I would be in time for the meetings and ready to make a contribution. Occasionally, we had to change our meeting venue and time so that most of us would be present. This taught me how to be flexible and accommodating to others.
What I found to be very useful are the lecturer’s notes and mostly the lectures themselves. They helped me a lot when it came to deciding what the content and layout of my site should be. Group discussions were also helpful, especially when it came to creating the website. However, I had some difficulties in the initial stages of using a program to create a website. Also, I could not quite locate the necessary information I needed. Online learning space provides a lot of information on various topics. In the future, I intend to use such information to build on my career as a teacher and also share my experiences with other readers.
References
Allen, C., 2009. Information Literacy. New York: Sage.
Annalee, S., 1996. Culture and Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Benedict, A., 2000. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Cooper, B., 2010. Seeking Information in the Twenty First Century. Seattle: Handy Lave.
Giddens, A., 1994. The Dynamics of Science and Research. London: Sage.
Lave, J., 2009. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Leigh, S., 2006. Communities of Practice: Who are They? Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.
McDermott, R., 2008. Learning Across Teams. Knowledge Management Review , 8 (4), p.32-36.
Penelope, E., 1999. Social Categories In High Schools. New York: Twachers College Press.
Salmon, G., 2004. E-Moderating, The Key to Teaching and Learning OnLine. London: Taylor and Francis.
Snyder, W., 2000. The Organizational Frontier. London: Verso.
Stephenson, J., 2001. Teaching & learning online : new pedagogies for new technologies. London: Kogan.
Wenger, E., 1998. Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press7.
Wenger, E., 2009. Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities. Portland: Cpsquare.