Moodle as a Community of Learning or Practice or neither??

Raymond WatsonOpen Training College

Dublin

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Build it and they will come!!!

The Research QuestionAn illuminative evaluation of an online

community of practice as an element of curriculum design for work based social care students.

Does the innovation operate effectively as a community of practice?

Does the innovation contribute to students learning?

What benefits were there for the student?10/04/2023 3The Open Training College

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Facilitation

Participation

Assessment

Community

Mission

To provide educational opportunities to frontline workers and managers in social care (specifically the disability sector) that:

Is accessibleIs flexibleIs accreditedFocuses on best practice

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Conceptualisatio

n

Construction

Contextualisation

Online Learning Strengths and Weaknesses

Mayes , T. (2002)

Online CommunityDeveloped a virtual learning environmentUsed MOODLE as the platformDeveloped a site for students that included

discussion boardsDiscussions started by tutors, but then

students encouraged to open their ownStudents assessed on participation, based on

time, networking and relevance of contribution

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Community of PracticeDefinition:

‘a group of people who do not necessarily work together everyday but find value in their interactions....they typically share information, insight and advice’.

Wenger (2002)

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10/04/2023 The Open Training College 11Allen (2008)

Learning or Practice?Are the student ‘legitimate participants’ in a

community of practice

or are they still learners??

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What we needed to find out?Was the student participating?

Salmon’s (2004) five levels of e participation

If participating, were the key components of CoP present?

Saint-Onge and Wallace’s (2003) 5 characteristics of CoPs.

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Saint-Onge and Wallace’s 5 Characteristics of a CoP (2003)

CommitmentConversationsConnectivityCollaborationCapabilities

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InstrumentsStudent questionnaires – identify key

information on the students taking part and to explore their experience of being a member of the online community

Interviews with the tutors involved

Tracking of the student’s online activity

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TrackingBy labelling the students based on their

experience of accessing, networking and sharing and then identifying how the experience was for each group

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Saint-Onge and Wallace’s 5 CharacteristicsEvidence of each characteristic being

present.

But what was the motivation behind this participation?

The questionnaires had shown that while professional development was a motivator, the main motivation was the generation of new ideas for assessment purposes.

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Key BenefitsShare others experienceIdentify new ideasExchange ideasReduce isolation

Solutions for Assignments

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The AssessmentAssessment looked at how their organisation

planned for individual service users?Assessed on a rubricRubric looked at amount (750 words), over 3

postings, to 3 different people, content (practice ideas and linkage to key theory)

10%

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Some of The Student Driven Topics

Person Centred PlanningDealing with FamiliesDealing with ManagersPlanning for ChildrenPlanning for People within the Autistic

SpectrumLanguageTopical IssuesWhat do you do when....?Finance

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Examples of CollaborationWorking with Families – Do organisations

give training to parents? What would the curriculum be?

Language – moved from medical model language like the use of terms like sever and profound to identifying that for PCPs to work that the language must be more collegial like partner.

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Examples of CapabilitiesExploring Person Centred Planning against

other planning systems in organisations and their role in them

Supporting someone who was not a self advocate in the process

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Authentic Assessment?Thorny issue?Shifts instruction from a teaching

environment to a learning environment with a focus on practice centred learning

Meaningful dialogue it supports ‘deep learning’

Meaningful interaction with both tutor and peer

Dialogue with a wide community of learnersProvision of formative feedbackImmediate response to real time issues10/04/2023 The Open Training College 24

Discourse CommunityThe community was not a community of

practice.

The tool had two characteristics that diluted its power as a community of practice.

OnlinePedagogical rationale

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Students were not self selecting and the community was too structured.

Participation was limited to the level required to reach assessment criteria.

Did not have that key characteristic of a COP as a defined by Wenger- it was not a fuzzy, organic structure based on passion for practice.

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Sharp (1997) stated that generally online communities produced a weaker form of community of practice, called

DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES.

What had we learned?The devise did have benefits as a pedagogical tool.

The devise does support meaningful conversation on practice.

Support for students needed to ensure everyone accessed the community , networked and shared.

Engagement with the innovation was not dependent on gender, previous computer skills or age.

Engagement was based on the students motivation to learn.

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The FutureWhere the innovation may blossom into a

Community of Practice is in the wider field of social care in Ireland.

Deepen ongoing professional learningDevelop practice through participationCreate a valid platform for CPD

Collective experience of many social care workers would produce a valid reference point and align people to be effective beyond their own practice.

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Facilitation

Participation

Assessment

Community

References Mayes, T. (2002) The Technology of Learning in a Social World.

London, OUP. Salmon, G. (2004) e-moderating-The Key to Teaching and

Learning Online, UK, Routledge-Falmer Saint-Onge, H. & Wallace, D. (2003) Leveraging Communities of

Practice for Strategic Advantage, Boston, Butterworth-Heinemann Schwen, T. & Hara, N. (2003) Community of Practice: A Metaphor

for Online Design in The Information Society Vol. 19 Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning

and Identity, New York, Cambridge University Press Wenger, E; McDermott, R. 7Snyder, W. (2002) Cultivating

Communities of Practice, Boston, HBS Press

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