Facilitating Social Learning in Virtual Communities of Practice

This chapter introduces communities of practice as a means to explore human computer interaction in online collaborative environments. Through a wide review of the literature on communities of practice and their virtual counterparts, it argues that the focus for successful interaction design in these communities lies on those sociability and usability aspects that allow greater participation in social learning. It also argues that the facilitator assumes a fundamental role in guiding a virtual community of practice to accomplish work-related informal learning activities in a climate of trust and collaboration. The author hopes that understanding the special opportunities provided by virtual communities of practice will advocate for their widespread routine use.

The Search for the 'Hidden' Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Community Practices and Social Interactive Media ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-340-1.ch003 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 42-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Ribeiro ◽

Chris Kimble

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Electronic Networks ◽

Seci Model ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽

Fully Functioning

This chapter examines the possibility of discovering a “hidden” (potential) Community of Practice (CoP) inside electronic networks, and then using this knowledge to nurture it into a fully functioning Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP). Starting from the standpoint of the need to manage knowledge and create innovation, the chapter discusses several issues related to this subject. It begins by examining Nonaka’s SECI model and his notion of Knowledge Transfer; the authors follow this by an investigation of the links between Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Knowledge Management; the chapter concludes by examining the relation between Nonaka’s Communities of Interaction and CoPs. Having established this the authors start their examination of the characteristics of “hidden” Communities of Practice. Following on from the previous discussion, they look at what is meant by “hidden” CoPs and what their value might be. They also look at the distinction between Distributed CoPs (DCoPs) and Virtual CoPs (VCoPs) and the issues raised when moving from ‘hidden’ CoPs to fully functioning VCoPs. The chapter concludes with some preliminary findings from a semi-structured interview conducted in the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network (UK). These findings are contrasted against the theory and some further proposals are made.

The Search for the ’Hidden’ Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch717 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2395-2411

Author(s):

Richard Ribeiro ◽

Chris Kimble

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Electronic Networks ◽

Seci Model ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽

Fully Functioning

This chapter examines the possibility of discovering a “hidden” (potential) Community of Practice (CoP) inside electronic networks, and then using this knowledge to nurture it into a fully functioning Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP). Starting from the standpoint of the need to manage knowledge and create innovation, the chapter discusses several issues related to this subject. It begins by examining Nonaka’s SECI model and his notion of Knowledge Transfer; the authors follow this by an investigation of the links between Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Knowledge Management; the chapter concludes by examining the relation between Nonaka’s Communities of Interaction and CoPs. Having established this the authors start their examination of the characteristics of “hidden” Communities of Practice. Following on from the previous discussion, they look at what is meant by “hidden” CoPs and what their value might be. They also look at the distinction between Distributed CoPs (DCoPs) and Virtual CoPs (VCoPs) and the issues raised when moving from ‘hidden’ CoPs to fully functioning VCoPs. The chapter concludes with some preliminary findings from a semi-structured interview conducted in the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network (UK). These findings are contrasted against the theory and some further proposals are made.

Virtual Communities of Practice

Ubiquitous Developments in Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-954-0.ch003 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 32-51

Author(s):

Jens Gammelgaard

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Information Exchange ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Exchange Process ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Feedback Loops ◽

Geographically Dispersed ◽

This chapter investigates the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice, and proposes them to be efficient for individual’s knowledge retrieval, when they work in a geographically dispersed organization, such as a multinational corporation. The virtual community of practice is likely to reduce the contextual gaps that typically exist between senders and receivers of knowledge, as it includes the possibility of feedback loops in the information exchange process. However, the organization must provide a knowledge-sharing friendly culture, and an institutional protectionism, in order to establish the required level of trust, being the foundation for knowledge exchanges within the virtual community.

A Social Informatics Framework for Sustaining Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-955-7.ch037 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 610-618 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Umar Ruhi

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Business Models ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Group Decision Support Systems ◽

Technology Applications ◽

Reminiscent of the present-day Web vogue and the emergence of a myriad of e-enabled business models, virtual communities of practice are fast emerging as the next logical extension of traditional communities of practice. Virtual communities of practice exemplify the components of most contemporary communities of practice, which incorporate elements of physical social interactions, in combination with distributed virtual connections. These communities utilize technology applications to better manage their routine pursuits. More specifically, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used to facilitate the operations of a community of practice by providing tools for managing content (explicit knowledge) and a means for sharing expertise (tacit knowledge) through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. The enabling technologies for institutionalizing a virtual community of practice range from simple user tools such as e-mail, teleconferencing, and groupware, to the more complex software applications, including group decision support systems (GDSSs) and corporate portals.

The 'Social Experience Factory' and the Fabrics of Collaboration in Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual Community Practices and Social Interactive Media ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-340-1.ch006 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 101-124

Author(s):

Demosthenes Akoumianakis

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Social Experience ◽

Tourism Sector ◽

The Social ◽

Technical Details ◽

Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽

Automated Software ◽

Product Assembly

This chapter proposes and discusses the “social” experience factory (SEF). The SEF provides a general model and architecture supporting information-based product assembly by cross-organization communities of practice using interactive toolkits and practice-specific technologies. In terms of engineering ground, the SEF builds on two prevalent research tracks, namely experience-based and reuse-oriented proposals for the management of virtual assets and automated software assembly as conceived and facilitated by recent advances on software factories. Our account of the SEF focuses on functions facilitating electronic squads (i.e., cross-organization virtual community management) and workflows (i.e., practice management) which collectively define the scope of collaboration using the SEF. Further technical details on operational aspects of the SEF as deployed in the tourism sector to facilitate vacation package assembly are presented in Chapter XXI in this volume.

A Social Informatics Framework for Sustaining Virtual Communities of Practice

Encyclopedia of Communities of Practice in Information and Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-556-6.ch078 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 466-473

Author(s):

Umar Ruhi

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Business Models ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Group Decision Support Systems ◽

Technology Applications ◽

Reminiscent of the present-day Web vogue and the emergence of a myriad of e-enabled business models, virtual communities of practice are fast emerging as the next logical extension of traditional communities of practice. Virtual communities of practice exemplify the components of most contemporary communities of practice, which incorporate elements of physical social interactions, in combination with distributed virtual connections. These communities utilize technology applications to better manage their routine pursuits. More specifically, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used to facilitate the operations of a community of practice by providing tools for managing content (explicit knowledge) and a means for sharing expertise (tacit knowledge) through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. The enabling technologies for institutionalizing a virtual community of practice range from simple user tools such as e-mail, teleconferencing, and groupware, to the more complex software applications, including group decision support systems (GDSSs) and corporate portals.

Virtual Communities of Practice

Connectivity and Knowledge Management in Virtual Organizations ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-070-7.ch019 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 339-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jens Gammelgaard

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Virtual Communication ◽

Physical Proximity ◽

Geographically Dispersed ◽

Knowledge Transfers ◽

In geographically dispersed organizations, like multinational corporations (MNCs), contextual gaps exist between senders and receivers of knowledge. Employee socialization resulting from physical proximity facilitates contextualization of the transferred knowledge. However, in MNCs most knowledge transfers take place through virtual communication media. We investigate the phenomenon of virtual communities of practice, and propose them to be efficient for individual’s knowledge retrieval as participation in such communities reduces the contextual gaps between senders and receivers of knowledge. However, the organization must provide a knowledge-sharing friendly culture, and an institutional protectionism, in order to establish the required level of swift trust within the virtual community.

Virtual Communities as Narrative Networks

International Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.4018/jkm.2013010102 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 21-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Michael R. Weeks ◽

Natasha F. Veltri

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Knowledge Creation ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Social Structures ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Community Knowledge ◽

Primary Attraction ◽

Networks Analysis ◽

This paper extends our understanding of knowledge creation in virtual communities of practice by examining crowdsourcing activities that enable knowledge creation in these social structures. An interpretive methodology, narrative networks analysis, is used to systematically study the narratives of discussion forums in a virtual community. The virtual community studied is voluntary for the participants, and open to anyone. Through the analysis of the narrative, a model of knowledge creation is developed that identifies types of evidentiary knowledge contributions, as well as conversation mitigators that help or hinder knowledge creation within the community. Knowledge is a primary attraction of a virtual community for many of its members, and this study aims to understand how knowledge is shared and created in such voluntary communities of practice. The model highlights elements that enhance and impair knowledge creation in this type of crowdsourced environment.

Social Informatics Framework for Sustaining Virtual Communities of Practice

E-Collaboration ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-652-5.ch017 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 193-201

Author(s):

Umar Ruhi

Keyword(s):

Communities Of Practice ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Business Models ◽

Explicit Knowledge ◽

Group Decision Support Systems ◽

Technology Applications ◽

Reminiscent of the present-day Web vogue and the emergence of a myriad of e-enabled business models, virtual communities of practice are fast emerging as the next logical extension of traditional communities of practice. Virtual communities of practice exemplify the components of most contemporary communities of practice, which incorporate elements of physical social interactions, in combination with distributed virtual connections. These communities utilize technology applications to better manage their routine pursuits. More specifically, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used to facilitate the operations of a community of practice by providing tools for managing content (explicit knowledge) and a means for sharing expertise (tacit knowledge) through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. The enabling technologies for institutionalizing a virtual community of practice range from simple user tools such as e-mail, teleconferencing, and groupware, to the more complex software applications, including group decision support systems (GDSSs) and corporate portals.