Week 3- Blog Posting #6-Communities of Practice

When I consider the idea of online communities, I consider the use of social networks to stay in contact with those people that you know but rarely see. I guess I am a rarity in terms of community resourcefulness. I have always been a loner and in my off-line world, I have few connections. I have a small family that is disinterested in creating anything resembling a family. I have friends that enter and leave my life without so much as a goodbye. I left for over a year and lived hundreds of miles from my home. What I am aware of is how much those connections really do matter. I was able to secure a job in days (the same day as faculty orientation) because of the connections I had made during my graduate years. I am using this program (EMDT) as an opportunity to really utilize these new colleagues and friends. Before getting back into research, I primarily used the Internet for social sites and checked in daily to check email or update my status. I found a great article that really addresses the problem that most have creating a community and that is the way that they use social sites. The website Chief Marketer is directed at marketing, but I was interested in the ideas that the article included to encourage community engagement. I think the biggest problem I have had making a connection to communities is my lack of willingness to come back. The key is a commitment to ongoing participation and working together over time. All of the tips could easily be attributed to any type of lesson plan, webquest, or tutorial that incorporates media. These tips include changing the topics and letting the users have a voice. Award and recognize participation. Much like gamers level up and have bragging rights, those who frequent discussions and contribute to forums like to be credited. Let users follow the discussions as well as communicate one on one and build deeper connections.

http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/online/1014-online-communitites-ideas/index.html

http://searchenginewatch.com/3634590

In addition to looking at how we can relate online communities to our off-line relationships and education, I wanted to explore the actual use of social media communities. The article by Liana Evans discusses the entrance into communities. What I have found when using new technology is that there is a definite way to use it and those that are new tend to stand out. As we have all been warned not to walk around in Second Life wearing a box, what about other communities? This article is valuable because it looks at how to approach communities as a newbie. The best way to familiarize oneself with anything new is to spend time learning. Online communities operate just like real-life communities. There is an initiation for any new group of friends and you have to take it slow and learn the virtual ropes.