RSA 3: Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ920740.pdf

The readings and module 5 discuss the positive and negative implications of online learning, and further address the impact that community has on online learning. Paloff and Pratt (2007) indicate many positive results of learning online, but also show the need of human contact within the learning process. They write, “textual communication is a great equalizer, promotes a sense of relative anonymity, and can prompt us to be more thoughtful about what we say online…but the risk of isolating ourselves from face to face contact in the process does exist” (p.48).

The article Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning reports on a study of teachers in New Zealand who are in an online graduate degree program. Through this study, the author found that interpersonal connections were not forged because of this online relationship. Mackey and Evans write, “There was evidence of sharing practices and understandings in the networked environment, but generally these were limited to the assessment and practicalities of completing the course” (p. 11). Mackey and Evans further present the conclusion that to achieve the potential of online learning communities, they must “encourage the often invisible interactions that learners have with those outside the formal course structure” (p. 13).

The passages in Building Online Learning Communities can be closely connected with the article. The study gives a first-hand account of the complications that can form in community with online learning, and discusses what can be done to avoid them. Paloff and Pratt outline the benefits and potential downfalls of online learning which correlates with the New Zealand study.

References

Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning. International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 12(3), 1-18.

Paloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom, (2^nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 978-0-7879-8825-8, pages 3-65.