Schlager, M. S., & Fusco, J. (2003). Teacher Professional Development, Technology, and Communities of Practice: Are We Putting the Cart Before the Horse? The Information Society, 19, 203. doi: 10.1080/01972240390210046

Mark Schlager is the co- founder of TAPPED IN an online community of practice established in 1997.  Judith Fusco is the project co-director and community director at TAPPED IN.  TAPPED IN part of SRI International’s Center for Technology in Learning.  In this article they discuss the evolution of this online community and the ways in which the use of technology may be “putting the cart before the horse” in terms of maximizing the potential of learning communities at the local level before jumping in with both feel into online communities of practice.  The claim there may be “even greater potential to help support and strengthen local communities of practice within which teachers work.”

Significant research has been conducted on the evolution of this particular online community of practice.  There are a lot of educators involved in this online community, however, whether or not the thousands of users actually constitue a community of practice has yet to be determined.  It appears to be very successful, however more research about the types of knowledge that is shared, the motivations behind the knowledge sharing and the application of the knowledge into actual practice is needed.

References: Lave and Wenger, 1991; Orr 1996, Wenger, 1998, Brown & Duguid, 1991, 2000

Research completed outside the field of education; more sociologically based.

“Communities of practice are viewed as emergent, self-reproducing and evolving entities that are distinct from, and frequently extend beyond, formal organizational structures, with their own organizing structures, norms of behavior, communication channels and history.” (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Barab & Duffy, 2000; Schlager et al. , 2002)

Exception rather than the rule in K-12 Education.  Why?

Two important questions to consider:

1. Why do education researchers, policymakers, district leaders, and technologists need to understand, nurture, and support communities of practice in K-12 education?

2. What can education technologists do to help nurture and support communities of practice in K-12 education?

Guideposts for Technology Design that Support Systemwide Improvement

1. Learning Processes

2. History and Culture

3. Membership Identity and Multiplicity

4. Community Reproduction and Evolution

5. Social Networks

6. Leaders and Contributors

7. Tools, Artifacts, and Places

8. The Practice

Goal is to return to the local communities of practice to fully understand how they work in order to fully develop online communities of practice that can engage and support teacher learning, resulting in sustained development of best teaching practices.

Borko, H., Whitcomb, J., & Liston, D. (2009). Wicked Problems and Other Thoughts on Issues of Technology and Teacher Learning. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), 3-7. doi: 10.1177/0022487108328488

Editorial: Journal of Teacher Education, theme issue: Innovative Uses of Technology for Teacher Learning

Wicked Problem: problem that include a large number of complex variables.

The fast pace of the growth of digital technologies combined with the complexities of teaching and learning has amazing potential, while at the same time, presents difficult and challenging problems.

The authors of this editorial frame the topics outlined in the issue around TPACK, teacher knowledge related to integrating technology, technological pedagogical content knowledge.

1. What are the pedagogical affordances and constraints of digital technologies?

Technology: is the knowledge creation and use of tools and techniques to control and adapt to our environment; includes analogue technologies ie. pencil, chalkboard, microscope as well as newer technologies, digital technologies ie. internet, email, video games. We are only just beginning to realize the academic potential of the newer technologies.

Reasons teachers like them:

• limitless capacity to store information
• accessibility, search and retrieval
• ability to manipulate artifacts to capture the interrelations
• No constraints of time or place (anytime, anywhere)

Potential to:

• Education to reach a large number of people, including remote spaces
• Asynchronous participation in online communities allows for anytime, any place collaboration
• Synchronous participation allows for real time discussions, spanning distances, connecting spaces

Complications:

• Instability: rapid pace of innovation results in continuous change
• Knowledge is never fixed; constantly faced with the need to know more
• Fast to deliver technology = more bugs, less reliability, dependable structure
• Challenges organizational financial and intellectual resources

“As a result, the never-ending process of learning to use advanced information and digital technologies in teaching can be fraught with ambiguity and frustration. (Koehler & Mishra, 2008)

2. In what ways can we use digital technologies in teacher education and professional development?

• Strong impact; can reach large numbers of people, potentially cost-effective
• Technologies can provide individualized professional development and just-in-time learning to meet the needs of busy teachers.
• Video, online social networks and online professional development programs.
• Hatch & Grossman, 2009; Santagata, Sherin and van Es, 2009, explore the use of video
• Online communities like Tapped In (Schlager and Fusco, 2003); update 2009

3. How can digital technologies support teacher’s integration of technology into classroom teaching?

• Not addressed in this issue, but needs to be explored further
• What knowledge and skills must teachers have to use technology effectively in their teaching?
• NETS (National Educational Technology Standards for Teacher)

TPACK is a “compelling conceptualization” of the knowledge teachers need to effectively integrate technology into their practice.  I think that developing technological skills for personal learning that teachers will become more effective teachers, in that they will be able to clearly see the relations between the use of technology, pedagogy, content and knowledge.  The technological knowledge cannot be ignored, however it also cannot be taught through the traditional models of professional development currently in practice.  Teachers need to incorporate it into their own learning.  Just as the NWP’s philosophy of teaching writing challenges teachers to become good writers into order to be good writing teachers, technology skills need to be developed much in the same manner.  Technology is not a content area, but a skill, like reading, writing, computation, that must become ubiquitous in order to be infused into the educational systems.