CoP and PLN

Between the videos, the readings and reading my classmates blog posts, I feel I have a better understanding of what comprises a Community of Practice.  Sharing a particular interest or domain, practicing and connecting in regards to that interest or domain.  I am involved in several clubs, organizations, and committees.  Within each of these, I have people I call upon or who call upon me as a resource to help clarify, simplify, or expedite something.

Within my cohort, I connect with people via email, voice calls, voicemail, text messages, facebook, and google+.  I created a Facebook group as well as a Google site for my cohort to share and learn from one another, but neither is very active.  It seems that for the most part, if I don't post anything, nothing gets posted.  That's fine, but I have no idea if these are useful, helpful, or of value to my colleagues.

Since beginning the JDP, I have learned more and practiced more in terms of sharing information through technology. I became more active on twitter through the JDP.  I learned about hashtags and how useful they can be through the JDP.

My PLN is amorphous in the sense that I move between domains continuously throughout any given day. My role at any given moment defines what group I am acting as a member of or should reach out to or expect to hear from.  The last part, the expect to hear from is the most nebulous.  I never really know who is going to call me or have any idea what they are calling about.  The same can be said about me.  There are some people with whom I interact and share information in a variety of arenas, so they never know where I'm coming from until I communicate.

Technology is my buddy.  I have two phones and each has google voice and skype as well as Facebook.  One has twitter, pinterest, and linkedin.  They both have google+.

Recently, I changed the way I wear my hear and have joined several "natural hair groups".  These groups include meetups, facebook groups, discussion groups, and good old fashion forums and listserves.  Some people I interact with on multiple platforms and others only in one of the several.   I use my phone, laptop, and iPad to interact with these people.  We offer advice, product information, techniques, tool tips, and encouragement.

At work, we use SharePoint a  lot to engage in group collaboration. It works to the extent that people are comfortable and willing to interact online.

In terms of the future of learning, I see ways to leverage technology to engage students in real time.  To poll students for answers to questions about the reading that spares them the embarrassment of raising their hand to shout out a wrong answer.

MOOCs are big (pun intended) these days and I look forward to seeing how they are integrated into degree programs as part of the curriculum.

In terms of fostering CoP practices as a current and possibly future leader, I have a strong interest in building project management and other domain CoPs at UCSD as well as within other arenas where I have influence. I currently encourage and facilitate informal CoP practice through connecting like minded individuals to support one another as they work through solving similar problems.