When people have central objectives and work together to accomplish a mutual purpose they have created a community of practice. Groups that do just that surround us in our everyday life.
We are born into a community of people who help us grow and develop as young people, showing us the right way and listening to our concerns.
We move into preschool, where we are taught to share and everyone is in there because their parents had to drop them off before work. They learn together, play together and nap together.
Our community expands as we move into elementary school. We are all there because our parents have encouraged us to get the most out of our education and we work together for the mutual goal.
In middle school the friend community is our support when we cannot handle the stress of school and parents. Those are whom we turn to when we are overwhelmed and need help finding a resolution to the problem. Now students have so many ways to make that social connection with each other and even others outside of the community where they live. Now the options of who you can confide in has expanded beyond anything we could have imagined ten years ago. Dating options have grown; adults have begun to see online dating as a great way to find others in the communities of practice.
Second Life is a wonderful example of a community of practice. People go there to meet with likeminded individuals to accomplish a central goal. When we explored Second Life, I was amazed at what was all out there. I didn’t even know such a place existed until a few months ago. While it might be a bit much for some people, the resources available to us and the people available to us can help to solve most problems encountered. This vid was developed inside Second Life and helps to explain how the communities of learning actually work.
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