Getting learning communities going.

As part of the build-up to the international theoretical psychology conference in Cape Town next year, colleagues in my department are starting up something called ConferencePlus - a network of South African postgrad students and (especially international) delegates coming to the conference. The idea is that students will have an opportunity to better 'locate' their postgrad research projects by exploring themes emerging from the conference, and by becoming part of online groups (of students and academics) working on related topics.

At the conference itself we will then make provision for these groups to meet face-to-face for the first time - with the expectation that some of the collaborations that emerge will last beyond the conference. What's in it for established academics is the opportunity to do a bit more than the usual academic tourism thing - engage a little more deeply with local students, share some knowledge and expertise, and learn about South African approaches.

So it's in this context that I've just re-read Stephen Downes' short piece on learning communities posted on the Australian flexible learning site. It's a really useful piece, with simple to-the-point advice about what works. These are the (somewhat modified) key points that stood out for me:

• have a clear purpose
• provide access to resources
• focus the community on creating something new, not just consuming resources
• foster a sense of the whole and of the community's history
• make people feel that they are heard
• provide mechanisms for new members to get up to speed

By Martin Terre Blanche 9 Nov 2004 [Collaborative Learning]
1:43:07 PM