Http://www.wikieducator.org/HIVAIDS Portal/Community of Practice

Traditional Communities vs. Community of Practice (CoP)
Traditional
 * Geographically bound
 * No shared domain of interest
 * No shared practice

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.(Wenger's definition)
 * Domain
 * Community
 * Practice
 * Resources
 * Improving Performance

Wenger Theory

How is Practice developed in a Community?

1. Problem solving - "Can we work on this design and brainstorm some ideas; I�m stuck."

2. Requests for information - "Where can I find the code to connect to the server?"

3. Seeking experience - "Has anyone dealt with a customer in this situation?"

4. Reusing assets - "I have a proposal for a local area network I wrote for a client last year. I can send it to you and you can easily tweak it for this new client."

5. Coordination and synergy - "Can we combine our purchases of solvent to achieve bulk discounts?"

6. Discussing developments - "What do you think of the new CAD system? Does it really help?"

7. Documentation projects - "We have faced this problem five times now. Let us write it down once and for all."

8. Visits - "Can we come and see your after-school program? We need to establish one in our city."

9. Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps - "Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?"

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