As Wenger states, everyone is involved in communities of practice in everyday life, whether this includes people we rely on for help, or help them ourselves, work or uni colleagues or at home. I myself have been involved in many CofPs. Including my basketball team and work colleagues. I will use my uni friends whom i study and share ideas with for my example of Wengers model. As my University colleagues and I are all students on the same or similar courses and we share interests in the same field we hold a joint enterprise therefore it is easy for us to discuss our theories and problems with the subject at hand. Also when we discuss our ideas we are not forced to do so, and it is not structured where there is a specific time to meet and talk, convosation just happens when we feel the urge to engage one another as a mutual engagement. We have a shared repertoire as over time we have developed similar study routines and thought processes about our chosen subjects.
There are many online communities but many of them are just that, however some include people with similar goals who report to the community on there progress and techniques on how to do so which, because of their joint enterprise, makes them CofPs. It could be argued that users of http://www.myspace.com/ would be classified as a CofP as many musicans and music artists reside there and upload their new songs. Aswell as this they also comment on other peoples songs and together they all slowly progress their musical ability in order to achieve their goal of making it in the music industry.
When Wenger refers to an 'Organizational Unit' he states that unilke organizational units, CofPs are informal and a way of progression whereas organizational units and just a kind of directory service within businesses to define certain areas or departments people work in, and what they have contributed to it.
The New Media Culture forums is a form of a CofP. As we all wish to progress and get good grades in the unit. Within our CofP us students are the nembies to the community where the lecturers (Alison and Dave) are the experianced members with the authority. We all share joint enterprise, a mutual engagement and a shared repertoir as we are studying the subject of mew media and reporting on our findings, we are bound together by the course MCC and because of this we share the same routines and tendencies.
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Are there any in-betweens in the New Media CofP Jason? In other words, would you say there is anyone in the group apart form the lecturers that may be 'higher up' this CofP ladder than the ordinary student?
ReplyDeleteIntersting comment about myspace too which makes me wonder how far you can stretch a concept like CofP. Myspace users do, to an extent, have a joint enterprise to the extent that they all want to improve their music and, as you say, 'make it' - and are often prepared to engage and to offer each other support. On the other hand though, you could argue that it is just a loosely grouped bunch of individuals, who, if they had to compete, would climb over each other in order to get there first!! In this lihgt, would we still be able to call it a CofP? (There may be no answer).
Glad to see these fuller blogs on your part and an attmept to catch up - do remember to bring in theory, terminology and critique to your work to demonstate your knowledge of the unit.