Cycle 1 Research Question: Does a community of practice focused on technology collaboration enhance technology use?
This research demonstrates some essential tools for creating a successful community of practice:
1. Create a centralized information hub. In order to manage the resources a community gathers, a centralized location must be created to store and re-distribute information. A website was created and storage tools embedded for ease of access.
2. Schedule meetings monthly. Based on input from teachers attending the meeting, a monthly meeting is best for reconnecting would be sustainable.
3. The invite is essential. This research shows that personally inviting teachers who fit the profile of a tech-minded teacher contributes to successful implementation of a group meeting about a shared topic of interest.
Cycle 2 Research Question: Will an online tool for collaboration and communication be used by the CoP? If the facilitator of this group creates a thread using the collaboration tool will the participants in the group respond?
Online tool provides asynchronous communication. A Google Group was chosen for this community of practice based on familiarity of Google products used in the district such as Gmail. After inviting members of the community to join the online group, 10 out of 20 teachers joined the group within a few days. Five out of ten teachers responded immediately to a post sent out by the group facilitator.
Tech Munch Survey: The results of this survey were mostly encouraging. Participants who took the survey were unanimously interested in pursuing further discussion via the online discussion group. More work is needed to tailor the online discussion tool to the needs of Tech Munch.
The creation of a technology community of practice has been shown by this study to foster teacher learning by focusing discussion within a school site and increasing teacher exposure to the latest trends in technology. A personal invitation allowed the coordinator and potential group members to discuss and connect real experiences to a common goal; which lead in many cases to a commitment to attend the meetup. The coordination of a meet up of technology minded teachers was an excellent opportunity to share experiences and resources in a relaxed and safe forum. Participating teachers were found to be excited and interested in the opportunity to hear from their peers and share their ideas with similarly minded individuals.