ERIC Number: EJ787662
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jan
Pages: 21
Abstractor: Author
Reference Count: 37
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0892-3647
From Community to Community of Practice: Exploring the Connection of Online Learners to Informal Learning in the Workplace
Conrad, Dianne L.
American Journal of Distance Education, v22 n1 p3-23 Jan 2008
The study that informs this article investigated how online learners' participation in and perception of their sense of learning community contributed to or affected their relationship to their workplace environment and their workplace colleagues. The findings support contentions that, in the workplace, the work itself constitutes the most important locus of learning. Explicit transfer of knowledge comprised the most valued exchanges among colleagues. Although learners generally reported engaging and benefiting from participation in a learning community with their online peers, there was little evidence that they contributed to a robust community of practice in their workplaces. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Informal Education, Work Environment, Peer Relationship, Employee Attitudes, Learning Strategies, Transfer of Training, Computer Mediated Communication, Educational Technology, Distance Education, Adult Students, Adult Learning, Educational Environment, Self Concept, Foreign Countries, Online Courses, Postsecondary Education, Questionnaires, Interviews, Gender Differences, Experiential Learning
Lawrence Erlbaum. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Adult Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Canada

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