Editing Virtual community of practice (section)

{{Buzzword|date=July 2011}}

An '''online community of practice''' ('''OCoP'''), also known as a '''virtual community of practice''' ('''VCoP'''), is a [[community of practice]] (CoP) that is developed and maintained on the [[Internet]]. OCoPs include active members who are practitioners, or "experts," in the specific domain of interest. Members participate in a process of collective learning within their domain.<ref name="Wenger, 2007">Wenger, E. (2007). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved October 5th, 2010, from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/</ref> Community social structures are created to assist in knowledge creation and sharing, which is negotiated within an appropriate context. Community members learn through both instruction-based learning and group discourse. Finally, multiple dimensions facilitate the long-term management of support and the ability for synchronous interactions.<ref name="Wenger, 2001">Wenger, E. (2001). Supporting communities of practice: A survey of community-oriented technologies. Retrieved October 30, 2001 from http://www.ewenger.com/tech {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526052957/http://www.ewenger.com/tech/ |date=2013-05-26 }}</ref>

To some, a VCoP is a misnomer because the original concept of a CoP was based around [[situated learning]] in a co-located setting.  With increasing [[globalization]] and the growth of the [[Internet]], many now claim that virtual CoPs exist.<ref name="Dubé et al., 2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Dubé |first1=Line |last2=Bourhis |first2=Anne |last3=Jacob |first3=Réal |date=2005 |title=The Impact of Structuring Characteristics on the Launching of Virtual Communities of Practice |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242345920 |journal=Journal of Organizational Change Management |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=145–166 |access-date=2024-10-09 |doi=10.1108/09534810510589570 |via=Emerald}}</ref><ref name="Zarb, 2006">{{Cite journal |last=Zarb |first=M.P. |date=2006 |title=Modelling Participation in Virtual Communities-of-Practice |journal=LSR MSC ADMIS Dissertation: Distinction}}</ref><ref name="Hara & Hew, 2007">{{Cite journal |last1=Hara |first1=Noriko |last2=Foon Hew |first2=Khe |date=2007 |title=Knowledge-Sharing in an Online Community of Health-Care Professionals |journal=Information Technology & People |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=235–261 |doi=10.1108/09593840710822859 |hdl=2022/14344 |via=Emerald|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Murillo, 2008">{{Cite journal |last=Murillo |first=Enrique |date=2008 |title=Searching Usenet for Virtual Communities of Practice: Using Mixed Methods to Identify the Constructs of Wenger's Theory |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ837276.pdf |journal=Information Research: An International Electronic Journal |volume=13 |issue=4 |access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref> For example, some<ref>[http://www.chris-kimble.com/CLEE/Book_2/Chapters/Chapter_16.html The Adult Literacy Education Wiki as a Virtual Community of Practice] E. Jacobson ''in'' C. Kimble and P. Hildreth (eds). Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators. Charlotte NC, Information Age Publishing (2008)</ref> claim that a wiki (such as [[Wikipedia]]) is a virtual CoP,<ref name="Bryant et al., 2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Bryant |first1=Susan |last2=Forte |first2=Andrea |last3=Bruckman |first3=Amy |date=November 6–9, 2005 |title=Becoming Wikipedian: Transformation of Participation in a Collaborative Online Encyclopedia |url=https://faculty.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/bryant-forte-bruckman-group05.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the 2005 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work |pages=1–10}}</ref> whereas others argue that the essence of a community is place-based – a [[community of place]].

There is also debate on the term VCoP because the form of communication is largely [[Computer-mediated communication|computer-mediated]]. Few believe that a community of practice may be formed without face-to-face meetings, with many leading CoP researchers stressing the importance of in-person meetings. However, some researchers argue that a VCoP's high use of community technology changes some of its characteristics and introduces new complexities and ambiguities, thus justifying the term VCoP and its area of study.<ref name="Zarb, 2006"/>

Other similar terms include: online,<ref name="Cothrel & Williams, 1999">{{Cite journal |last1=Cothrel |first1=Joseph |last2=Williams |first2=Ruth L. |date=1999 |title=On-line communities: helping them form and grow |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010603010033id_/http://www.participate.com:80/research/oc-helpformgrow.pdf |journal=Journal of Knowledge |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=54–60 |doi=10.1108/13673279910259394 |access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref> computer-mediated,<ref name="Etzioni & Etzioni, 1999">{{Cite journal |last1=Etzioni |first1=Amitai |last2=Etzioni |first2=Oren |date=1999 |title=Face-to-face and Computer-Mediated Communities, a Comparative Analysis |journal=The Information Society |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=241–248 |doi=10.1080/019722499128402 |via=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> electronic<ref name="Wasko & Faraj, 2000">{{Cite journal |last1=Wasko |first1=M. McLure |last2=Faraj |first2=Samer |date=2000 |title="It is what one does": why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice |journal=The Journal of Strategic Information Systems |volume=9 |issue=2–3 |pages=155–173 |doi=10.1016/s0963-8687(00)00045-7 }}</ref> and distributed.<ref>[http://www.chris-kimble.com/Publications/Documents/Hildreth_1998.pdf Computer Mediated Communications and Communities of Practice.] Hildreth, Kimble & Wright,in [[Terry Bynum]], [[Simon Rogerson]] and Jeroen van den Hoven (eds), Proceedings of Ethicomp’98, (March 1998), Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 275 - 286, (1998)</ref><ref name="Wenger et al., 2002">{{Cite book |last1=Wenger |first1=Etienne |title=Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge |last2=McDermott |first2=Richard Arnold |last3=Snyder |first3=William |date=2002 |publisher=Harvard Business School Publishing |isbn=9781578513307}}</ref><ref name="Kimble and Hildreth (2005)">{{Cite Q|Q56455972}}</ref> As the mode of communication can involve face-to-face, telephone and letter, and the defining feature is its distributed nature. Virtual Learning Communities (VLCs) are distinct from Distributed Communities of Practice (DCoP).<ref name="Couros, 2003">{{Cite journal |last=Couros |first=Alec |date=December 2003 |title=Communities of Practice: A Literature Review |url=https://www.educationaltechnology.ca/publication_files/unpublishedpapers/communities_practice.pdf |journal=Unpublished |access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref>
Similar to a VCoP, a "mobile community of practice" (MCoP)<ref name="Kietzmann et al., 2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Kietzmann |first1=Jan |last2=Plangger |first2=Kirk |last3=Eaton |first3=Ben |last4=Heilgenberg |first4=Kerstin |last5=Pitt |first5=Leyland |last6=Berthon |first6=Pierre |date=2013 |title=Mobility at work: A typology of mobile communities of practice and contextual ambidexterity. |url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:680683/FULLTEXT01.pdf |journal=The Journal of Strategic Information Systems |publication-date=2013 |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=282–297 |doi=10.1016/j.jsis.2013.03.003 |via=Elsevier}}</ref> forms when members primarily engage in a community of practice using mobile phones.

Research suggests that increases in the sharing of [[tacit knowledge]], which occurs within communities of practice, may take place in VCoPs, albeit to a lesser degree.<ref name="Zarb, 2006"/>