Community at a Distance: Employing a Community of Practice Framework in Online Learning for Rural Students

Abstract

Library and information science education today must prepare future professionals to leverage various technologies and develop professional networks that will propel them into future careers. Increasingly, today’s information professionals need to understand how to create identities, build relationships, and engage in productive work with others in an online, digital environment. A community of practice framework may help to promote the kinds of interactions and identity work needed in an online course and work environment. Additionally, the application of a community of practice framework in an online setting may serve to mitigate the geographic and professional isolation that characterizes rural librarianship.

A scoping review of existing research between 1990 and 2023: Measuring virtual communities of practice across disciplines

“…This may be due to the structural engagement differences between CoPs and VCoPs, namely the role of the virtual platform on social interactions and learning, versus in-person engagement (Lara et al, 2017). Consequently, research examining VCoPs using measurement tools is limited, specifically within the healthcare, health-education (Barbour et al, 2018), and education settings (Kimmel et al, 2019).…”

“…VCoPs play a central role in decreasing social, structural, and professional isolation and fill the gap in loss of training (Kimmel et al, 2019). VCoPs may improve participants' sense of connectedness to one another and their LARDIER ET AL.…”

“…VCoPs play a central role in decreasing social, structural, and professional isolation and fill the gap in loss of training (Kimmel et al, 2019). VCoPs may improve participants' sense of connectedness to one another and their profession, increasing their sense of motivation and commitment to their work (Worton, 2020), as well as provide opportunities for knowledge‐sharing.…”

Critical Voices

“…There are many examples in the literature of CoPs for library science students or library practitioners. Kimmel et al (2019) describe how Old Dominion developed support for rural, online, school librarian students. Cyre et al (2021) created a CoP at the University of Washington libraries called LibCares to support staff through stressful times and interactions.…”

Designing and examining an online graduate class in instructional design: A community of practice approach

“…As one of the essential concepts in education, Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been widely recognized as an emerging and effective approach to preparing students for professional proficiency in multiple academic disciplines including educational technology , teacher education , healthcare education , science education research groups , and library and information science (Kimmel, 2019;. In the field of instructional design, very limited studies adopted the concept of CoPs to explore how IDs interact with subject matter experts (SMEs) (Keppell, 2004) and how IDs interact and learn from each other in a professional setting (Schwier et al, 2004;.…”