COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
The notions of digital identities and filter bubbles can impact the communities of practice that we are a part of and influence which ones we unknowingly choose to be a part of. The definition of communities of practice can be understood as a group of different people who share the same interests or practices. They usually come together to negotiate what it means to be competent in their field of practice or interests (Western Sydney University 2018). In simpler terms, Communities of Practice are basically a group of individuals who all share the same interests!
Smith (2003) reiterates the notion of unknowingly becoming a part of communities through the fact that they are generally everywhere and are part of our everyday life – whether it be work, school, sports or church! With the use of the world wide web, we can become part of many other online communities! Wenger (2013) argues that new technologies beyond our geographical boundaries have helped expand communities across the whole world. In my opinion, it seems cool knowing that there are so many people who are just like you!
A community I automatically became apart of is my cultural one, my Samoan community. Growing up within the Western Suburbs of Sydney where there is a large population of Polynesians made me feel extremely comfortable! I was surrounded by people who were just like me. However, like many things in life there was some issues. Being a part of a humble community is a blessing, but sometimes society just looks at us as Rugby Players (newsflash, not all Polynesians like running a.k.a ME!!). When society has already socially constructed your future based on the community you are a part of, it’s difficult to stand out. From personal experience, I was scared I wasn’t going to fit in at university because I felt as if there weren’t going to be any brown people! Thankfully, my community always reminded me that we are much more then just rugby players or factory workers. It is crazy how people who simply share the same cultural background can also provide psychological support when needed!
Many online communities of practices also provide opportunities for cyber bullying. Lewin & Somekh (2004) argue that regardless if you share similar views, there will always be conflicting perspectives! These conflicting perspectives can cause a lot of online trolls or hate. Even though these are just meaningless words said over the internet, to some people words can hurt! Lewin & Somekh (2004) further argued that even though communities of practice are expanding globally and provide opportunities for intellectual growth and some cases psychological support, it also contributes to the global spread of cyber bullying.
REFERENCES:
Lewin, C & Somekh, B 2004, ‘Communities of Practice’, in Research Methods in the Social Sciences, SAGE, London.
Smith, M.K 2003, ‘Communities of Practice’, The encyclopedia of Informal Education, January 2003, viewed 6 April 2018 http://valenciacollege.edu/faculty/development/tla/documents/CommunityofPractice.pdf
Wenger, E 2013, ‘A Brief Introduction’, Communities of Practice, December 2013, viewed 6 April 2018, <http://www.uwoakville.org/wpv3/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Communities-of-Practice-introduction-document.pdf>
Western Sydney University 2018, What Does Community Mean, 2 April, Module 6.2, WSU, Online.