An online community of practice: a concept for the ACE sector to

explore

About this project and its objectives

Could an Internet-based solution bolster collaboration, support and resource-sharing within the ACE sector?

If ‘yes’, what kind of solution would best meet the needs of the ACE sector?

E-mentoring versus online community website?

Overview of research done

Revero Web Consultants was commissioned to:

- survey the sector

- research examples of online community & mentoring websites

- report on findings and make recommendations.

Who responded to the survey?

115 of 400 recipients responded – 30% of sector

Majority were women (96%) aged 40-60 years who work in schools (60%).

Statistics reflect sector: 50% work in schools.

Who responded to the survey?

70% of respondents were European

1/4 were of Maori or Pacifica descent

Who responded to the survey?

Most respondents use broadband Internet

2-10 hours per week

What the survey revealed – key findings

Three quarters currently receive ad hoc mentoring and support from others in sector

Sector open to collaboration and a community-approach to problem-solving and information-sharing

Email is most common way for sector to give and receive advice

Relatively active online and offline network already

What the survey revealed – key findings

ACE practitioners face common issues around the country, such as:

- funding and financial management

- resourcing, time management and learner participation

- governance and programme development

- tutoring and learning

- promotions and advertising.

What the survey revealed – key findings

70% of respondents would use Internet technologies to communicate and collaborate with sector

That is 20% of the entire sector

Arguably amounts to sufficient numbers to explore and sustain concept of online community of practice

Respondents who said ‘no’ to getting advice online, are in part the same people who said they don’t actually need advice

What the survey revealed – key findings

What the survey revealed – key findings

80 respondents would like to receive mentoring and support from others online

56 respondents already provide mentoring and support

32 would willingly mentor others online for 1-2 hours per week

Demand for mentoring and support is greater than supply

Same people who need advice also give advice

What the survey revealed – summary

Networking and collaboration are established practices

ACE practitioners typically rely on trial and error, and ad hoc peer-to-peer advice

Information-sharing is ad hoc – info not centralised and not reusable by others

Many ACE practitioners may not realise they are experiencing problems common to others

What the survey revealed – summary

Enough confidence with technology to warrant exploring an online community of practice

Comfortable with email and willing to use other Internet technologies to work together

Online community would expand existing communities of practice and increase their reach

Local and international case studies

http://emss.nsta.org http://www.edna.edu.au www.learn-now.school.nz

www.telementor.org www.tki.org.nz www.mentornet.net

http://tappedin.org www.brightjournals.com www.imentor.org

What the case studies revealed – both e-mentoring & online community sites

Success more likely if proper governance, a charter and quality assurance

Funding is often an issue - sponsorship, user-pays fees and/or government

Web technologies are becoming more sophisticated - many open source (free) options now

Start with clear set of business requirements and keep it simple

Promote site within the target industry

What the case studies revealed – for e-mentoring sites only

E-mentoring sites designed to redress gap in experience between experts and novices in an industry

Matching mentees with suitable mentors is important

1-2 hours per week

Better if mentors receive formal training and structured curriculum

Common challenge can be low participation by mentees

What the case studies revealed – for online community sites

Success more likely if online community augments and supports activities of existing real-world community

Trained community facilitators are important

Facilitators are not just administrative/technical staff

What the case studies revealed – for online community sites

Official content by authorised authors and unofficial content provided by community members

Training people in the use of technology must be part of strategy

Possible to mitigate against alternative solutions sprouting up within the same sector

Proposed concept for the ACE sector

Strong clues from the survey results: Sector relies on peer-to-peer ad hoc support, especially via emailSector also wants access to quality, authoritative resources and document exchange tools

Strong message from the case studies:Start with a clear set of simple requirements and grow from there

Proposed objective:Focus on tools that enable existing activity to be centralised, nationalised and formalised online

Current communication lines

Knowledge shared via email or in conversation

Sector as a wholedoes not benefit

Informationnot reusable or retrievable.

Online community

Follow and join other people’s forum conversations

Chat with other members

View up-and-coming events

Download and upload documents, and much more

Benefits of this approach

Proposed technology is relatively straightforward and economical to implement

Online activity will be centralised and will grow into a valuable searchable resource

Pool of people available to answer questions will come from national network

Quality of answers likely to be better and the speed of finding answers will be quicker

Benefits of this approach

More valuable connections will be made in the sector

People who do not necessarily view themselves as experts may step into the role of advisor

Lead ACE professional development organisation will gain overview of common issues in sector

Information will be centralised and structured in logical ways, and will be searchable, retrievable and available for trend analysis

Recommended features

Online community tools, such as secure member profiles, discussion forums, live chat, noticeboards, web conferencing, document exchange and repositories, search engine, etc

Online facilitators who get members started, help them use the tools, oversee content, encourage regular participation and promote the site

Recommended features

Good quality content (podcasts, blogs, newsletters, announcements, online meetings and events, HTML / PDF resources, online help and tutorials on how to use the community)

Both authoritative content published by experts and resources developed by other members

Simple processes for joining and administering the site

Sustaining this project over time

Leadership and vision of motivated individuals

Trained facilitators keep online communities on track

Regular and meaningful content

Formal governance structures

Realistic funding model for at least 5 years

Reliable technology partner

Feedback loops and monitoring

E-mentoring technology possible option for the future

More formal, one-on-one mentoring between an expert and a new ACE practitioner - not considered necessary right now

Case studies show it can have real merits where appropriate

Requires data-matching technology, a mentoring curriculum, good criteria for selecting mentors and mentees, and training for mentors

Needs sufficient funds and human resources

Four technology options to consider for the first release

A.Off-the-shelf product

B. Software as a service

C. Licensing a sub-community on existing community website

D. Custom-build

OR: A combination of the above

Must investigate how these options may or may not work/ integrate with existing web assets

Indicative pricing for each option

Costs per option

A. Off-the-shelf product

B. Software as a service

C. Part of 3rd party site

D. Custom-built site

Year 1 develop-ment costs

$75 – 100K $60 - 90K $60 - 90K $140 – 200K

Ongoing annual costs

$89 - 106K $80 - 90K $80 - 90K $95 – 106K

The next steps

Determine whether satisfied with levels of sector support

Explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership amongst organisations in the ACE sector, including with Ako Aotearoa

Seek independent advice to assess whether existing web solutions in sector may be expanded to include online ACE community- including Ako Aotearoa’s under development

Confirm project sponsor and governance structure

The next steps

Identify vision for project and synergies with other sector strategies

Identify incentives to engage with internet-based sharing

Seek independent advice to consider a preferred approach for the technical solution

Consider synergies with TKI.org.nz

Define the precise functional and technical requirements

Prepare a RFP tender document and invite qualified vendors to submit proposals

Thank you for your attention.