A networked learning community (NLC) comprises teachers from different schools engaging collaboratively in purposeful and sustained professional learning. Networked learning entails the construction of knowledge that is new to the members of the group by tapping their collective practitioner knowledge and the public knowledge base. Members can use…

The emergence of digital communication channels has transformed faculty development, offering new opportunities for networking and collaboration. This paper explores successful practices for promoting connection and belonging among faculty members through platforms like Slack and Discord. Key strategies include creating dedicated channels for…

Background Study: Previous systematic reviews concluded that online professional-learning communities (OPLCs) have positive effects on teachers' development, but explored neither the technological affordances that make this possible nor the potential negative impacts of technology use in OPLCs. Objectives: The aim of this study is to…

The theoretical framework of communities of practice (CoP) is often used for framing research into online communities. However, there is an absence of measures and empirical work that evaluates knowledge-sharing within such communities. This represents a substantial gap in our understanding of informal learning for diverse people and in the case…

For fans of popular cultural products, digitization has meant the configuration of affinity spaces online and opportunities for learning in the "digital wilds," including incidental language learning and identity development. Through online multiparty written interaction, we explored how 15 Catalan-speaking gamers organized themselves to…

This study explores the dynamics of #AcademicTwitter, investigating user connectivity and mental health attributes amidst pre-COVID-19 societal pressures and the subsequent pandemic onset. Analyzing key actors, we find that institutions and content-driven accounts are more prominent figures in shaping the discourse within this hashtag highlighting…

Lesson study is a form of teacher professional development designed to improve instructional techniques by collaborating with teachers to develop and test a lesson plan and examine its effect on learners. Lesson study is designed for in-person meetings and observation. School-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers often do not have enough…

This article describes the transition of a Learning Community for adjunct faculty from an in-person professional development program to a virtual experience necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary findings show support for our goals of enhancing teaching effectiveness while building community among an interdisciplinary cohort of adjunct…

For faculty members, writing is often the task that is perpetually set aside due to demands of teaching and service in a university setting. Faculty writing groups are one way to encourage commitment, consistency, and support for a successful writing agenda. The purpose of this article is to illustrate one successful example of a thriving virtual…

Purpose: Virtual professional learning communities provide digital platforms for teachers across the globe to join learning networks and engage in continuous and unrestricted learning. This study aimed to explore the impact of contextual factors on establishing virtual professional learning communities in Maldivian schools.…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the role of key network actors in relation to the discourse structure of a microblogging hashtag stream within a global agricultural educators' conference over two years. Prior work in online networks suggests that participation is dominated by highly active members, and in this study, the authors focus on…

Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have the potential to transform and positively impact individuals, institutions, and society. As educators, we have a unique responsibility to explore opportunities and possibilities afforded by openness enabled by current technologies to reimagine and reshape current…

Within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, cognitive presence has been central to success in higher education settings. This systematic review examined 24 articles published between 2008- 2020 that empirically analyzed cognitive presence in online courses. We share the patterns that emerged regarding the interplay between teaching and…

In pedagogical practice, gratitude is recognised not as an emotion, but as an approach to learning. This study introduced gratitude messages into the academic online communication of university students and specifically examined the community in which students shared their messages with gratitude. This study examined the tendency of message…

Purpose: This study was conducted in the United States of America to identify what practices virtual mentor-coaches perceived to be effective in virtual mentoring and coaching (VMC) within virtual professional learning communities (VPLCs). The authors also sought to determine the ways in which virtual mentor-coaches provided VMC for school leaders…