Learning in Communities

People experience being part of a community in a wide variety of ways: communities have different styles. That is why different habitats work for different communities. This chapter organizes this diversity into nine distinct “orientations” we have observed in practice. Each orientation is associated with a set of tools that supports its patterns of activity. The optimal configuration for a community includes the complement of technologies and processes that are aligned with its key orientations. These observations may serve as design paths for community-centric learning and faculty development, especially when technology is involved.