Many of you will be aware of the term MOOCS - Massive Open Online Courses - and depending on who you listen to they're either going to sweep away university education as we know it or pass on by like many other fads.
But what I have become aware of is how many dentists and students I communicate with online either via this and other blogs, through the videos I've done on YouTube, my Prezis and through Linked-In and Twitter. Very quickly one engages with others we've never encountered before and can in a flash share some knowledge or learning. For many dentists working on their own in dental practice this exchange may be uncommon but there is evidence that clinicians who interact with others tend to be more up to date.
One common way of doing this is through something called a "community of practice". This may be just a few people who share a common goal and try to find some better way to achieve it.
So I was just struck that we could be moving toward developing the idea of communities of practice in combination with that ease of access to each other provided by the internet. The time may well be ready for MOCOLS: Massive Online Communities of Learners.
It needs some development, though...
But what I have become aware of is how many dentists and students I communicate with online either via this and other blogs, through the videos I've done on YouTube, my Prezis and through Linked-In and Twitter. Very quickly one engages with others we've never encountered before and can in a flash share some knowledge or learning. For many dentists working on their own in dental practice this exchange may be uncommon but there is evidence that clinicians who interact with others tend to be more up to date.
One common way of doing this is through something called a "community of practice". This may be just a few people who share a common goal and try to find some better way to achieve it.
So I was just struck that we could be moving toward developing the idea of communities of practice in combination with that ease of access to each other provided by the internet. The time may well be ready for MOCOLS: Massive Online Communities of Learners.
It needs some development, though...
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