Week 3 - Posting #6 - Communities of Practice

"Communities of practice members solve problems and share information. Learning is social. They talk about their lives, interests, and ambitions. They even mentor and coach each other. Knowledge is shared with the community, which gives group members a sense of identity." (Wegner, 2002)

When I read this information about communities of practice, I think about Disney and google.  How they successfully created communities where their workers not only work, but live and laugh and learn in a collaborative environment together, constantly sharing information.  These companies have mastered the art of creating communities of practice, why can't teachers?  Why are there so many unsuccessful classrooms and failing students?  What can we do to help create better classrooms more conducive to community and social learning? Here is a video I found that describes some of the characteristics of a community of practice and how to implement one in the classroom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ZINuOYm2s.