http lre eun org Critical Analysis of Online

http: //lre. eun. org

Critical Analysis of Online Teacher Communities Dr. Marina & John Connell June, 2021

http: //lre. eun. org

http: //lre. eun. org Marina John

http: //lre. eun. org Critical Analysis of Online Teacher Communities

http: //lre. eun. org Aim: To evaluate and analyse OTCs and to explore a number of aspects of their purpose and rationale.

http: //lre. eun. org Fundamental Questions: • How do online teacher community ecosystems develop, adapt, and evolve? • How and why do teachers share materials and best practices? • How can we make sense of intra-community practices in sharing resources? • What are OTCs’ relationships to digital technologies (especially in the context of the adjustments and the variations in practice brought about by the necessary responses to the Covid-19 pandemic)?

http: //lre. eun. org …but also… • • • How do online teacher communities start? What factors contribute to their resilience? What are the factors that enable the adoption of emerging technologies in these communities? Do successful communities start and persist around a topic, an educational level, a geographical location or something else? How has the COVID-19 context changed these communities? What can repository owners learn from these developments?

http: //lre. eun. org What the White Paper Covers

http: //lre. eun. org What the White Paper Covers The Concept of ‘Community’ Definition of Terms in Relation to Teachers’ Online Groupings

http: //lre. eun. org What the White Paper Covers Analysis of Findings from Survey and Interviews

http: //lre. eun. org What the White Paper Covers Purpose, Motivations and Usefulness of Online Teacher Communities

http: //lre. eun. org What the White Paper Covers Tentative Conclusions and Recommendations

http: //lre. eun. org Definitions of Online Teacher Community

http: //lre. eun. org The concept of an online teacher community is a fairly amorphous one…. It is a generalised term that covers a multitude of instances in which teachers are able to come together online – formally or informally, closely or loosely – to generate opportunities for collaboration and mutual support.

http: //lre. eun. org Contrast: Gesellschaft Relationships Gemeinschaft Relationships Impersonal Personal Formal & contractual Informal Task-specific Intimate & familiar Utilitarian Traditional Realistic Sentimental Emphasis on achieved status Emphasis on ascribed status Greater tolerance to deviance Less tolerance to deviance Segmental (partial) relationship Holistic relationships Transient and fragmented Long duration Very evident social change Relatively limited social change Greater formal social control Predominance of informal social control They-feeling We-feeling

http: //lre. eun. org It would be impossible to characterise all existing instances of OTCs, but a few particular types of OTC can be outlined in order, at least, to show some examples of the broad range of possibilities that they offer to teachers.

http: //lre. eun. org Community of Practice Ettiene Wenger …groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Available at: https: //wenger-trayner. com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/

http: //lre. eun. org Community of Practice Ettiene Wenger Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They have a shared domain of practice. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice. Membership. . . implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people.

http: //lre. eun. org A Community of Learners from the Department of Education, South Australia A community of learners is a group of people who support each other in their collective and individual learning. They are cooperative and can work productively together. https: //www. education. sa. gov. au/sites/default/files/what_is_a_community_of_learners. pdf

http: //lre. eun. org A Discourse Community Groups of people who share a set of discourses, understood as basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about their goals. John Swales [Linguist] “…groups that have goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. ” Borg, Erik. “Key Concepts in ELTs” Discourse communities (ELT Journal 57: 4) p. 398

http: //lre. eun. org A Discourse Community An OTC might be considered a Discourse Community if it has, among other attributes: • a broadly agreed set of common public goals • mechanisms of intercommunication among its members • participatory mechanisms that provide information and feedback

http: //lre. eun. org A Teacher Network Some might see a ‘network’ as something of intrinsically less value than a ‘community’. However…

http: //lre. eun. org A Teacher Network Ann Lieberman Educational reform networks are particularly well suited to making use of new technology and institutional arrangements. By their very nature, they are flexible, borderless, and innovative; they are able to create collaborative environments, focus their efforts, and develop agendas that grow and change. with their participants. Teacher educators who collaborate with, learn from, and make use of the knowledge created by these networks are helping to recreate the meaning of scholarship itself, not only for teachers, but for themselves as well.

http: //lre. eun. org Personal Learning Network A concept that emerged from work on ‘Connectivism’ by Downes, Siemens and others. [When someone]…. intentionally builds, maintains and activates … contacts within their personal network for the purpose of improving her learning — and uses technology to support this activity —they are creating a personal learning network. Teachers [or others] are able to grow and enrich a virtual environment, one that is unique to them, in which they are able to pursue their own personal learning goals.

http: //lre. eun. org Building Community by Hashtag # Using the hashtag mechanism on social media constructively to initiate and propagate discussion around critical issues and topic. For example, a ‘Hashtag Conversation’ using a hash tagged term as a means of bringing together a discussion group on a social media platform in real time. It creates short-lived OTC that can dynamically generate some very complex and thought-provoking threads of discussion

http: //lre. eun. org A General Definition Online Teacher Communities connect like-minded teachers around a specify topic in pursuit of building the personal learning and sharing network and to initiate or propagate discussions about critical questions across a very broad range of issues on a particular platform in real time.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings and Discussion

http: //lre. eun. org RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, TECHNIQUES & INSTRUMENTS OF EVALUATION Our research techniques included: A survey of participants in online teacher communities to garner their views on the fundamental questions required by this study Interviews with a small number of members of OTCs to undertake a deeper dive into some of the major questions in hand Review of Academic Papers and Analysis of Popular Online Teacher Communities.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Countries of Origin / Sectoral Distribution/ Length of Service Teachers from 15 European countries: • • • Primary Education 30% Secondary Education 42% Vocational Education & Training 8% Higher Education 8% Cross-Sectoral 8% Others 4% None of the respondents had worked in education for less than 6 years, with 12% working between 6 and 10 years, 23% working between 11 and 15 years, and almost 65% working for more than 15 years.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Usefulness of OTCs The survey asked respondents to rank the usefulness of their memberships of OTCs in general terms across a 5 -point scale, from 5 (very useful) to 1 (absolutely not useful). 80% of the respondents found their membership of OTCs either very useful or useful (53. 3% very useful, 26. 7% useful). The remaining 20% of respondents were undecided in their ranking of usefulness, with no one offering ‘not useful’ as a response.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Availability of Resources and Materials The survey asked respondents whethere were enough resources and materials available for their needs. 94. 1% of the respondents strongly agreed (35. 3%) or agreed (58. 8%), while 5. 9% were undecided

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Levels of Competence in Creating and Sharing Resources and Materials Respondents were asked to choose from 5 statements that sought to represent a sliding scale of competence in creating and sharing resources and materials with OTCs. 58. 8% of respondents assessed their own level of competence at the highest level of competence, with another 41. 1% asserting a good knowledge about the topic at the second and third levels of competence. No one felt that their knowledge about the topic was at the two lowest levels.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Motivations for Joining OTCs Respondents were asked about their motivations for joining OTCs and were able to click as many statements as they wished from a list of 10 reasons.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Types of Materials Shared Online When asked to describe the range of different kinds of materials that they had shared online through OTCs, respondents offered a very wide variety of examples, including, amongst others: • Applications that can be used for online and offline learning and teaching - mainly for Maths, but some also other subjects • Information on how to use specific applications (e. g. breakout rooms in Zoom, Kahoot!, Socrative, Padlet) or websites with quizzes or good resources • Rubrics of skills assessment, examples of authentic assignments and workflows of how to do them in the classroom, examples of • Lessons, quizzes, presentations • Various Moodle courses • Tests, lessons, learning projects • Learning objects in English for inclusive teaching, videos lesson plans • Professional development opportunities, interesting information & articles TEAL (Teaching English as an Additional Language) courses, • Blog articles, presentations, articles for online magazines, interviews debates, social reading and workflows of how to implement • Materials for young talented mathematicians them in the classroom; materials for flipped learning (video • Lessons in programming and computer science lessons, digital documents); hyperdocs • Online games, video lessons, platforms, tests, forums, discussions

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Usefulness of Different Types of Resources Respondents were asked to rank various types of resources on a 5 -point scale from 5 – very useful to 1 – not useful at all. Worksheets: shows 47, 1%, Very Useful, 35, 3% Useful, 17, 6% Partly useful, 0% Not very useful and 0% Not useful at all Presentations: shows 41, 2% Very Useful, 52, 9% Useful, 0% Partly useful, 5, 9% Not very useful and 0% Not useful at all Curriculum Planning: shows 29, 4% Very Useful, 23, 5% Partly useful, 17, 6% Not very useful and 5, 9% Not useful at all Assessment Examples: shows 41, 2% Very Useful, 47, 1% Useful, 11, 8% Partly useful, 0% Not very useful and 0% Not useful at all Other Materials: shows 29, 4% Very Useful, 47, 1% Useful, 17, 6% Partly useful, 0% Not very useful and 5, 9% Not useful at all

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Usefulness of Different Types of Resources Respondents were asked to rank various types of resources on a 5 -point scale from 5 – very useful to 1 – not useful at all. Videos: shows 58, 8% Very Useful, 41. 2% Useful, 0% Partly useful, 0% Not very useful and 0% Not useful at all

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES A Range of Specific Resources Found Online by Respondents Twinkl - https: //www. twinkl. co. uk Splash learn https: //www. splashlearn. com Lesson and unit templates – https: //www. teacherplanet. com IXL - https: //www. ixl. com (there are 15 variations of this site for different languages) Rubistar (very useful to create rubric of https: //templatelab. competences) http: //rubistar. 4 teachers. org/index. php https: //www. teacherspayteachers. com Khan Academy https: //www. khanacademy. org To create digital materials for TEAL or flipped paths, these sites are very European Schoolnet Academy useful: Math is fun https: //www. mathsisfun. com/fractions. html Math Antics videos https: //www. mathantics. com www. repetita. org www. oilproject. org www. slideshare. it www. blendspace. net Slovakian portal for teachers The Hyperdoc tool https: //www. zborovna. sk/novinky/index. php https: //hyperdocs. co https: //www. liveworksheets. com on One. Note & One. Drive Various Facebook pages, including: https: //www. facebook. com/The. French. History. Podcast/ https: //www. facebook. com/chateauversailles https: //www. facebook. com/groups/459237504580964 https: //www. facebook. com/groups/Science. Teachers. Eu rope

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic Some Comments from Respondents: • • • I am more active in the communities and I visit them more often. I enrolled with many of them after COVID started. The number of MOOCs intensified. Teachers are eager to share or to acquire knowledge and material. Though too much haste is an enemy of good information and good quality material. The exchanges are the same, but are much more active, due to the fact of needs in the field of online teaching resources and methods We had 6 months online education! Online teacher communities have been developing very intensively in the last year. All of our meetings have been held remotely

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic Some Comments from Respondents: • • • I gave online lessons and refresher courses for teachers Sharing materials is very important in distance learning. Existing materials, of which there are few on the Internet, have been used a lot. Little material was provided by teacher communities, but more by schools and teachers. I am spending much more time on the Internet and with colleagues I had to increase my online teacher activity I think Covid contributed to teachers realizing the importance of online teaching. Some classrooms are not equipped to conduct classes online. I think Covid brought a completely different approach to teaching.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Did Your Use of Technology Change as a Result of COVID? Some Saw Considerable Change ● As a result of COVID restrictions I was able to put in action my technological know-how. ● We went completely online ● The use of information technology during work has significantly increased. We, the teachers, taught both children and parents to use the new technologies. ● For distance lessons you have to use technology and as for face-to-face lessons I have developed special paths with high cognitive density that are very useful for every child ● My teaching has changed a lot and it goes on changing because conditions change every day. I had to learn a lot and I also had the opportunity to use methods and tools I wanted to use but I did not have the time or they were not agreed by school/parents. So good and bad changes together. ● Now, technologies are more used for online work and in hybrid teaching

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Did Your Use of Technology Change as a Result of COVID? Some Saw Only a Little or No Change We have been using tablets for teaching for 5 years and I implemented them into the school educational process. I was responsible for workshops and training sessions for teachers. So with this experience no big change, only in terms of the time spent in front of screens In reality it hasn't changed much, only strengthened, because in my school for years we have been implementing the use of ICT for years, so in practice we have always created Integrated Digital Didactics with the children, even when we teach face to face.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: Communities of teachers must…confront each other on concrete and innovative ways of teaching and learning, providing real examples of what has actually been achieved in the classrooms, with operational indications so that these experiences can be replicated, and related data to possible obstacles and probable advantages.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: Online teacher communities should have small groups where it would be possible to work collaboratively in the production of materials and in reflecting about educational issues.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: There are no OTCs specifically for Teachers Researchers. Also, there are no groups of teacher-educators, who exchange ideas on training teachers, training trainers.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: Teachers' online communities can be even more useful if the materials are adapted for editing and use by more teachers. It is also necessary to have a specific description of the methods and tools used, which will benefit the training of younger teachers.

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: To have more interaction and cooperation Improving the teaching intervention, for better use of technology and various materials to create effective educational pathways

http: //lre. eun. org FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ON USERS AND USAGE OF ONLINE TEACHER COMMUNITIES How Might OTCs Be Improved Some Suggestions Forthcoming: e. Twinning and Scientix are fine as they are. No change needed!

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: An OTC enables teachers to adapt to new circumstances What are Online Teacher communities? What should be their purpose? An OTC is an opportunity to enhance my teaching through discussion with other teachers teaching the same subject

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: An OTC can be a meeting of teachers for sharing ideas, materials, good practice, worksheets, workshops on Ed. Tech and discussions What are Online Teacher communities? What should be their purpose? An OTC should be a community of practice in which teachers can share ideas, offer information for lifelong learning, and develop new ideas.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: “We all help each other in an OTC. ” What are Online Teacher communities? What should be their purpose? The best OTCs, “offer help to teachers altruistically”, without self-interest of any kind.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? Some Responses: Most seemed to start locally within a single country or region (for instance, one was started in the Balkans, aimed at all the Balkan countries). The OTC was started in order to fulfil a need for peer-support – teachers helping and supporting each other.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: I feel that teachers prefer to seek support from their peers rather than from other ‘experts’ (of any kind). How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? Teachers want help from those who have had the same problems, who have come up with solutions, and who are therefore ahead of them in terms of knowledge.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? Some Responses: OTCs that begin small and are then allowed to grow tend to have participants who know each other better, who share the same interests, who are more informal in their interactions. Such OTCs tend to grow organically,

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? Some Responses: Other OTCs that are begun top-down by an organisation or an institution, tend to offer support for those seeking more formal, perhaps even regulatory, advice and support.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? Some Responses: One respondent asserted that when she had a more ‘practice-oriented’ problem, she would tend to gravitate towards the less formal group, but when she sought advice for her role as a school principal, sometimes the latter type of OTC was more useful.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: A number of factors for success: • • How were OTCs started? What ensures success for an OTC? • • good and effective moderation enough features of the OTC that are genuinely useful to members a willingness and agility to be able to respond and solve problems in real time an ability to answer questions at various levels, from basics of handling hardware and software to sophisticated questions about the pedagogical use of ICT.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview What factors enable effective adoption off digital technologies in OTCs? Some Responses: Where an OTC is able to help teachers in real time to prepare materials, find resources, and support teacher learnings, the OTC is more likely to successfully promote the adoption of digital technologies. …good, strong and effective moderation is a key factor too.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview What factors enable effective adoption off digital technologies in OTCs? Some Responses: An OTC is more likely to be successful in this aim if it aspires always to be truly useful, if it seeks to offer consistent inspiration and encouragement to teachers.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview What factors enable effective adoption off digital technologies in OTCs? Some Responses: Teachers must be able to see that it is easy to use the technology. They must understand that, when they are shown a new tool or a new application that they are helped to understand the basic concepts behind the technology and that they can make practical use of it in their lessons.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How did OTCs help to overcome the issues that emerged with COVID-19? Has COVID changed how teachers interact in OTCs? Some Responses: Teachers interact differently now because of Covid. Where previously teachers preferred to meet face-to-face in conferences, workshops and training sessions, that became impossible because of Covid and so they had to start meeting online and interacting through OTCs

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How did OTCs help to overcome the issues that emerged with COVID-19? Has COVID changed how teachers interact in OTCs? Some Responses: Covid helped people feel more of a community, with everyone willing to ‘expose’ the problems to which they could not find answers readily outside the OTC, so that they could get help from the community.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview How did OTCs help to overcome the issues that emerged with COVID-19? Has COVID changed how teachers interact in OTCs? Some Responses: One believed that the Covid response had brought about the emergence of many new OTCs, or where OTCs had already existed, they were now much busier with greater levels of interaction within them, many more people involved, and lots more posts appearing. She also detected a greater level of overall confidence within OTCs.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Do the best OTCs start small and grow organically or start topdown and are managed? What makes for a successful OTC? Some Responses: One respondent was clear that, the OTC’s success, was down to the quality and the consistency of moderation within the community. This OTC ensured that, at all times, members were treated with respect and courtesy, participants always had to be polite with each other, always had to be on-topic, and that no one used the OTC to try to sell any products or services.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Do the best OTCs start small and grow organically or start topdown and are managed? What makes for a successful OTC? Some Responses: Same respondent felt that, as the OTC grew, members who first joined the OTC to seek advice and support were then recruited, as they grew in their own levels of confidence, to become moderators themselves, helping others.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Do the best OTCs start small and grow organically or start topdown and are managed? What makes for a successful OTC? Some Responses: More than one interviewee felt that setting up an OTC within a single country to begin with was critical to success, since they believed that members with shared experiences of the national education system and, of course, a shared language, were more likely to want to join, visit and interact.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Do the best OTCs start small and grow organically or start topdown and are managed? What makes for a successful OTC? Some Responses: All agreed success is highly dependent on the quality of the interaction, the quality of the responses that participants are able to glean from the OTC, the agility of the OTC to generate responses in real time wherever possible, and an attitude of respect and courtesy across the whole community. The secret of success is having no secret. Just do the right thing at the right time.

http: //lre. eun. org Findings From Interviews Questions asked at Interview Some Responses: All of the interviewees expressed high levels of confidence in deploying Ed. Tech in their classrooms. What is your level of confidence in using digital learning technologies and techniques in the classroom They all noted a ‘big rise in confidence’ amongst teachers generally through the year of the pandemic in undertaking many such tasks. One interviewee noted that, “those who started by asking for help are now helpers themselves. ”

http: //lre. eun. org Conclusion and Recommendation s

http: //lre. eun. org • Some gaps in existing research? • • findings from researchers who are themselves active member of Online Teacher Communities, who can discuss the realities of activity / interaction authoritatively A more longitudinal and deeper analysis of OTCs is required, to look at: • • • the real problems faced by teachers using ICT, • • problems of network access what kinds of content is most shared and most needed how effective differentiation between the varying digital skills levels of teachers can be achieved the variety of devices used by teachers and the problems such variety can cause,

http: //lre. eun. org • Further research required into the overall question of what makes an OTC tick - why do some do very well and prosper, while others do badly and disappear • A rapid development of digital learning in all aspects has occurred over the past decade: • • a trend that has taken a steeper upwards trajectory in 2020 -2021 because of COVID A greater variety of types of OTC now identifiable • again, a trend possibly amplified by the COVID arrangements

http: //lre. eun. org • However, despite advances during COVID, many teachers still need to access OTCs that support basic competencies in using Ed. Tech • such teachers will also benefit from advice on the pedagogy of basis techniques, such as using presentations in their teaching, and going beyond basic copying and pasting of images and text • support needed in recording & editing digital video, file management, installing software, searching for and using digital resources in their teaching

http: //lre. eun. org Factors Evident in Successful Online Teacher Communities • moderation that is always available, consistent and reliable in their responses to questions asked or advice sought; • • the fostering of a climate of respect amongst members; • and a willingness to allow the cadre of monitors or administrators to grow organically, allowing those who perhaps began simply looking for support to eventually take on a monitoring role as their own confidence and competence increases a willingness to stay on topic as much as possible; the minimisation of a commercial or sales orientation to the OTC; careful consideration of the full differentiation of skill-sets and levels of confidence amongst members and a consequent differentiation of modes of explanation for resolving questions;

http: //lre. eun. org RECOMMENDATIONS Owners need to bring together a group of active, knowledgeable and committed members and moderators who make themselves consistently available to community participants to offer real time advice, support and answers to questions. Owners should enable teachers/users to re-use, re-purpose and modify resources available within the OTC to suit their own needs and the needs of their students. From the start of an OTC, it is helpful to offer “how to” materials (videos, presentations, etc) for users. Owners need to establish a clear purpose and focus for their OTC, and to set this out clearly on the front page of their website or platform. The search function within the community should be simple to use, effective and offering relevant responses as required. Owners need to monitor activity in the community so that good and active members can be promoted to become moderators and given admin rights as necessary to achieve this. A clear typology of resources and materials held in the OTC, differentiated by levels, grades, subjects, resourcetype (video, presentation, lesson plan, etc) should be established for teachers to browse effectively.

http: //lre. eun. org

http: //lre. eun. org http: //iamlearner. net contact@iamlearner. net Dr. Marina Connell +44 7494 357108 marinaconnell@iamlearner. net John Connell +44 7930 204672 johnconnell@iamlearner. net