Creating Learning Environments for Educators

The month-long book club discussion at CPSquare.org begins tomorrow. Well actually that's not really true. It began a few weeks ago with the process of negotiating which chapters to read, which has been an interesting discussion in itself.

The book selected for the discussion is a 2-volume set: Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators edited by Chris Kimble, Paul Hildreth, and Isabelle Bourdon. The editors and several of the chapter authors will be joining in.

This event is free for CPsquare members, or a $50 registration if you aren't (yet) a member. As with most CPsquare events, it just makes more sense to join the community than to pay the fee.

Since the conversation space opened we have been going through the ritual of introducing ourselves, sharing tips for how and where to buy the book, making plans for how to proceed, and declaring which chapters interest us most. From the list of top chapters we've begun to identify themes and to vote on top choices within each theme. As an outcome document we will be contributing as a group to a book review which will be made public.

So far the tools used for this event are:

• Facebook for promotion, Q&A, and a way for non-CPsquare members to connect
• Members' blogs for spreading the word and probably for reflection throughout the month
• Discussion forum where the planning and chapter discussions will take place
• Frappr Map for plotting out locations and shouting out
  
• Wiki for the book review
• Polls for selecting chapters
  

As with all CPsquare events the planning process is open and collaborative. I really appreciate that practice.