Meitheal - an old word for a new world: The challenges and opportunities of an online community of practice

Supporting educators to adapt and embrace educational technology can be challenging due to its dynamic and fast-changing nature. Informal sharing of practice can be key for professional learning, but opportunities in... [ view full abstract ]

Supporting educators to adapt and embrace educational technology can be challenging due to its dynamic and fast-changing nature. Informal sharing of practice can be key for professional learning, but opportunities in dispersed and busy workplaces can be few and far between.

In 2014 a group with an interest in learning technologies established a regular but informal online meeting in order to share experience, ideas and support around educational technologies. The group comprises practitioners working in various roles in education across three institutions; learning technologists, lecturers and academic developers/teaching and learning developers at Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University and St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra. These online meetings were initially established as a communication solution to facilitate collaborative projects connected to the incorporation of the three institutions scheduled for September 2016. An online community of practice began to emerge and as the group reflected on this process this community was given a name. The word ‘Meitheal’ comes from a centuries-old Irish custom where a group of people (typically neighbours) came together to help each other out with farming tasks. The concept spoke to the grassroots nature of the group, and the level of collaboration required in the context of merging institutions - an old word for a new world.

Exploring literature in the area, we began to reflect on how a Community of Practice comes into being, and the dynamics of such a community, including issues of leadership and membership.

Adobe Connect and Google Hangouts are used for the meetings, in conjunction with Google Communities, to share experience and knowledge of tools and systems that have worked for the benefit of all. Specific examples of how Meitheal was used to share experience, knowledge, support and queries will be outlined. In addition, the benefits and the challenges of participating in Meitheal will be discussed, together with future plans for the group.