What Exactly is an E-Learning Community
Week 1

What does come to mind when one says, "e-Learning Community?" My first thoughts are that it is LinkedIn where I connect and link to other professionals, not only for the purpose of networking but also to learn from those who are experts in select fields. It is more of a global learning tool for me in that many of the constituents are from other countries, who share and discuss relevant findings, books, resource materials that engage and inspire.

The exercise given to draw lines to those that we know, only led us to discover how we are all connected some way in our community of practice. In my view, I believe we are.

Then there is notion of defining social media. What is it and what are the ramifications of using it?
I have personally come reluctantly to the world of social media as I intensely value privacy. I separate the personal from the professional persona. Social media offers channels of expression, however at a price. The ramification of using it is the eternal digital footprint that can brand and build or be invasive.

While "blogging is one of the eventual realization of web 2.0 technologies" and a way to build an e-Learning Community using this form of social media, I have yet to come to terms with it.

I believe one of the challenges LTEC 642 is to explore the exact nature of e-Learning and its pragmatic application that will clarify and dispel concerns for using it.