According to Wenger, “the term practice is sometimes used as an antonym for theory, ideas, ideals, or talk. However, (Wenger’s) use of the term does not reflect a dichotomy between the practical and the theoretical, ideals and reality, or talking and doing. Communities of practice include all of these even if there are sometimes discrepancies between what we say and what we do, what we aspire to and what we settle for, what we know and what we can manifest. We all have our own theories and ways of understanding the world, and our communities of practice are places where we develop, negotiate, and share them.”A community involves participation and reification. Participation refers to membership and interaction of the community. Reification refers to the instrument(s) that allow for negotiation and the bringing together of the community. Practice can become a source of community cohesiveness through “mutual engagement, a joint enterprise, and/or a shared repertoire” (Wenger 1998). Wenger provides a framework that helps to define community, identity and design with disturbing technologies. In today’s society, the community is often a virtual community. Wenger suggests that in our communities, we “develop, negotiate, and share” our theories and ideas. The beauty of virtual communities is that there are millions of them. If we cannot find a community in which to share all of our ideas, we can find others or create a new one. These communities become communities of practice when we can negotiate and converse with others in the community for a purpose. This purpose is usually defined as “mutual engagement, joint enterprise or a shared repertoire.” The identity of the community is also usually defined by one of these three terms. For instance, a discussion board that has a shared repertoire of discussing the Superbowl Champion NY Giants is often defined by this shared repertoire. By knowing what a community of practice is and why it exists, we can modify our design practices and define what design is necessary to create future communities of practice. Disturbing technologies such as computers, cell phones, social networks, or negotiation widgets are often the reification instruments in these virtual communities of practice.
STEVEN CHARLES KERLIN says
I like your point to the fact that web technology has allowed individuals to find or create virtual communities (of practice). Before this technology existed I can see that it could be difficult to find a community about topics of interest with the issues of location, communication, and snail mail. While I remain skeptical that not all online communities are communities of practice, I do embrace that fact that online technology makes it possible for many communities of both types to exist.