A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern or interest and come together to fulfill both individual and group goals.
The recently announced CU Boulder Online Education Team has been charged with supporting campus efforts to offer exciting and innovative online programs and learning experiences, from faculty development to staff collaboration to student empowerment. To meet that charge, the team is rolling out the “Online Teaching Community of Practice (OCoP),” a collaborative effort coordinated by Academic and Learning Innovation (ALI), the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), the Division of Continuing Education (CE), and the Office of Information Technology (OIT).
OCoP Mission: This community of practice will amplify exemplary work already happening across campus, from training and workshops to innovative course design and student-centered pedagogy. But its most important goal will be to create a space for dialogue that builds trusted relationships among collaborators by sharing effective strategies and practices, encountering challenges with empathy, and facing change with community. This is not “just another meeting” - this is a network of trusted collaborators invested in doing what we do, better.
Who is OCoP for: We imagine this community to be broad and fluid, accepting of anyone in the CU Boulder community with an interest in online education. “Online pedagogy,” as we’ve learned across this past year, isn’t just about teaching online; it touches all aspects of our teaching, learning, design, and support work. We imagine this CoP to be useful for faculty, program directors and program administrators, student and instructional support professionals, student educators and advocates, and more.