1. Online Communities of Practice Dr. Fariza Khalid

2. successful professional development is related to collaborative work among teachers who work together reflectively and with the aim of improving their practice (Glatthorn, 1995; Harris and Jones, 2010; Lee, 2007; Stoll and Louis, 2007; Villegas-Reimers, 2003; Wenger, 2002)

3. Communities of Practice (CoPs) ‘groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis’ (Wenger et al., 2002, p. 4).

4. ` Members interact with one another and share experiences, solve problems, share ideas, build strategies and develop relationships with others (Snyder and Briggs, 2003)

5. Members are involved in an area of knowledge or activity that is of interest to them, and learn how to perform more effectively as they interact regularly (Wenger, 1998).

6. ‘newcomers’ (in the context of teachers’ CPD, teachers who are new to the context) gain knowledge and skills in teaching from ‘old- timers’ (more experienced teachers) through their interactions.

7. As a result of these interactions, newcomers start to develop their expertise and gradually shift their participation from peripheral to more central, becoming part of the core group. This process of learning is termed legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991)

8. Online communities of practice online community of practice is one of possible approaches for teacher professional development (Villegas-Reimers, 2003) that can enhance the opportunity for collaboration (Owston, 1998)

9. Advantages of online CoPs allow teachers (community members) to share resources, ideas and expertise fulfilment of teachers’ needs in terms of continual learning and professional development

10. Advantages of online CoPs allow greater flexibility than traditional, face- to-face mentoring time and place independent

11. Advantages of online CoPs allow the development of open and supportive relationships and friendships leads to greater engagement than through the establishment of more formal relationships

12. Advantages of online CoPs enable the construction of thoughtfully written messages without the pressure of having to respond immediately

13. Factors influencing the level of participation in communities of practice Trust - is built when community members can overcome their limitations and lack of knowledge, which gives them the feeling that they are not alone with their problems (Leavy, 1983).

14. Factors influencing the level of participation in communities of practice Localism - by which teachers let their membership of departmental or school communities define their boundaries, leading them to fail to transcend these boundaries to develop new communities with diverse groups of people.

15. Factors influencing the level of participation in communities of practice Leadership - online coordinators have a great influence in developing the communities by helping the members identify important issues, planning and facilitating the community’s events, fostering the development of community members (Wenger et al., 2002),

16. Factors influencing the level of participation in communities of practice Culture - in which teachers can become part of learning communities.

17. Factors influencing the level of participation in communities of practice Identity - an important role in providing a rationale for understanding why and how teachers are committed to their profession Srisrankulwong (2009)

18. Discussions 1.Status quo – the implementation of CoPs in our education system? 2.How teachers view CoPs? 3.What about the policy? 4.The role of information technology in spreading knowledge?