Abstract
The NLII has designed and implemented four Virtual Communities of Practice pilots (October 2002 through December, 2003), organized around the following topics: Electronic Portfolio Practices, Learning Objects, Teaching and Learning, and The New Academy. These pilots are part of the EDUCAUSE Virtual Communities Initiative.
The primary purpose of these pilots is to investigate and test off-the-shelf, Internet-based products for building community, supporting collaborative work, and creating portals and other general building blocks, using committees, working groups, and focus groups to pilot and test products as they are prototyped.
This article describes the organization and activities of the EDUCAUSE Virtual Communities of Practice (VCOPs) Initiative and also highlights two other virtual communities of practice that were presented at the NLII Annual Meeting in New Orleans.