Editing Dialogues/informal learning (section)

=== Informal Learning Communities ===

Regina Cheng (University of Washington)

This Dialog session will focus on the topic of online communities as a setting for informal learning. When people think of learning, they often think of formal education, i.e., classrooms and curriculum. When people think of online communities, they often regard them as places where people get together for a common interest. While communities and learning seem to be two separate things, we found evidence that online interest-driven communities can serve as an informal yet effective setting for members to learn and practice advanced skills. We think it would be valuable for community members, leaders, and designers to recognize this potential of online communities and think about the ways to support learning in communities. 

To this regard, we will facilitate a conversation that draws from results from several empirical studies. Specifically, the following will be discussed:

* What are the different things that members learn from online communities? 
* How do members learn in online communities? What are their needs in learning and what are some challenges? 
* How do members form mentoring relationships with each other? 
* How can we support learning in online communities?