| | DECEMBER - 20219they liked, but investment, and speedy investment, was needed. The Gloomleaders in the bottom left quadrant were scared. They were not prepared for the demands on them and on their understandings of educational technology in the new Covid world. The job of the Cheerleaders, of educational institutions, and of the EdTech community was to reach the Gloomleaders. And that was going to be no mean feat; at a time where much work was already online and where we knew and were rediscovering that building and developing community was one of the biggest challenges for the EdTech community as we moved towards an online world. So how do we do this? The answer is in collaboration and in community itself. The particular type of communities that are useful here are what are known as `Communities of Practice'. Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour ­ in this case, the need to ensure our young people did not miss out on vital learning, essential learning experiences and on all the other experiences and skills that they get in face-to-face education. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Communities of practice, both formally constituted and less so, and both intentional and unintentional, have been the saviour of the education sector in regard to EdTech over the last months. They have allowed people to interact in relation to their domains of interest. In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. It's key to note that a community of practice is not merely a community of interest. Members of a community of practice are practitioners; they are teachers and other educators, learning technologists, and other EdTech practitioners. These develop a really useful shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressing recurring problems--in short a shared practice. We know that listening and communication are the mainstays, in almost every way, of a post-digital world, a world where being digital is not enough ­ instead and as well, we need to focus on our humanity. So the way forward in this post-digital, human, scared but brave new world is and has to be community and collaboration. A commitment to community and to practice will empower everybody from Gloomleaders to Cheerleaders. Janet LordThe shift to online teaching and learning has also been a cognitive and practical challenge for teaching staff
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