My last blog focused on the fact that learning is considered social according to Wenger in his book Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. In class, we explored that idea by pondering what attributes or factors help us learn socially, and the idea that we must have brains "good" enough to participate in negotiation (as we are constantly negotiating meaning which aids us in learning) in order to participate in learning.

We also spoke about the fact that we need a stabilized environment in order to foster learning. This joint learning would thus be possible once we are able to screen out other insignificant "stuff" so that we can negotiate meaning. Once an environment is found appropriate, a community of practice can then begin their educational endeavours.

This reminded me specifically of the occupy wall street protests. These people inevitably formed a large community of practice, as ideas were shared and explored, and all at the same time, meanings were negotiated. What did it mean to be protesting with this group? What were the reasons for such a large gathering, with picket signs and voices screaming to be listened to (pardon the pun). During these protests, however, it became clear that those involved in the protest needed to create boundaries. The longer this community of practice existed, the more people came with very different views, which were impeding the protester's ability to effectively communicate about the reasons why the protests were occurring. The media was spewing information that made the protesters sound disorganized and unprofessional, giving many that were confused about what the meaning of these protests were to adopt the same view. It made me feel as though the media (and those watching it) became its on community of practice, creating a divergence in the beliefs of the society at large. But could the news (in all its forms) really be involved in a community of practice without the reporters/journalists being personally present in the information-sharing? This is a question I have yet to answer.

Something else I found difficult to answer was the idea that individuals with autism may participate in the negotiation of meaning, i.e learning. Having two cousins with autism, I knew very well that it was difficult to communicate with them through language, they simply do not seem interested. However, I am also very aware that as they have grown up, they have successfully learned many things, whether it be through school, or through therapy (eg: how to respond to social cues, how to behave in certain social situations, etc). Could they have learned socially despite their differences in their ability to perceive the world? Perhaps their "communities of practice" were simply different in make-up than a typical "community of practice". Perhaps, as well, the transmission of knowledge may be less fluid. Both of these factors create an environment for learning, despite the fact that those with autism may need someone who is exceptionally good at sharing knowledge and communicating with people using alternative methods. Maybe that's why people are born with differences in ability to learn socially, which subsequently creates balance/homoeostasis in our learning environments. After all, by teaching we learn, so those who help others negotiate meaning are also gaining from the experience as well.

Ok, so perhaps individuals with autism can in fact be involved in a community of practice. But what if they aren't able to learn with the help of a professional who is trained to teach those who need to learn in an alternative manner? Could those with autism learn by themselves?

This brought me right back to my question regarding whether or not a television could be involved in a community of practice. Other forms of knowledge transmission that do not involve the physical presence of a person- such as a book, film, or the radio- seemed to be key factors in some of the meanings I've negotiated over the last decade of my life. For example, I recently watched a documentary about quantum mechanics that really opened my eyes to new ideas. Though I wasn't able to have a conversation with the person making the documentary and thus was unable to negotiate meanings with another individual, I certainly did within my own mind- there's no question about that.

I can't wait to re-explore this idea in class again and see what others have to say about it. Perhaps my community of practice that makes up the Lifelong Learning class will allow me to better understand the idea of  what a community of practice can be consisted of, regardless of how many people are actually present within it.

Daniel Tammet- Autistic Savant

Oh, and for those who haven't had the opportunity to interact with someone with autism, here's a book I read written by someone of has a mild form of it (aspergers). Daniel Tammet can recite pi to the 22514th digit, and has learned icelandic (known to be the most difficult language to learn in the world) in one week. Clearly, he's still able to learn despite his "disability" (using the term very, very loosely).