Communities of practice of e-learning, an innovative learning space for e-learning actors

Today collaboration and information exchange and sharing are critical in driving both individual and organizational success. Communities of Practice (CoPs) represent an environment in which individuals, experts and novices, learn together to develop and improve their professional practices and skills. They are therefore the best environment for individual and collective learning. The purpose of this article is to show the potential of social learning in the domain of e-learning, through CoPs of e-learning (CoPEs). We present the main concepts and objectives of CoPEs and explain how they can support e-learning actors in their daily activities. An example of a CoPE, whose main objective is to promote e-learning in higher education context applied to the domain of computer science, is also presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.