Here are descriptions for the types of thematic groups hosted on EMDC Online:
Affinity Group: Intended audience: anyone interested from seeker to teacher. Objective: to provide a place for networking with others who have the same core interest or those looking for help in that domain. Led by: one or more practitioners, usually engaging the attendees. Meetings: occur on an infrequent basis (twice a year, quarterly, etc.), and do not necessarily have a guest presenter or precise topic (most often meet-and-greet). Series or not? Yes. Learners that select the "series" will be automatically registered for the next session. The leader will have access to the bulk email feature in the platform to communicate with group members. But other tools like Slack or other self-maintained contact lists (e.g. whatsapp, telegram, googlegroups, facebook, etc) can also be used to remind people to participate in upcoming events.
Community of Practice: Intended audience: practitioners, wannabes, or those looking for help. Objective: to provide a forum for presentations and discussion which lead to professional development of skills and abilities in a specific domain. Led by: a CoP Leader/host who schedules topics and presentations (posting them on the EMDC platform). Meetings: can occur as often as on a monthly basis. Series or not? Yes. Learners that select the "series" will be automatically registered for the next session. The leader will have access to the bulk email feature in the platform to communicate with group members. But other tools like Slack or other self-maintained contact lists (e.g. whatsapp, telegram, googlegroups, facebook, etc) can also be used to remind people to participate in upcoming events.
Tutorial Domain/ Cluster Group: Intended audience: those looking for practical training/advice on a specific skill, software, or idea. Objective: to create and broadcast teaching on a specific domain with live mentoring for attendees. Led by: those diffusing the information (as of 01/22 we have JAARS and TSCO, but welcome others), who schedule topics and presentations (posting them on the EMDC platform). Meetings: can occur as often as there is a topic they will host. Series or not? No. These are typically stand-alone sessions led by a team. Paratext Hour (TSCO) is the exception when it is running on a weekly basis. Except for the PH class, the learners will need to select any desired class.
Language Group: Intended audience: speakers of Spanish, French, Russian, or Indonesian. Objective: to provide a place for networking (encouraging) and learning in that specific language. Led by: one or more speakers of that language. Meetings: occur on an monthly basis and the leader will find topics and guest. Series or not? Yes. Learners that select the "series" will be automatically registered for the next session. The leader will have access to the bulk email feature in the platform to communicate with group members. But other tools like Slack or other self-maintained contact lists (e.g. whatsapp, telegram, googlegroups, facebook, etc) can also be used to remind people to participate in upcoming events.