Shared Work is both a communication tool and a collaborative work space.  It brings organizations, agencies, groups, and individuals together to communicate what is important to them, to learn together, to do work together, and to collaborate in addressing complex educational problems. Working in community enables these groups to seek out new approaches to persistent issues and to gain support from each other in implementing these approaches.

Using sharedwork tools

SharedWork is the site where active Communities of Practice (CoP) do their work. They use the technology to support relationships and a collective commitment to changing practice and improving outcomes. Some of the technology tools are: wikis, blogs, polls, event calendars, documents, etc.

User and moderators guides are now available to help you design and manage your Community pages.

Communities of Practice?

Communities of Practice facilitated by the IDEA Partnership begin with four simple questions:

  • >  Who cares about this issue and why?

  • >  What work is underway separately?

  • >  What shared work could unite us?

  • >  How we can deepen our connections?

The communities on sharedwork.org began with these questions and these questions shape their ongoing work.

Community Building

Communities of Practice can be formed at the national, state or local level. The IDEA Partnership supports a four-part approach to building community.

  • >  Coalescing around issues: What will bring people together?

  • >  Ensuring relevant participation: Who must be involved to ensure changes in practice?

  • >  Doing work together: Recognize individual pursuits and shared goals.

  • >  Leading by convening: Translate complex challenges into ways that individuals can contribute.

Available Communities

 

 

May 6-7, 2012 National Community of Practice on Transition Meeting, Charlotte, NC

Ten state teams, 12 national organizations, and 7 TA Centers will hold their annual meeting before the Capacity Building Institute on Transition. Community memebrs will define their deepening connections and create new opportunities for shared work around universal design (UDL) and accessible transportation. The agenda and the proceeding can be found on the meeting wiki.

May 8-10, 2012 Capacity Building Institute, Charlotte, NC

Forty three state teams will meet in 6th Annual Capacity Building Institute. A new feature of the meeting is a open WIKI to encourage participants and others active in transition to work together on issues of importance.

 

Feb. 6-10, 2012 marked first State visit - Case Study work underway

The first Case Study included state, district, local and community visits. There are too many highlights of the visit to mention here but the interviews with Hawai'i State Education Agency staff, Community of Practice (CoP) coordinators, students and school leaders were powerful. The school and community leaders -- including student mentors, intervention specialists, school counselors, community mental health practitioners, teachers, principals and other administrators -- shared the results of their School-based Behavioral Health CoP initiatives.

If you would like to learn more about this work, the Hawaii CoP Guide is a good place to start, The Guide outlines the history, vision, strategic plan and roles of the various stakeholders involved in this state effort to support the social, emotional and mental health of all children and their families to ensure they are healthy participants in their lives. Visits to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire are next on the Partnership calendar. Stay tuned for more information on the CoP case study states.

January 17-19, 2012 - The IDEA Partnership meeting                                                                                  

Over 50 Partner organizations continued to work on the Cradle to College and Career framework by expanding on the recent Thought Leader Forum.  You can review the work underway by visiting the wikis under the IDEA Partnership section.  Please contact Patrice Linehan or Mironda Shepard if you have any questions about the meeting.

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