Organizations with effective communication systems greatly improve their opportunity for success. Effective communication practices are essential to support multidisciplinary and collaborative health teams. Workplaces like the W21C have become increasingly complex, demanding a focused effort to increase internal communications.

 

Communities of practice (CoP), like the W21C, are “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.” The internet – specifically Web 2.0 technologies have great potential for facilitating online CoPs. Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. blogs, wikis, podcasts and social networking sites including Facebook), and innovative giants such as Google have transformed the internet from a static information resource to one of continuously evolving social / professional networking, information sharing, and collaboration possibilities. 

 

The W21C and industry partner Clarity.ca Inc are working together to study and build an internal Online Community based on a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and various communication platforms including the SMART Boards available to community members. The project will study the W21C's communication needs, develop tools to meet those needs, and then study the effectiveness of those tools in facilitating greater communication and collaboration among the diverse W21C community.

 

The W21C will be making new tools and technologies avaialable over the coming year - the majority of which will be hosted on www.w21c.org. Please let us know how we can help meet your communication needs - your feedback is important to us. For more information, please contact Susan Mide Kiss.