Orthopaedic educators' electronic community of practice: Development of a supportive online learning environment for academic orthopedic surgeons

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) both host annual Orthopaedic Educators' Courses for orthopedic surgeons involved in resident education to provide knowledge and skills to facilitate resident learning, assess resident education, and evaluate teaching practices. Course participants have expressed a strong desire to have a place where they can review and exchange educational materials after the end of the face-to-face courses. Course faculty have expressed the need to provide ongoing support to reinforce and extend the learning that takes place in the courses. An electronic CoP (eCoP) holds the potential to serve these unmet needs while concurrently supporting the commonly shared goals of the various individuals and groups involved. This chapter describes how an "inter-conference eLearning environment" was created through a needs assessment process to provide ongoing support and extend participant learning beyond face-to-face courses. It also describes how technology can support learning and develop an ongoing supportive educator eCommunity within orthopedics.