very important for identifying aims and objectives with learning outcomes approach for different levels in the education system. Resistance for change. Linking social learning approaches in online communities with formalised education paths would require many changes in the existing educational institutions and practices. Experience this far shows that despite the increasing use of ICT for education, institutional practices have not changed (e.g. Punie et al., 2006b), meaning that the transformative potential of ICT has not had a similar effect on education as it has on other sectors (European Commission, 2008c). As a case study, Blin and Munro (2008) analysed the transformation of teaching practices following an institution-wide deployment of Virtual Learning Environment at their university. Little disruption of teaching practices occurred as the VLE was mainly used for administrative purposes, to disseminate resources or information and to complement or replicate existing practices. They suggested that the lack of transformation of teaching practices can be partly attributed to the lecturers’ lack of appropriate competencies, but there was also a need for more radical transformations of the overall social and cultural context of the university teaching practices. People feel pressured to preserve traditional practices associated with professional norms while responding to the attractions of new ways of working and learning (Chu & Robey, 2008). There are also tensions between the safety of known procedures within existing institutional hierarchies and the risky benefits of new ventures, as discussed for example in the work by Pór (2004) on innovation and communities of practice.
7.5 DISCUSSION Although learning in online communities also indirectly benefits people outside the communities through offline interaction, the most and diverse benefits are experienced by those who are participating and developing the communities further. Increasing participation in lifelong learning is a major challenge in general, and although online communities have important potential for providing personalised learning paths, not everyone is in a position to benefit. Significant shares of people do not use internet, especially those who have lower levels of education and would be a major target group. Furthermore, as there exist many types of communities on different topics and activities, it may be difficult to find suitable ones to match personal interest and learning preferences. With the broad range of internet activities and tools available, users need a level of digital competence which includes versatile skills beyond basic ICT use. Permanence and broad visibility of online actions make online environments different from offline learning settings, causing risks for one’s personal privacy. Critical media literacy skills are essential for evaluating the reliability and value of information and resources, which in an online environment is much more the responsibility of each individual user, although community interaction can support these meaning makings. A major challenge is to equip all people with the digital skills needed to start safely participating in these communities, and develop their skills further with community collaboration. The usability and suitability of the technology for the purposes of the community and participants plays a major role in participation activities. In addition to tools, it is important that communities possess a culture that accommodates participants with different knowledge, interests, learning styles and capabilities, helping them to integrate into the community and learn in a personally meaningful way. Many learners need guidance, and in online communities, this should be provided with the rules, roles and tools of the community, relying on peer effort and assessment. Finding scalable and sustainable models for ensuring learning quality in selforganising learning communities is a major challenge. These need to be linked with the development of validation systems for non-formal and informal learning, which would identify and make visible different relevant learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, or competence). These could guide individuals in their efforts, if they intend to learn in informal settings. Overall, there is a lack of awareness (among organisations and people) of the potential for learning in online communities. These social contexts reflect current topics of interest among students at schools and universities, workers at the workplaces, and citizens in the society, supporting learning 70