HELLO is both a learning community and a community of practice.
A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or passion for what they do—and learn how to do it better through ongoing interaction.
A learning community is a group that gathers around a shared purpose to provide mutual support and exchange experiences within a defined domain or subject area.
Community psychologists (e.g., McMillan & Chavis, 1986↗) describe four key elements of a strong sense of community:
- Membership – feeling a sense of belonging
- Influence – believing your actions matter
- Fulfillment of individual needs – having personal needs met through participation
- Shared events and emotional connections – building relationships and shared history over time
The HELLO Community supports these elements in the following ways:
Membership
While much of the site’s content can be read by anonymous visitors, you must be a registered member to fully participate. See the Welcome page for details.
Influence
HELLO is primarily a set of tools—its content is driven by members. You can:
- Author peer-reviewed articles
- Post to the blog and collaborate on documents
- Submit resources
- Comment on and discuss all of the above
Some submissions may be moderated by the site administrator to ensure they align with HELLO’s mission. The HELLO Community Advisory Council advises the President and COO on functionality, policy, and operations. The HELLO Community Editorial Board reviews and approves peer-reviewed articles for publication.
Fulfillment of Individual Needs
Members can ask questions of the community, conduct polls and surveys to gather data from peers, and access a wide range of resources to help them do their jobs more easily and effectively.
Emotional Connections
Over time, members can build meaningful professional relationships through HELLO—connections that may extend to meeting at conferences and other events, deepening both collaboration and collegial support.