deter less confident members from participating in the community. The diverse nature of a community can also create linguistic and cultural barriers to participation. Discourse and jargon can create confusion and misunderstanding for non-native speakers and clarifying the communication errors online can prove difficult. Examples of online collaborative tools Online collaborative tools are the means and mediums of working together on the Internet that facilitate collaboration by individuals who may be located in vastly different geographical areas. They may include online tools specifically developed to address the needs of communities of practice including members around the world or other types of tools and forums that are available and used for OCoPs. Social networking sites The first social network site (SNS), SixDegrees.com, was created in 1997. Examples of social networking sites include the following: LinkedIn Facebook MySpace Virtual worlds Virtual worlds, which are online community-based environments, are now being used in both educational and professional settings. In education, these virtual worlds are being used to communicate information and allow for face-to-face virtual interaction between students and teachers. They also allow students to access and use resources provided by the teacher in both the physical classroom as well as in the virtual classroom. In professional environments, virtual training is used to provide virtual visits to company locations as well as to provide training that can be converted from classroom content to online, virtual world content. Virtual worlds provide training simulations for what could otherwise be hazardous situations. Companies are using virtual worlds to exchange information and ideas. In addition, virtual worlds are being used for technical support and business improvements. Case studies document how virtual worlds are used to provide teamwork and training simulations that would not have otherwise been as accessible. Examples of virtual worlds used include the following: Second Life Whyville Information sharing Online tools are available for the sharing of information. This information can be intended for a wide range of audiences, from two participants to many participants. These tools can be used to communication new thoughts or ideas and can provide a setting necessary for collaborative knowledge building. Activities associated with these tools can be integrated into the presentation of online classroom and/or training materials. Examples of tools that allow information sharing include the following: Wikis Google Docs Blogs Decision making There are online tools and platforms that enable, in different ways, deliberation and voting. These are being