Online Learning Communities

How do online learning communities significantly affect both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?

Online learning communities significantly impact both student and student learning and satisfaction within an online course by bringing students together. The students along with faculty within this environment can explore content together to construct meaning and knowledge about the content.

What are the essentials elements of online community building?

The essential elements of online community building include the people, purpose, and process. The people are brought together and supported by the facilitator. The purpose is established and the process deals with the way the course is delivered. Included in this, is the ability for participants to draw information out of one another. Through this, participants can receive professional feedback from their peers. The role that the facilitator plays is important because it is essential for the learner to know how they will be supported in the learning community. Lastly knowing the rules of engagement is essential. How will learners engage? How often will learners be expected to participate? How often does the institution expect learners to participate for official purposes? Knowing the roles that each of these plays is essential to online community building

How can online learning communities be sustained?

Learning communities can be sustained by:

1) Mutual activities between the learners
2) Continuing reflecting
3) Transformed as learners
4) Increased self-direction
5) Reinforce their sense of presence
It is the responsibility of every learner and facilitator to create a successful learning community.

What is the relationship between community building and effective online instruction?

The relationship between community building and online instruction is very close. The facilitator is to be involved in the process of building the community. The facilitator sets the tone. It is their job to:

1. Make the course easy to navigate
2. Make the classroom feel warm and inviting rather than cold and formal
3. Visit the classroom multiple times per day during the 1st 2 weeks
4. Welcome students to post a bio
5. Relate to students personally
6. Develop an ice breaker


My role as a facilitator will be very important in designing an online course. With a plan and an understanding of student learning and the essential components, I feel that I now see the larger picture in planning an online course. Futhermore, I recognize the importance of not just transferring information from a course in a traditional setting, but designing a course to have the impact that is necessary for learning.

References

Video: “Online Learning Communities” (approximate length: 44 minutes).
Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define “Online Learning Communities” and highlight the benefits of creating a learning community for facilitators of online learning experiences.

Video: “Evaluating Distance Learning Theory” (approximate length: 12 minutes).
Dr. Saba discusses the importance of evaluating online learning theory and provides a rubric for determining which theories are best for building teaching strategies.

 Connecting with students very early in the course, and keeping an eye on those who might be drifting away must be a bit of a challenge in the online environment. It is all too easy in this online environment to quietly slip away if there isn’t enough reason to be in the course, enough motivation to keep with it and most importantly, enough social interaction to ward off the dreaded isolation factor!

If you were an instructor for a course, and noticed students drifting away within the first week or two, what would you do?

Here’s an interesting reference about all the aspects of communicating with students online for teachers. I’d be interested to know if there are any important implications from your point of view about catching the ‘drifters’.

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer122/betts12

Reference

Betts, K.(2009)Lost in Translation: Importance of Effective Communication in Online Education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume XII, Number II, Summer 2009, University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center. Extracted from:http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer122/betts12

Boettcher, J. & Conrad R. (2010) The Online Teaching Survival Guide. Jossy-Bass.