Online Learning Communities

                Remember back to sitting in a brick and mortar classroom with your friends in your class and the teacher at the front of the room spewing tons of knowledge into the air for your brain to connect to any piece of it in order to remember it for a test later. Now, ask yourself what was the best part of the course? Most would say, my friends were in the class. The greatness of the course always increased if the teacher provided opportunities to work with a partner or with a group. Why was this type of activity make class better? Socializing with peers and sharing ideas made the content more understandable and the project that much better.

                Now take the above scenario and think about those who are designing instruction today, with the focus on 21^st century skills and the increase in online learning experience. Can the “great teacher who allowed collaborative groups” easily adapt the course they taught the last 10 years to an online format? The answer is NO. “Traditional education strategies are not directly transferable to an online environment” (Palloff, 2016). Time, structure, and the application of principles and sound theory need to be used to build the foundation of online instruction through a solid learning community.

                The need and goal for peer learning is the same in traditional and online communities. But, similarities stop there. How to achieve that learning community in the online environment is different and takes the teacher shifting from the role of director to facilitator (Conrad, 2011). The online learning community includes people, a purpose and a process.

Impact on Student Learning

                Successfully implemented online learning communities create an environment where the facilitator and the learner are equal participants in achieving the learning objectives. They work together side by side. As a community, the participants challenge each other to dig deep in their thinking and provides immediate feedback to one another and provokes deeper reflection on content. The learning community contributes to learners being more self-directed in their learning and to leave the learning community transformed by the new knowledge acquired (Palloff, 2016).

Essential Elements of online community building

                The facilitator plays a critical role in the learning community model. First, the course design needs to be built on solid theory. The theory will serve as a map to design strategies that assist the learner in achieving the goals and objectives for the course (Saba, 2016). Next, the facilitator responsibility and general setup needs to be considered. Key elements are:

Facilitator Responsibility

·         Be sure to be familiar with all technology utilized in the course in order to assist students ·         Be involved throughout the entire course. The facilitator should model the appropriate interaction and response style. ·         Set the tone for the community interaction

Online Set-up (Palloff, 2016)

·         Easy to navigate the LMS ·         Create a warm and inviting environment that is safe for personal expression by sharing initially with the class ·         Take part in the community discussions, especially checking in the first 2 weeks of the course to be sure the learners are supported with any possible issues. ·         Share a personal bio and encourage others to do the same in order to get to know one another prior to sharing about content.

Sustaining an online learning community

                To sustain a positive online learning environment, learners need to feel empowered to share ideas and feel challenged to think deeply. Once the atmosphere of the community is established, the rules of engagement must be clearly outlined. How and where to share ideas, how often and in what form are a few to outline. Also, planning ahead to meet the needs of those who have never participated in a learning community. Starting with simple interaction, like reading and responding in written format in a discussion board would be a great start. Additionally, providing an introduction to the LMS and the philosophy of online learning can ease the tensions of those new to the online community and are more likely to have them continue with the online learning community option (Palloff, 2016).

Relationship between community building and effective online instruction

                Implemented correctly, the relationship between community building and effective online instruction is a positive one. It provides learners a feeling of being part of something larger and brings personal satisfaction in successful completion. The “normal” peer pressure the community brings to succeed push learners to give a little more and learn more.

Resources

Conrad, R.-M. a. (2011). Engaging the Online Learner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R. a. (2016, January). Online Learning Communities. Laureate Education. Walden University Video Media.

Saba, F. (2016, January). Evaluating Distance Learning Theory. Laureate Education. Walden University Video Media.