Online Learning Communities

Online learning communities are groups of people who are working together to attain the same goal, through a certain process. Wikipedia (2014) defines “An online learning community as a public or private destination on the Internet that addresses the learning needs of its members by facilitating peer-to-peer learning”. Sharing of knowledge is therefore a critical activity in an online community with the goal of empowering people to make meaning with one another. It is therefore everyone’s responsibility within the group to create a successful learning community. How can participants in an online learning community play their role in developing an effective and efficient online course?

Dr. Pratt and Dr. Palloff in Laureate Education (2010) mention that online learning communities are shaped by students and faculty who explore content together to bring meaning to learning. The instructors are responsible for facilitating learning and enabling students to interact with the content and concepts among themselves. Conrad and Donaldson, (2011) point out that “engaged learning stimulates learners to actively participate in the learning situation, thus gaining the most knowledge from being a member of an online learning community”(p.5). Learners become actively involved in the learning process when the facilitator’s presence is strong from the start of the online course and when there is constant motivation for them to participate throughout all the activities. Laureate Education (2010) posits that “the power of learning communities is learner-to-learner engagement”. Therefore, the instructor has an important role in shaping students’ learning and their satisfaction in the course through the kinds of activities he or she assigns for the students.

The three essential elements in building a sustainable online learning community are “people, purpose and process” as stated by Dr. Palloff in Laureate Education (2010). The number of people in the online courses is critical for building engaging courses. It does not matter how well prepared the purpose of the course is and whether the processes are in place or not, if there are no students to interact and exchange ideas, that online course is doomed to fail. Wilcoxon (2011) states that “the goal is to have a sufficient number of members to encourage on-going interaction without having so many that individual voices disappear”. For instance, a class with students less than three has less chance of having diverse views developed during the process of engagement. The purpose is also important in determining the direction of the course and destination.  The instructor has the responsibility to guide the entire learning process by making students comfortable in the learning process. According to Laureate Education, (2010), the facilitator is responsible for setting up and maintaining an active learning community by “making the course easy to navigate, and making the class feel warm”. The lesson learned is that an effective instructor has to establish a positive environment for learning by playing a leading role in the online course. Otherwise, the lack of involvement by the instructor can lead to a dismantled community with low or no learning at all.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, (2010). Online Learning Communities. [Video]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EIDT/6510/01/downloads/WAL_EIDT6510_01_B_EN-CC.zip

Wilcoxon, K. (3, October, 2011). Building An Online Learning Community. Retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/761/building-an-online-learning-community