Online education: Building a Learning Community
Hello Everyone,
In addition to teaching traditional in-classroom courses with a Blackboard component, I also teach totally online courses with universities elsewhere. Therefore, I wanted to discuss the importance of building a learning "community" within the classroom in an online situation. I believe building such a community with and among students is, of course, essential within the traditional classroom setting, it is critical to the success of an online class. Online education, when it is done well, links students with teachers and other learners who may have not otherwise had the opportunity ever to meet or exchange ideas. However, I think hearing or reading about other perspectives is not all that is important. Critical evaluation of what is being heard or read is part of the educational process. I think a large part of learning communities--whether online or in-classroom--is discussing and defending ideas, as well as evaluating and responding to what students learn from others. I think this type of interaction is vital in both online and traditional situations, however, because online students can often feel "isolated," I feel it is particularly necessary for them to feel "included" in the classroom--this is where an instructor can play such an important role as a facilitator and communicator.
Renee Weeks
Renee,
I also teach residentially and online and I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the importance of feeling "part of the the classroom". This does pose a problem in the online environment and one way that is used in my course online is to get the students to learn from each other. This is done by directing discussion forums topics addressing the application of the learning - so the students can "teach each other" and at the same time increase their own learning. Then, as you stated, the instructor is able to facilitate to assure they are getting the correct information. Additionally,the opportunity to move them to a higher level of thinking by posing questions to their answers that allow them to think about whatever it is from another perspective. I am always interested in learning what other instructors do to create this "community in their classrooms" and would welcome your comments.
Bev
I agree completely. It is very important to engage the online learner in the course content and in the course community immediately. The more "welcomed" they feel at the beginning, the less isolated they will feel. This can be accomplished through instructor-active involvement in discussion boards and welcomes during the first part of a class. This lets the student know he/she is not alone out there in cyber-space. Active involvement throughout the rest of the class is also important to retain this engagement. I also feel strong student-student interaction is essential. Within discussion boards, referencing another student's post or suggesting students review specific postings/replies in response to their postings/replies can serve as an encouragement in this area. Active engagement occurs through modeling, managing, and motivating.
