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