Online Learning Communities

For this post, we were asked to watch the video “Online Learning Communities,” where Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define communities and talk about how to sustain them.  I found the video to be very beneficial because it shared a variety of experiences from all different fields.

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

I think that students feel more satisfaction when other students validate their opinions and analysis postings.  We learn more when our posts are challenged, as well.  I learn so much when other students reply to my posts with something more than “hey, great post!”  When they pose questions are ask for more elaboration, I feel that I’m actually involved in a discussion rather than just writing to the World Wide Web, which can seem dark and lonely.

• What are the essential elements of online community building?

According to Dr. Palloff & Dr. Pratt…

1.    You must have people and must be able to interact and connect within each other.  They have to have a social presence.

2.    You must have a purpose.

3.    The process must be functional.

• How can online learning communities be sustained?

I feel that the facilitator helps with building community.  When they post replies that link two or more participant postings together, it develops collaboration within the group.  In the video, they mention that it’s not just the faculty that is responsible for creating this community though – it’s every person’s participation that sustains the structure.  However, an engaged professor can really make a huge difference in a successful or unsuccessful course.

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

I think they are very similar.  You must have a community in order to bridge the gap to create effective online instruction.  If we were just running correspondence schools, it would be different.  However, online learning is collaborative and that’s why it works.  We gain a higher perception of learning because of the reflective nature of the courses.  Also, students gain virtual social skills through effective online instruction!