When
an online community is being created, Palloff and Pratt (2007) state “the
development of community as part of the learning process helps create a
learning experience that is empowering and rich” (p. 23). An online course has the opportunity to be an
unforgettable experience if the program is created in a way that allows for a
social connection between the students and the instructor. This connection is created when the
instructor becomes a facilitator rather than a presenter of information. In addition, it’s the responsibility of the
participants to actively pursue the desired goals and outcomes through peer
discussion and collaboration. This
active pursuance results in a deeper, richer understanding of the information
being presented in the online class. Another reason for ensuring community
development is it’s the “people who are using the machinery that makes the
courses go” (Palloff and Pratt, 2007, p. 64).
Without any social interaction, the online course will falter and fail.
Richard
West (2010) states, “Students usually have plenty of
experience with online social technologies, but they lack understanding about
how to use these tools and methods for course learning” (p. 69). To increase
this understanding, students help in the development of an online community by
being active collaborators. This will help overcome feelings isolation and
helplessness and increase higher order/critical thinking skills. How does this happen? According to West
(2010), what is needed is “learner-learner interaction, learner-content
interaction, learner-teacher interaction, and learner-tool interaction” (p.
70). These interactions promote an
online community through facilitated discussions and social interaction between
participants.
Online classes and their
advertisements are found throughout the United States: on college campuses, in
emails and on television. The course
provides an effective form of instruction that helps students with the issues
of driving to campus and time management between work and school. What the classes do not provide is
automatically created online community.
Remember, to create an effective online learning community, students have
to be active participants, and the instructor a facilitator of information and
guided instruction rather than a director.
These actions done by the students and the instructor help the
collaboration grow through the different forms of online interaction, the rules
of netiquette, and most of all through the social interactions of being human.
References
Palloff, R., Pratt, K.
(2007). Building online learning
communities: effective strategies for the virtual classroom. (2nd
ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
West, R. (2010). A
student’s guide to strengthening an online community. 54 (5), 69-75. doi: 10.1007/s11528-010-0439-7
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