How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?
Online learning communities have significant impacts on student learning and satisfaction (Laureate Education, n.d.). These communities create a dynamic in which facilitators and learners are actually equal participants. The instructor is not the focal point, but is still responsible for creating an environment that is dynamic, safe, beneficial and interactive for students. Facilitation is a critical component of the online learning community. Instructors have to maintain their presence in order to facilitate student satisfaction, enhance their perception of learning, and to break down isolation that can occur for students working at home, or even instructors that aren’t working in a classroom. For example, instructors and other faculty members (i.e. academic advisors) should call students and send personal e-mail in early weeks to keep them engaged in the course, and to help gauge their overall interest.
What are the essential elements of online community building?
The elements of community building include people, purpose (students coming together in class), process (way in which course is delivered), and methods. These are all impacted by instructional methods, social presence, communication, and having a sense of who the student is in the communication process. The purpose does not just involve the class, but guidelines for how to communicate, how learners engage, who is expected to participate, institutional guidelines, and how often institutions expect learners to participate.
Student orientation is also important in online community building. New students and adult learners are typically used to traditional face-to-face teaching model. Naturally, the transition from onsite to online learning can be something of a culture shock. Therefore, brief course orientations (perhaps a week or two) can help students in getting to know each other, as well as introducing them to course management.
How can online learning communities be sustained?
There first has to be a realization that everyone is responsible for creating a successful learning community. This includes students, faculty, and administrators. Learner-to-learner engagement is the power of learning communities. This involves a process for connecting and empowering students, and enhancing their responsibility for learning (defined as a social constructivist approach). Students have to be fully engaged to make meaning of the content, figure out the content together, and to obtain a sense of co-created knowledge and meaning. Instructors should design and conduct learning activities that result in proper engagement and facilitation of learning (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011).
What is the relationship between community building and effective online instruction?
The relationship between community building and effective online instruction goes hand-in-hand. In effective online instruction, students are often transformed as learners, their perception of learning is deeper, and they have an increase in self-direction (Laureate Education, n.d.). Students can also positively change how they present themselves in an online environment, as a real person. Engagement and learning is facilitated by tools such as learner-facilitated discussions, articles, and links to related websites and databases (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011).
It is also possible to create an online learning community without a structured course. Similar to a classroom, in a corporate environment, there are typically a diverse set of learners with different learning styles, opinions, and agendas (Laureate Education, n.d.). An online forum should be created within a learning management system, where users communicate with each other, and post their questions or concerns, typically with an expert available to answer.
Conclusion
In this article and throughout my experience as an online learner, I learned that instructors, as facilitators, have to properly explain to students the type of support they will receive in a learning community approach. Additionally, as an aspiring instructional designer, I learned that instructors have to devise engaging content for diverse audiences, along with training that properly explains to students the type of support they will receive in a learning community approach. It was also interesting to read about the desired length for course orientation. In my opinion, long-winded orientation can overwhelm the student, and potentially diminish their interest in continuing their enrollment in the course. This is why orientation should occur for no more than 1 to 2 weeks.
References:
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, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Online Learning Communities [video]. Retreived May 9, 2013 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2651291_1%26url%3D
David,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post in which you highlight a number of key points on how to create and sustain an online learning community. Since the learner is at the centre of the teaching and learning process, all activities should be designed with this in mind and the need for learners to be engaged throughout the learning process.
David,
ReplyDeleteI have also learned that instructors have to devise engaging content for diverse audiences, along with training that properly explains to students the type of support they will receive in a learning community approach from taking numerous online courses, some better than others.
A learning community in a face to face traditional environment often develops spontaneously as the students have more opportunities to get to know one another and develop friendships outside of the learning environment. More planning is required in the online environment for a learning community to develop.
At the very core of successful teaching and learning are the principles of interaction and collaboration. Engaged learning stimulates learners to actively participate in the learning situation, and thus gain the most knowledge from being a member of an online learning community (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011).
One thing that I have to keep in mind as I teach in the online environment is that students roles as engaged learners develop over time. Interaction and collaboration is not intuitive to many adult learners who have been educated in a predominately lecture based environment (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011).
Engaging the learner will require architectural engineering by the instructor. This can be done by planning and utilizing activities that assist the student in the developmental phases of engaged learning and also aid in the motivation of the student to successfully interact and collaborate in the online learning environment.
Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. (2011). Engaing the online learner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.
Great post, instructors must take the time to carefully build the online learning community; with the end goal that all participants are equally contributing to the environment. In a recent conversation with a blended teacher in my district, she reported a greater depth to the face-to-face interactions with her students in class because of the online discussions she had created and nurtured online. This is one of the most exciting aspects of blended learning for me as a K-12 teacher.
ReplyDeleteFollowing your blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat post David. The part of the presentation that that really provided an A-HA moment for me was when Dr. Palloff spoke about the parity and shared responsibility between course participants and course facilitators. When I enrolled in my first online course almost a decade ago, I felt lost; not because of the technology being used, but because of the dependence on live chat rooms and my inability to type fast enough to participate. Trying to read what others were spraying onto the screen and feverishly pecking my comments in was very unnerving. Additionally, the professor did little to address this, almost making it unbearable by constantly commenting on my perceived lack of participation. The instructor should have addressed me individually and at least offered some type of assistance.
ReplyDeleteDavid your mentioned in your blog the technology tools the teacher must be familiar with. I agree the instructor must be prepared. I would like to add you must also be aware that some students have limits related to technology. One of the initial steps in course development is determining which tools will be used in the course. Once the instructor determines the course requirements, the skill level of the students needs to be determined ( Conrad & Donaldson, 2011). If you a new to the online learning environment the best advice is to Keep It Simple(KIT)
ReplyDeleteConrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.