An online learning community is a public or private destination on
the Internet that addresses the learning needs of its members by facilitating
peer-to-peer learning (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2016). Online learning
communities provide a way for learners to
engage with their peers, the facilitator, and the learning content. In an
online learning community, facilitators are no longer relying on lengthy
lectures to pass on knowledge to the learners. The faculty role shifts to more
coaching, guiding and mentoring
(Boettcher & Conrad, 2016).
How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?
How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?
Engaged learning has been described as a collaborative process, in
which an individual learns through negotiations between multiple personalities.
This collaborative acquisition of knowledge is one
key to the success of creating an online learning environment (Conrad &
Donaldson, 2011). In an online learning community, learners can have a deeper understanding of concepts by
participating in discussions with their peers. Facilitators are then able to
challenge learner responses to topics promoting deeper thoughts on the given
topic. Learners walk away from the experience feeling more knowledgeable about
the course content, and able to hold a more
meaningful conversation regarding the topic.
What
are the essential elements of online community building?
The key elements of an online learning environment include:
·
Students establishing their own learning goals
·
Students working together in groups
·
Exploring the appropriate resources to answer
questions
·
Task that are
multidisciplinary and authentic
·
Assessments that are performance based and ongoing
·
Products that are
shared with an audience beyond the classroom (Johnson, 1998)
How
can online learning communities be sustained?
The four essential elements for every structured learning
experience consist of the learner, the faculty/mentor, the content, and the
learning environment. For a facilitator
to maintain an effective online community, they must develop trust between the
learners. By developing trust, learners will be more confident in engaging and
holding discussions with their peers. This
is extremely important since with the
online learning, the learning occurs from the discussions had and the different
perspectives on a given topic.
What
is the relationship between community building and effective online
instruction?
When learners feel comfortable and trusting of their peers, they
are confident enough to have meaningful
engagement with them. When we design engaging learning experiences, learners
spend more time interacting with and develop more complex, better-structured
knowledge bases and efficient automatic behaviors (Boettcher & Conrad,
2016). As described in the text Engaging the Online Learner, engaged learning
is a collaborative process. The community is essential for the online
instruction to be effective.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Going forward, when developing online courses, I see the
importance of ensuring peer to peer interaction occurs in a meaningful manner.
As the facilitator, it is my responsibility to begin the course with icebreakers
and activities that will allow learners to become familiar with each other and
build trust. Reflecting on my past
experiences as a facilitator in online classes, I can see how I was the type of
instructor that wanted to jump into the core of the content and begin teaching. Following that approach did not provide
much of an opportunity for my learners to get to know each other and become
comfortable with one another. Another item that I have learned during my
research this week is to allow the learners to control their own learning goals.
As the facilitator, I should challenge the learners and promote deeper though
on a concept, however, I should not be controlling the pace of the learning the
entire time.
From Beverly:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great insights on engagement, Danny!
Engagement infiltrates into so many different learning theories: Piaget's philosophy that learning must be connected to the learner through constructivism and that learning takes place as it is built on prior experiences, Vygotsky's theory that learning takes place through collaboration, Smith and Ragan's experiential learning all are a result of engaged learning. That's energy that can only come from the student. It happens when a student is motivated and involved which takes some very creative planning on the part of the instructor!
"Assessment of interaction and collaboration is challenging, and it cannot represent a true picture of individual knowledge and skills acquired unless the activities and teams have been planned and structured in an effective manner" (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011, p.27). That's a great challenge!
References:
Conrad, R. M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). "Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Thanks for the post! I agree that online classes encourage much more engagement than in a "traditional" classroom where you can hide in the background. In an online setting you are expected to participate and are in fact graded on your participation. So it allows every learner to become part of the discussion. It also allows those who would normally be silent in a classroom to speak up due to the "anonymity" of online classes. For many learners it is easier for them to express themselves in writing rather than in speaking.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting because this week, the reading stated, "the most important role of the instructor in online classes is to ensure a high degree of interactivity and participation" (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011, p. 5). I completely agree with that statement. Again, thanks for the interesting post.
Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 1, "Learning in an Online Environment"