Online Learning Communities

Boettcher and Conrad (2010) describe a course as “a set of learning experiences within a specified time frame…in which learners, mentored by an instructor, are expected to develop a specific set of knowledge, skills and attitudes” (p, 6).  An online course can be seen as daunting to some, where many assume there to be little contact with instructors and peers and a very independent approach to learning when compared to the traditional brick and mortar classroom.  This was certainly my view of online learning prior to taking courses to pursue my master’s degree in IDT.  Vgotsky (a prominent learning theorist) is known as a constructivist, particularly as his theory holds the belief that “learning occurs in the interaction of the learner with the environment”.  The idea being that as students we construct our own learning based on our surroundings.  With an effective online course, although the learner is working independently to construct his/her own knowledge, communities must be built with the facilitator guiding the learning and the students learning from the materials offered by the facilitator and through discussion groups and group activities.  This community feeling offers support to the independent learner and an assurance that, although distanced from peers, learning experiences are comparable.  This also allows for different viewpoints to be shared.

Creating an online learning community requires attention to detail.  Detail to the course content with considering which multimedia and web 2.0 tools will best support transfer of knowledge, detail to the ability of the facilitator and the support offered to him/her and detail to the students and the knowledge they bring.  Conrad & Donaldson (2011) speak of new technologies telling us “new media offer a wealth of opportunities for interaction, yet many times are employed in a non-interactive mode that tends to focus on creating an online lecture” (p. 4).  It is important that both facilitators and student learners are comfortable with creating and using an interactive environment.  To provide an environment where the constructivist approach is fostered, Conrad and Donaldson recognize that “engaged learning is a collaborative learning process in which the teacher and student are partners in constructing knowledge and answering and answering essential questions” (p. 6).

Students and facilitators new to the online learning must be aware of their contributions to the learning community and the positive effects that these have. This must be explained to them initially; perhaps through an introduction course and it should be echoed throughout the weeks of a course. In previous courses that I have taken, our contribution to group activities such as reading and posting to peer’s blogs, weekly discussions and creating group wiki pages have all been graded activities. This can be a motivating factor to those hesitant to participate.  Adult learners may need initial guidance to reform their attitude toward learning, as “interaction and collaboration are not intuitive to many adult learners who grew up under the competitive model of education where learners had to outshine one another to be successful” (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011, p. 6).  Teachers must also be willing to delegate the responsibility of learning to the student and facilitate rather than directly teach.  Conrad & Donaldson (2011) tell us  “in a learner-centered environment, the traditional instructor responsibilities such as generating resources and leading discussion shifts to the learners” (p. 5).

When I began this degree, I did not know what to expect in terms of support and guidance from the university and certainly did not expect to receive much from peers.  That was not my experience as a student in my last learning environment in a face-to-face classroom.  I have been pleasantly surprised to find that so much of my learning has come from my peers and I have found that participating in group activities, weekly discussions, and interactions in the Student Lounge has taught me so much.  My peers' have different outlooks toward the same learning topic and their probing questions encourage me to think deeper about my own outlook.  Conrad & Donaldson (2011) describe this stating, “in an engaged learning environment, each learner’s actions contribute not only to individual knowledge but to overall community knowledge development as well” (p. 3).

References:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.