Online Learning Communities

As a pastor I see the benefits that building community has for a group. A strong sense of community in a church is vital for growth and successfully moving towards the organization’s common goals. I have also experienced how the lack of community is not just devastating for the church as a whole, but how this deficiency touches each individual member. This is why it is easy for me to grasp the concept that learning groups also have the need for developing a sense of community. Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012) in the Online Learning Communities video explain how building learning communities require three essential elements: people, purpose, and process.

It seems obvious that “people” needs to be at the top of the list of essential elements needed for learning communities to exist, what is not so apparent is who make up the “people.” Naturally one would assume that if we are talking about learning communities then “the class” taking the course would be the people. “The class,” however, may not be a good definition, because “just in time” courses (or courses that are created to disseminate information that staff is required to show proficiency in; i.e. the organization’s privacy policies) may entail an individual signing into the company’s online learning module, reading the necessary material, and taking a test afterwards. Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt (2012) clarify that even in this, apparently, individualistic course it is important to build a sense of community. They recommend that the facilitator create a learners’ lounge area where staff can comment, reflect, or ask their coworkers (or the person guiding the course) for clarification.

The second essential element for building an online community is purpose. Since people are already coming together to take the class, one could easily conclude that taking the class should be the purpose. Palloff & Pratt (2012) expand the scope of what the “purpose” should encompass by listing five other reasons why community occurs, such as to co-construct meaning and knowledge about the content. Another purpose that they mentioned is to challenge each other. While I would not have realized that challenging each other would be a purpose for coming together to build community, I now see how doing so bring the group to a higher level of understanding and knowledge. This is because in doing so learners can draw things out of one another that the learner alone would not have thought of.

The last piece of building community is the process. It is in this section that the educator plays a pivotal role. Much of how the course is delivered and received lies in the hands of the mentor. I was amazed that Palloff & Pratt (2012) view the role of “process” as such an important portion that they believe it needs to start in week zero. In other words, the “process” of developing a community of online learners should begin before the course ever does. Both agree that a welcome letter needs to be emailed to the class and posted prior to the class even beginning. They also recommend that an orientation module be required to be completed before the course starts, to familiarize the learners to technology and the environment that will be used. This “process,” which may range from the use of an ice breaker at the beginning of the course to a class project or activity, must continue throughout the course in order for the community of online learners to flourish.

Although the challenges of building a community of online learners are great, the benefits of doing so are tremendous. In a time when growing and retaining the number of learners/employees is becoming a priority in many organizations, ensuring that administration, educators, and learners become responsible for the development of the sense of community is becoming more important. For in doing so student/employee satisfaction increases, the perception of learning increases and retention increases. Palloff & Pratt (2012) denote that the reason why people are now willing to “stick around,” even when times are hard, is because they feel like they're part of a larger process, and therefore they are not taking on the world all alone. I am encourage to see that when community is accomplished the voices of all its members are not just heard or listen to, but become necessary for knowledge and meaning to reach a higher level of learning, exploring and reflection. I never would have guess that the benefits of building a community of online learners could extend beyond the virtual “walls” of the online classroom.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Online learning communities. Baltimore, MD: Author. (approximate length: 44 minutes)
Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define “online learning communities” and highlight the benefits of creating a learning community for facilitators of online learning experiences.