Online Learning Communities

Week 1- Application- Blog Assignment: Online Learning Communities

How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?

Online learning communities are a community of students and faculty who explore content together to construct meaning and knowledge about the content (Palloff & Pratt, 2012). Learning communities impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses through the process of delivering information and collaboration. Engaging learners to collaborate can increase participation and connection. This would allow learners to feel they are achieving information that is required for the course and have the sense of worth.

What are the essential elements of online community building?

The essential elements of online community building are people, purpose, process, method, and social presence (Palloff & Pratt, 2012). These elements can help the learners to accomplish what he/she does not understand by sharing. Collaboration and sharing would allow the learners to interact with social networks, which are designed in the community.

How can online learning communities be sustained?

Online learning can be sustained if everyone participate and take accountability. The facilitator is a critical component to the learning environment (Palloff & Pratt, 2012). It is important that the facilitator create an environment that students feel comfortable and want to learn. The learners can be held accountable for their interactions within the course.

What is the relationship between community building and effective online instruction?

The benefits of the learning community model would increase learners satisfaction, increase perception of learning, make the learners feel that they are a part of something big, and social pressure to succeed (Palloff & Pratt, 2012). If the instructor does not create an environment of warmth, this will cause learners to drop out of the course. It is important for the instructor to make the course to feel inviting rather than cold and formal (Palloff & Pratt, 2012).

References:
Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2012). Online Learning Communities. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1971765_1%26url%3D

Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. (2010). TRC Online Learning Community. Retrieved from http://thetrc.org/trc/tolc.html.