Online learning communities in the New 'U

Handbook of Research on Learning Outcomes and Opportunities in the Digital Age

Organizational learning theory, adult learning theory, and basic human performance work in community psychology and anthropology inform this chapter which examines Virtual Learning Communities (VLC) in different types of organizations. Specifically, examples of VLC use in a corporate setting and an institute of higher learning are examined. The chapter reviews key components necessary for success when using VLC, as well as VLC effectiveness versus their limitations. Learnings obtained from experience with and research on VLCs are also discussed. The chapter ends by exploring the major implications for practitioners in adult learning, human resource development, and related disciplines. www.igi-global.com/chapter/construction-of-the-definite-integral-concept-using-open-sourcesoftware/177016?camid=4v1a Contextualized MALL in Target and Non-Target Countries: Mobile Activity Evaluation Anat Cohen and Orit Ezra (2019). Mobile Technologies in Educational Organizations (pp. 170-191). www.igi-global.com/chapter/contextualized-mall-in-target-and-non-targetcountries/227228?camid=4v1a Role of Educational Leaders in Supporting Beginning Teachers in Al Ain Schools in the UAE Salam Omar Ali (2019). Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Modern Education Delivery (pp.

MERLOT Journal of Online Learning …, 2007

This paper describes survey research of fourteen online courses where instructors and students were asked their perceptions about the challenges and essential elements of community in online classes. Results show that both instructors and students believe building community is very important. The majority of both students and instructors perceived it to be harder to build community online than in traditional classes. Additionally, while the majority of students and instructors both identified the same elements for building online community, there were significant ranking differences. Most striking among the differences was that students ranked instructor modeling as the most important element in building online community, while instructors ranked it fourth. Implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations provided for how instructors can model community behaviors in their online classes.

In this chapter, the authors will expand upon the definition of learning communities, discussing the ways in which this concept has changed and adapted through the incorporation/infusion of web-based technologies. In addition, strategies on how to create and use online learning communities both with students and for professional practice will be shared.

2000

This paper will explore the development of online learning communities among postgraduate students at Deakin University who were studying while working. The main objective of the research project being discussed here was to identify impediments to the development of online communities of learning and to suggest how these may be overcome so that students could benefit from the enhancements that

Proceedings of Second International Symposium on Higher Education in Transformation: Designing Higher Education for the 21st Century, 2016

Online learning is having profound effects on institutions of higher education. Allen & Seaman (2014) report that in the U.S. in 2013, 33.5% of higher education students took at least one online course. While online courses are highly variable with respect to how they are constructed, ranging from blended learning, where students complete in-class or at-home tasks and assignments using an internet connection, to fully online courses, where students never physically come on campus but interact with each other using a variety of synchronous and asynchronous tools and affordances, they have, perhaps undeservedly developed a reputation of leaving students feeling isolated, disconnected and frustrated, resulting in retention and persistence issues (Lehman & Conceicao, 2014). Simultaneous to the rise in demand for access to online learning, an increasing number of calls for a paradigm shift in employment skills are coming from a variety of sources, such as the Conference Board of Canada (2016), eWeek (2015), World Economic Forum (2015) and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (2015). All of these sources recommend, among other things, an increased emphasis on skill development in the areas of complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration. According to Miller (2014), these recommendations match a list of best practice principles for online learning including: allowing for group collaboration, promotes active learning, encourages active participation, knowledge construction, learner-centred fostering meaning making discourse and are based on higher level thinking skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation focusing on real world problem solving. This paper presents the Fully Online Learning Community Model (Childs, vanOostveen, Flynn & Clarkson, 2015), as developed in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). Along with a problem based learning (PBL) orientation, the FOLC Model serves as the basis for the fully online program, the Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies and Digital Technologies (ESDT). The model was developed as a modification of the Community of Inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000), as a means of reducing transactional distance (Moore, 1993). It also incorporates newcomers into the learning community through the process of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991). In program courses, instructors, teaching assistants and students collaboratively function as co-creators of the learning environment, the digital space. Instructors begin the PBL process by publishing YouTube videos as modified Problem Based Learning Objects (vanOostveen, Desjardins, Bullock, DiGiuseppe & Robertson, 2010). Students in turn, use the YouTube video to create ill-structured problems. Students bring their thoughts and questions about these problems to the hour long facilitated audio-video conferencing tutorial sessions. Acting initially as facilitators, instructors and teaching assistants model a process of eliciting preconceived notions about the problems from the students and offering challenges to the conceptions (Bencze, 2008), gradually empowering control of these interactions to the students as they collaboratively investigate the problems and build toward solutions. This presentation argues that a learning community can be established in fully online programs and that these communities can have a democratizing effect on the participants. These communities have characteristics that are described in the South East quadrant of the Teaching- Learning Paradigm Model (Coomey & Stephenson, 2001). A variety of evidence drawn from a number of ongoing research projects will be shared during this session.

EDULEARN proceedings, 2017

As with every decade, the 2010-2020's are not without their buzzwords and the one making the most noise at this time is the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" . So much noise in fact, that it has come to the attention of those involved in higher education. Already under pressure to embrace a paradigm change which sees education going from a more content-centred to a learner-centred position [2], educators are now being asked to take into account their other major stakeholder -industry and develop competencies on top of core subject knowledge in their students. The research presented here examines how a virtual community and can be used for collaborative learning, with a specific focus on how educators can make the leap from theory to practice successfully . The methodology used was action research which, as per Dick [4], is a three-step process that can go through several iterations. These steps: intention, action, and review, were acted upon, in three iterations, over a three-year period. The sample comprised adult further education students (n=95) enrolled in a certificate course in management also doubling as a prerequisite to entry into an Executive MBA programme. The results, based on the analysis of the ensuing communities and that of a self-report questionnaire, provide insight into the student use of a virtual space for the development of a collaborative learning community and their perception of such a tool for collaboration. The changes made from one iteration to the next allow for a better understanding of what is needed to encourage students to embrace what, for them too, are changes in the learning experience. The paper closes with a discussion of the development of such a community and practical suggestions of how to make it work.

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 1996

There is a tendency to view education on the Internet as simply a more efficient way to access information and to communicate. But the Internet is much more than just another tool, The Internet has the potential to create communities where students participate in robust discourse and rituals of communication, establish their identities, and traverse community boundaries. We believe we need to design on-line courses with sound pedagogical frameworks and with a sense of promoting community values of diversity, connectedness, and civic responsibility. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to describe a framework that we use to design virtual learning communities. We explain community activities to consider, describe how we used our framework for designing three classes, and pose issues that arose when using this framework. We hope our thoughts will direct discussion toward the creation of innovative learning communities.

2003

Currently, numerous educators and policymakers are advocating for a move away from “teacher-centered” models of instruction and toward more “learner-centered” and “community-based” models. However, at present the word “community” is at risk of losing its meaning. We have little appreciation and few criteria for distinguishing between a communityof learners and agroupof students learning collaboratively (Barab & Duffy, 2000; Grossman et al., 2000; Wineburg & Grossman, 1998).

Online communities are fast becoming a major aspect of the daily lives of millions of people around the world. Determining what makes an online community successful is therefore crucial for developers and designers. Why do some succeed and some fail? In order to study these questions, an online academic community was created for students in an interdisciplinary doctoral program at a major university in the United States. Because the program serves working adults with a variety of research interests, it is difficult for members to get together to discuss ideas and socialize. Students expressed the desire for an online community with a discussion board to facilitate communication. A community-centered design approach , that involved the students in all aspects of community design and development, was used to create the community. An action research approach, using quantitative and qualitative methods, was used to assess the success of the community. Data was collected through surveys, observations, and interviews and indicated that 25.6% of all members actively participate in discussions, 12.7% never visit the discussion board and 61.7% are occasional readers. Most participants indicate that the purpose of the community should be narrowly focused to fit their particular interest. They emphatically indicate that the discussions should relate to their own specific area, be lively and well moderated. This study reveals that a narrow purpose appears to be the strongest indicator of success for an online community. The purpose brings them in to the community, but lively, interesting discussions keep them coming back.

Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education, 2022

Higher education course design is moving increasingly toward constructivist, collaborative approaches for higher-order learning. A community-based approach to learning fits both this type of pedagogy and preferred learning outcomes related to critical thinking and metacognition. This is particularly necessary when moving such learning online, and the need for a community is even more important for engagement and motivation than in-person learning, where community and connection is often created organically. Online learning communities can be effectively created using the community of inquiry theoretical framework, as it intentionally makes space for learners to express their teaching, social, and cognitive presences. To support the design of effective online learning experiences, how each presence fits into the constructivist and inquiry-based approaches is explained in this chapter. As well, applications are suggested. Finally, assessment approaches are provided that are in line wi...