Online learning offers opportunities and benefits to all learners including learners who find it difficult to be present in a traditional face to face classroom setting. Despite the huge potential benefits of online learning, online learners have reported feeling lonely resulting in high dropout rates. Nurturing an active learning community is critical to a successful online learning environment to which all learners should belong. As you learned from this week’s learning resources, students and instructors should play an active role in building and maintaining a successful learning community. For this week’s discussion, you and your colleagues will discuss ways of building and maintaining a class learning community and how students and instructors can contribute to this effort.
Begin by reviewing information in this week’s learning resources and any other relevant external resources. You should also consider your experience in the online learning environment and then reflect on the following questions:
- What are the essential elements of a successful learning community?
- From the viewpoint of the instructor, what activities can be included at the beginning of the course to start building a learning community? What can the instructor do throughout the course to maintain the learning community?
- From the viewpoint of the student, how should a student relate to his/her class mates and the instructor? How can students contribute to the development of a successful learning community?
By Wednesday:
Post your thoughts on what you consider to be the essential elements of a successful learning community. Explain, from the perspective of the instructor and the learner, how members of the learning community can contribute to its success.
By Sunday:
Read through a sampling of the postings of your class mates, focusing particularly on those to which you can add relevant or insightful comments that expand the discussion. Respond to at least two of your class mates’ postings by noting a similarity or difference to your posting, making a suggestion, or asking a question.
Return to the discussion to read the responses to your initial posting and continue the discussion.
Read through a sampling of the postings of your class mates, focusing particularly on those to which you can add relevant or insightful comments that expand the discussion. Respond to at least two of your class mates’ postings by noting a similarity or difference to your posting, making a suggestion, or asking a question.
Return to the discussion to read the responses to your initial posting and continue the discussion.
Discussion Rubric
Please make sure to download and go through the rubric below so that you have an idea of what standard of work that is expected.
Please make sure to download and go through the rubric below so that you have an idea of what standard of work that is expected.
Seeking help
Should you need any clarification or assistance, please feel free to contact your instructor by email.
Thank you.
Engaging learning involves planning and utilizing activities and is essential to a successful learning community. This will ensure that learners are motivated and able to successfully interact and collaborate in an online learning environment and eventually engage in independent knowledge building. Students can contribute to the development of the successful learning community by actively participating in discussion posts, offering constructive feedback to their peers, and actively use the class café.
ReplyDelete-Shernedra Brown
I agree with Shernedra. Well said. I would like to expand on what she said by adding that an instructor must also know his/or her audience. The activities being planned not only should be engaging, but should also be age and content appropriate. Setting the expectations in the beginning of the course about online collaboration is always a good start.A solid ice breaker can get students comfortable being in the online environment. As instructor, one should model the type of behavior warranted in the online environment. Engage each learner, post thought provoking question to individual students as well as the group as a whole. Most importantly, provide positive feedback. This feedback will encourage students to want to participate more. Increased participation will increase knowledge obtained therefore contributing to the success of the students in the class.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Thompson
Brandon,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment "nurturing an active learning community is critical to a successful online learning environment to which all learners should belong." It takes a great deal of effort on the instructor and students to create and maintain a nurturing environment online. Shrendara hit the point engaging learning involves planning and utilizing activities. You must maximize every opportunity to maximize and build on learning.