Online Learning Community Building Tips

Online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses. When a learner participates in an online learning community, they are forced to take an active role in the class activities. They cannot simply show up to class and listen to a lecture. Instead, the online learner must use self-discipline and time management skills to ensure they consume the course content before the next community activity such as a discussion forum. If they fail to prepare in advance, it will be apparent to the other students who read an ill constructed discussion post. Boettcher and Conrad (2016) propose that the online learning community student may be more motivated than a traditional classroom student simply because they don’t want to look bad in front of their classmates. In addition to increased student motivation, Drs. Palloff and Pratt (Laureate, 2010) cite the benefits to effectively using an online learning…