Online Communities of Learning Why Online Communities Are Important? What is an Online Learning Community? With the rise of remote learning, many found that their learning performance got worse, and they lost motivation. There is no doubt that solitary education via a computer screen can be offputting. However, given the extraordinary times, online learning has become the new norm. This is why educationists and course creators have come up with Online learning communities • What is an Online Learning Community? • These are unique and specialized spaces where learners and experts come together to discuss something...anything. The communities are usually focused around a central idea or theme but can move away from it every now and then to accommodate the queries of the participants. Importance of Online Communities When it comes to creating an effective online learning environment, online communities are critical for learning. This is one of the reasons that they’re so popular, particularly in higher education. In distance learning, community members collaborate to build an interactive canvas of reactions and comments from a variety of perspectives. They discover methods to explore, think, invent, build skills, and seek conceptual understanding—things that they would not have been able to accomplish on their own otherwise. Instilling a feeling of connection and fellowship in online learners helps to keep them interested and Apparently, studies trace the history of educational/informational communities back to constructivism. This means that true learning stems from the collaboration of learners and their interaction with their surroundings. In addition, the idea is an extension of social learning. Essentially, these communities have specific goals; academic, professional, social, etc. Accordingly, members come together in a collaborative environment to achieve these goals. In a way, these communities are rather similar to online cohorts but with better engagement tools. Types of learning communities 1. Interest-based communities: As the name suggests, such kinds of communities focus on specific interests or goals. People come together to discuss these ideas and seek collective responses to concerning questions. Types of learning communities 2. Shop-talk communities: They focus on accomplishing a talk i.e how to do that or where to find such and such. Since these communities act as quick spaces for seeking answers, they do not have longstanding members. Once people get their solutions, they usually end their engagement. However, such communities are central to running businesses. Entrepreneurs can use these spaces as an alternate solution to customer support services. WebMD is a great example of shop-talk communities. Types of learning communities 3. Action-based communities: Members is this particular community type strive to achieve some sort of actional change. These can be social movements, activist groups, fundraisers, or even your college student groups working for a particular cause. Types of learning communities 4. Information dissemination communities: Such communities are highly paternalistic. The content and community activity are tightly controlled by the hosts. Hence they tend to lack driving engagement. Types of learning communities 5. Profession-based communities: These communities are especially for professional development. Young professionals and seasoned experts collaborate on enabling the members in skilllearning for furthering Purpose of online a learning community •Fosters shared learning amongst members. Participants find solutions to problems collaboratively, give feedback to each other, and learn from each others' experiences. •Supports distributive leadership i.e. creates a horizontal structure for a healthy exchange of ideas. It Purpose of online a learning community •Builds lasting connections. When people get together and learn from each other on such a one-onone level, they tend to build deeper emotional connections. Hence, such people stick together for longer durations. •Measures collective progress. Additionally, these communities can also act as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of your online courses. You can see from the engagement how well the learners have grasped the concepts and how well they are applying Purpose of online a learning community •Provides support to the participants. Not only academic or professional but also emotional in times of need. The online learning community model If you go around looking for a learning model for your community, you will stumble upon several. This might lead to confusion and deter you from even beginning with your space. Essentially, all of the models are derivatives of each other in some ways. One of the most prominent models is the community of inquiry model' by Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson, and Walter FOLC -Fully Online Learning community • Primary elements of FOLC • The FOLC model focuses on two central ideas: • Social presence - This is one's ability to project themselves emotionally and socially onto others. It includes communication, cohesiveness, and collaboration. • Cognitive presence - This is one's learning and comprehending ability. These two elements are necessary to illustrate the effectiveness of a community. Firstly, social presence is what drives member engagement. It is primarily the basis of how people behave in a social setting that determines the quality of interaction. Secondly, cognitive presence determines how well things are being understood within a community. Although, it is tough to get a close-knit community online wherein people can be themselves fully. The virtual distance can disrupt things. However, thanks to technological breakthroughs, we now have ample remedies to improve learner engagement. A great way of reducing this distance is by improving communication Benefits of online learning communities • Build reliable connections - grow your network by engaging with students - old and new. Moreover, you can get experts to connect with newcomers and build a space for professional interaction. Simultaneously, these connections also work as a great way of seeking organic leads. In this way, your community members can be your course marketeers. Benefits of online learning communities • Develops brand identity having a strong community can make your work and courses appear authentic. When new members participate, they can perceive a deeper image concerning your work and on the basis create a brand identity. Benefits of online learning communities • Earns client loyalty - a close-knit community ensures client retention. It also improves client satisfaction as people can resolve their concerns within the community and do not have to look elsewhere Benefits of online learning communities •Organic feedback with a trusted community, you can receive authentic constructive feedback and measure progress effectively. Additionally, you can also use the community space for beta launching any new
