Uploaded byJackie Gerstein, Ed.D
Building Community in Online Learning Classes
The document discusses strategies for building community in online and blended learning environments. It suggests that developing a sense of community should be an intentional goal when designing class activities. Specifically, it recommends emphasizing common purposes and ideals, providing regular opportunities for cooperation and collaboration, and actively cultivating respectful relationships among students and teachers. A variety of icebreaker activities are presented, such as photo essays, "I am" poems, interviews, and Voicethread introductions, to help students get to know each other online. Ongoing activities like social networking, blogging, webinars, and discussion boards can further foster interaction and community development. Student feedback indicates that these strategies helped form connections and common ground outside of class.
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Building Community in Online Learning Classes
- 1. Facilitating a Senseof Community in Online and Blended Learning Environments
- 3. Communication leads tocommunity, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing. Rollo May
- 4. Students in educationalenvironments with a strong sense of community are more likely to. . .
- 5. Solomon, Battistich, Watson,Schaps, & Lewis, 2000 in Schaps Creating a School Community http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Community.aspx . . . be academically motivated.
- 6. Solomon, Battistich, Watson,Schaps, & Lewis, 2000 in Snaps Creating a School Community http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Community.asp . . . develop social and emotional competencies.
- 7. . . .act ethically and altruistically Schaps, Battistich, & Solomon, 1997 in Schaps Creating a School Community http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Com
- 8. Community-building should beemphasized not just for the sense of togetherness it provides students, but because it also helps keep the students in the class, promotes full engagement in the class activities, facilitates effective collaborative learning, and encourages continued communication after the course or program is complete. Brown, R. E. (2001). The process of community-building in distance learning classes. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2), 18-35.
- 9. Vesely, P., Bloom,L. & Sherlock, J. (2007). Key Elements of Building Online Community: Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3, (3). Retrived from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no3/vesely.htm.
- 10. Brown, R. (2001).The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes The development of community should be an intentional goal when designing class activities.
- 11. Research suggests thata sense of community can be encouraged through . . .
- 12. emphasizing common purposesand ideals
- 13. commonality is theessence of community Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes
- 14. Brown, R. (2001).The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes Getting to “know” each other. Finding out where people lived, what they did, their experiences, whether or not they had families and the like was the “X” factor. Participants generally agreed that this should have been a first step in community- building. commonality is the essence of community
- 15. Brown, R. (2001).The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes provide regular opportunities cooperation and collaboration
- 16. Brown, R. (2001).The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes actively cultivate respectful, supportive relationships among students and teachers
- 17. Strategies and Activitiesfor Building Communities
- 18. Strategies for Building Communities Inan online environment, human interaction does not just happen naturally. Online students need a way to get to know the instructor, and others. There are several ways to encourage your students to interact with each other. http://www.southalabama.edu/oll/jobaidsfall03/Icebreakers%20Online/icebreakerjobaid.htm
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- 20. Focus on Student-to-StudentInteractions
- 21. Use Skill SetsFamiliar to Students: Texting, Photo-
- 22. Use Multimedia – GoBeyond Text-Driven Responses
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- 24. giving students avoice and face = discovering commonalities (and building language skills)
- 25. Strategies for Building Communities Tipsfor Effective Ice-Breakers 1.Keep it simple. 2.Make it fun. 3.Be creative. 4.Consider various types of Ice-breakers--don't just stick to "questions.” 5.Consider your audience. 6.Be aware of time constraints 7.Keep in mind technology requirements. http://twt.wikispaces.com/Ice-Breaker+Ideas
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- 27. All About MePhoto Essay http://community-building.weebly.com/all-about-me.html
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- 31. Personal Interviews viaTexting http://community-building.weebly.com/personal-interviews.html
- 32. Personal Interviews viaTexting http://padlet.com/
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- 34. Other Uses ofVoicethread http://voicethread.psu.edu/use-case/
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- 41. Posting Web 2.0Tools Assignments
- 42. Student Feedback: I reallyliked having the participation on Facebook as part of our assignments. It was nice to have discussions throughout the week with classmates about what we had done in class.
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- 48. Reading Ahead ofTime Sharing During Meeting
- 50. Student Feedback .. . http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/mobile-learning-end-of-course- student-survey-part-ii/
- 51. It provided uswith a common ground on which to get to know each other.
- 52. It made usopen up to one another because we had to connect at a more social level.
- 53. We were ableto communicate outside of class and create friendships.
- 54. What a greatway to learn communication techniques! Thank you Jackie for all your creative ways to make this class fun and exciting as well as informational.