Importance of an Online Community - Taylour Etter

It is important for online learners to be part of a community because in a traditional classroom setting the students listen to others asking questions and learn the material better. When taking a class online, the students can feel isolated and a way to overcoming that is by creating online communities for support and help. When there is a online community it will reduce the feeling of isolation and improve the learners attitude toward the course. Online communities also build appreciation for different perspectives, learn about argumentation, share ideas and learn to use colleges as a resource. Working collaboratively and in an online community will help give the students a more real-world approach to their work. It will better prepare them for what is to come in the work field.

The strategies and techniques that would best establish and maintain this community are to provide the infrastructure for interaction and work, model effective collaboration and knowledge construction, apply instructional strategies, supervise student activities, monitor and assess learning, providing feedback, remediation, and grades, troubleshoot and resolve problems, and establish trusting relationships.