One of the challenges for online learning programs is developing a sense of community and connection among the students and the faculty. Social connections can arise spontaneously when education takes place in a physical space and participants have opportunities to encounter each other and spend time together, often in a variety of activities. Indeed, schools make provisions for such encounters and interactions through the arrangement of space and social activities of many kinds.
In the case of distance or online learning, creating conditions for the development of community among students who are not in the same location as instructors and one another requires special arrangements and may require multiple reinforcing approaches. While a good deal has been written about the development of community online, including my own chapter on Networked Learning in the Handbook of Educational Psychology, we have much to learn about the configuration of arrangements to foster community to support distance learning. With that in mind, I want to highlight several approaches currently being used.
Friend Connection – One way to overcome the isolation of learners in online learning is to encourage learners to enter the online or distance learning experience along with a friend. By building on an existing positive social relationship, learners can avoid the solitary student experience and draw on their friend for social support and encouragement.
Workplace Connection – Drawing on existing workplace connections can be a powerful way of enhancing the sense of community and social connection in online learning experiences. The workplace connection can be prior to the online learning experience or it might follow. An example of such a connection is provided by the Online Master of Education degree offered by the University of the People in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate. The program offers students the opportunity to complete an internship in an IB school. Such an on-the-ground experience would connect students to an existing community of educators who share common values and approaches.
Faculty Connection – Making meaningful connections with faculty is difficult even when students and faculty are in the same location, but good relations with faculty members are important for providing a sense of connection for students. Such connections provide the kind of guidance, support, and encouragement that might be the difference between staying in school and leaving early. The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences has developed what they refer to as a Concierge Support Model that aims to provide each online doctoral student with a robust relationship with a faculty advisor to guide and support them through to their doctorate.
Group Connection – Supporting the formation of groups of online students in one or more courses is another way to build social connection and community for students. In my own online teaching I have used groups for a number of years and experimented with various approaches. Early on I learned that smaller groups worked better than larger groups for sustaining connection and participation. Two and three person groups were the easiest for students to maintain, particularly when students were in different time zones. More recently, I have used specific and somewhat formal work group methods (e.g., SCRUM) to provide the social structure and role relationships that allow students to maintain group connections over a semester.
Event Connection – Common events where all students are in a single venue can also serve to build social connections and community for online students. These events may take place at the beginning of a program, in the course of a program, or as part of a culminating experience. The obvious limitation is that all students must assemble in one location, and in many cases that is not possible. Still common events can be effective in promoting a sense of shared community, and it might be possible to develop some online events that do so at least to some extent.
Cultivating a social connection and a sense of community for online students is challenging. Such community is likely to require multiple strategies carried out on a continuous basis. Investments in building community are likely to be repaid in the form of student engagement and program completion.
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