6.3 Creating a learning community

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Taking an online course should be more than sitting in front of a computer. Learning and engagement happen through discussion, reflection, collaborative work, and taking initiative and responsibility to listen, question, and think critically within the community of fellow learners. Here are ways you can start developing a learning community (adapted from Wehler, 2018, Faculty Focus Links to an external site.).

  • Make yourself available. Establish the tone of the community through your engagement in class correspondence, discussion board replies, and assessment feedback.

  • Create communication guidelines. Communication is essential to any relationship. Before you ask students to put themselves out there, show them that it’s safe to do so. Suggestions around communication guidelines can be found in 2.3 Common elements in an online course in Module 2.

  • Encourage interaction. In an online classroom, you have to be more deliberate about student-student and student-faculty exchanges. For example, providing a space for students to introduce themselves to the class is a good start to help students see each other as a "real people" and not just a name on a screen.

  • Encourage students to communicate, collaborate and share what they are learning with each other; use smaller group activities where feasible to build community and connection between students.

  • Build “outside class” spaces. In an online course, you have to consciously build “outside” spaces where students can engage around things not related to the course. Make “water cooler” or “café” discussion boards where the class can talk about current events and common interests. Create a social media page for the class where ideas can be shared. Watch a virtual event together and discuss it afterwards. Deliberately creating social moments acknowledges this fundamental aspect of education.

  • Bring the outside in. Online courses can feel compartmentalized and isolated from the wider institutional community. You need to remind students that they are a part of large campus culture. Post announcements about events happening in the institution (e.g. UBCV Life Blog or the UBCO Life newsletter). Assign attendance at webinars and live-streaming events for course credit.

If you would like to learn more about creating a supportive and collaborative learning community, we suggest the following resources: