“Building an online community is not only relevant to the learning process, it is essential.” Thormann & Fidalgo, 2014 Culturally Relevant Communities Dea Marx & Leah Panther

Online communities What makes it a community? Socially interdependent Participate in discussions and decision making Shared practices

Online communities What makes it Culturally Relevant? Knowing your students Observing their strengths Opportunities for options

Online learning communities Why does it matter? Increase completion Better student satisfaction Intrinsic motivation Higher learning outcomes

Isolation Lack of belonging Limited perspective Withdrawal Factors

Effective online learning communities can be characterized by four critical components : Interaction Communication Participation Collaboration

In Practice: Introduction Activities Options to differentiate Student moderators Customization

Discussion Boards and Blogs : Timely response Summary of learning Personal contact of absentees Thoughtful deadlines

Application What will you use?

References Asoodar, M., Atai, M. R., Vaezi, S., & Marandi, S. S. (2014). Examining effectiveness of communities of practice in online english for academic purposes (EAP) assessment in virtual classes. Computers & Education, 70, doi: /j.compedu Ni, S.F. & Aust, R. (2008). Examining Teacher Verbal Immediacy and Sense of Classroom Community in Online Classes. International Journal on E-Learning, 7(3), Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Rovai, A. (2002). Building Sense of Community at a Distance. The International Review Of Research In Open And Distributed Learning, 3(1). Retrieved from Stanford-Bowers, D. (2008). Persistence in online classes: A study of perceptions among community college stakeholders. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 4(1). Thormann, J. & Fidalgo, P. (2014). Guidelines for online course moderation and community building from a student’s perspective. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10(3).