Establishing a Sense of Community Online for Students
Pilcher (2016) states that creating a community in online classrooms indicates academic success. Over the past decade, the number of online students undertaking different courses has increased considerably. In research performed in 2016, the average growth is 2.39% annually, with one out of every three students deciding to take online courses. The efficiency institutions of higher learning have displayed in offering online courses to their students indicates that more learners will enroll in distance learning.
The most effective way of fostering a sense of community for online students is through the instructor. Compared to physical attendees, online students are very sensitive to the presence of their online instructor in their forums. Over the years, the role of instructors has grown as they are not only teachers but also facilitators of friendships within the classrooms. For instructors to successfully establish a sense of community, they can develop activities that foster socialization and interaction (Pilcher, 2016). According to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, human functioning involves human cognition, behavior, and motivation, which the instructor can facilitate.
Course content and interaction are another effective way of establishing a sense of community. How the course content has been designed should allow students to learn and give ample room for interactions. Interactions enable students to share experiences that most are unaware of (Pilcher, 2016). Through this sharing session, those with common experiences will likely form social attachments with each other promoting the establishment of an online community.
This goes back to our conversation back in lesson 6 as we discussed diversity. In that blog post, I stressed the importance of representing the workforce. This establishes a sense of connectedness between staff and the population you are servicing. As we are now in a digital technology age this is more important than ever as this is such a large scale where individuals look to feel connected.
Reference:
Pilcher, A. (2016). Establishing Community in Online Courses: A Literature Review. College Student Affair Leadership, 3(1).
When I first began taking classes online, it felt like the most foreign concept in the world to me. Here I was, sitting in my office, frantically typing out my thoughts and ideas and sending them out into… what, really? As time went on, I began to appreciate the interactions with my classmates and professors that made the experience more meaningful, and in some instances, fun. It hasn’t been without it’ challenges (try getting everyone together to record a conversation for a Spanish class!), but the benefits have outweighed the negatives.
It has been shown in a study that 85% of participants indicated that being a part of the online community was helpful in their learning (Adams, 2021), and I absolutely agree. If it weren’t for the interconnectedness I now feel as an online student, I probably would have quit a long time ago.
Adams, K. (2021). Research to resource: Developing a sense of community in online learning environments. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 39(2), 5-9.