| Online universities are beginning to realize the importance of learning communities as they relate to student satisfaction, motivation, and retention in the increasingly competitive distance learning market. An online learning community is a group of people, connected via technology-mediated communication, who actively engage one another in collaborative learner-centered activities to intentionally foster the creation of knowledge, while sharing a number of values and practices, including diversity, mutual appropriation, and progressive discourse. This research reports on a case study of a four-week now student orientation and the design strategies implemented to support the development of community and community participation skills. The research includes data collection over a six-month period that allows comparison with five additional orientation courses. Survey data, interviews, and observation methods were used to identify instructional design strategies that contribute to the development of online learning community. Because of a number of design constraints, a fully functioning online learning community was not established in this section of the course. Over time, however, the online university has succeeded in helping students feel a part of continuing communities. The study provides a detailed accounting of design challenges, strategies, and outcomes relating to this effort. Significant research findings include the following. (1) Communication tools must support learning community initiatives by providing for (a) document sharing, (b) visual cues to allow students to track the posts they have read, (c) page formatting that eliminates the need to drill down multiple levels to see threaded discussion posts, (d) the ability to edit and delete posts, (e) chat, (f) development of subgroups, (g) sharing personal contact information, and (h) email updates that serve as reminders to encourage students to visit the community often. (2) Learning communities should be guided, at least initially, by a facilitator who models community participation skills and monitors discussions to guide discussions and resolve conflicts. (3) Learning community efforts need organizational support. (4) Learning communities should be organized around shared goals. (5) Diversity, while sometimes constituting a challenge for participants, should be encouraged and valued within the community. (6) Instructional design strategies should be aligned with the three-phase development process that characterizes many time-bound learning communities: (a) orientation, (b) skill development, and (c) closure and dispersal. (7) Students must come to recognize value in supporting and participating in a community. |
