All Annotations of Working with online learning communities[Preview]

saved by11 people, first byConcepción Abraira Fernández on 2008-04-28, last byAna Falcon on 2008-08-13

• One behaviour in online groups that has been extensively studied is that of the non-participating members, termed the ‘lurkers’ - Etienne Wenger[2] calls them Legitimate Peripheral Participants. Lurkers are widely known to be among the majority of defined members and they have been found to make up over 90% of most online groups. They are perhaps the most important members in view of their potential to contribute to online groups.
• • online learning communities are grown, not built
  
  
  • online learning communities need leaders
  
  
  • personal narrative is vital to online learning communities.
• • online learning communities are grown, not built
  
  
  • online learning communities need leaders
  
  
  • personal narrative is vital to online learning communities.

• Clark contends that “leaders are needed to define the environment, keep it safe, give it purpose, identity and keep it growing”. He gives a set of mantras for teacher/leaders in any online community:

  
  

  
  
  • all you need is love
  
  
  • control the environment, not the group
  
  
  • lead by example
  
  
  • let lurkers lurk
  
  
  • short leading questions get conversations going
  
  
  • be personally congratulatory and inquisitive
  
  
  • route information in all directions
  
  
  • care about the people in the community; this cannot be faked
  
  
  • understand consensus and how to build it, and sense when it's been built and just not recognised, and when you have to make a decision despite all the talking.
  
  

  
  

  He cites confirmation that “personal narrative is vital to online learning communities. Personal stories and experiences add closeness, and provide identity, thus strengthening online communities.”

• He gives a set of mantras for teacher/leaders in any online community:

  
  

  
  
  • all you need is love
  
  
  • control the environment, not the group
  
  
  • lead by example
  
  
  • let lurkers lurk
  
  
  • short leading questions get conversations going
  
  
  • be personally congratulatory and inquisitive
  
  
  • route information in all directions
  
  
  • care about the people in the community; this cannot be faked
  
  
  • understand consensus and how to build it, and sense when it's been built and just not recognised, and when you have to make a decision despite all the talking.
• • all you need is love
  
  
  • control the environment, not the group
  
  
  • lead by example
  
  
  • let lurkers lurk
• William Klemm has a more pragmatic approach[9, 10] to student participation, one that tends to coerce the engagement of post-secondary students in online collaborative learning. A minimum level of online participation as well as a deliverable piece of work relevant to the community activity is a mandatory course requirement. Many universities adopt a similar approach in order to ensure minimum online engagement of each student in collaborative study.

• her guidelines[14] for growing communities within a class of students:

  
  

  
  
  • communicate frequently with the class
  
  
  • make as much interaction public as possible
  
  
  • create a space for non-classroom-related interaction
  
  
  • understand the limitations and strengths of the technology you're using in terms of fostering interaction
  
  
  • ask questions often, and interact with students in the forum you have devised for class interaction.