The Key Elements of Online Learning Communities

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Author(s): Jianxia Du (Mississippi State University, USA), Yunyan Liu (Southwest University, China)and Robert L. Brown (Mississippi State University, USA)
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 15
Source title: Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in E-Learning: Issues and Trends
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Harrison Hao Yang (State University of New York, USA)and Steve Chi-Yin Yuen (University of Southern Mississippi, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-788-1.ch004

Keywords: Applied E-Learning / Education / Educational Technologies / Information Science Reference

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Abstract

An online learning community can be a place for vibrant discussions and the sharing of new ideas in a medium where content constantly changes. This chapter will first examine the different definitions that researchers have provided for online learning communities. It will then illuminate several key elements that are integral to online learning communities: interactivity, in both its task-driven and socio-emotional forms; collaboration, which both builds and nurtures online communities; trusting relationships, which are developed primarily through social interaction and consist of shared goals and a sense of belonging or connectedness; and communication media choices, which impact the other three elements. This chapter also provides suggestions for the practical application of these elements in the online classroom.

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