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May 1, 2003
A Tale Of Two Online Communities: Personal Observations of Online Community Building
By Carleen Shaffer
May I tell you a story? It is about cyber-life in two online communities - one in which inhabitants were not interactive, contributing, productive members - and another in which inhabitants communicated, expanded their skills and acquired great knowledge and experience. This is the Tale of Two Online Communities - my observations in two very different online learning communities.
There were two online communities in which I "lived." In the first community I was the Village Facilitator. I prodded, lauded, lamented - and looked constantly for ways in which to enrich and enliven the experiences of its inhabitants. My task was to introduce the world of online learning and the tools inhabitants use to create this Brave New World of Learning. But sadly, those who joined this online community (a.k.a, "instructors," but participating as students) were little motivated to learn of the exciting possibilities that awaited them! They received no "release time" to pursue this Strange New World. They received no remuneration or rewards for their endeavors. They had great concerns over Intellectual Property issues. They experienced budget reductions and financial constraints. There was no Strategic Plan for Online Teaching and Learning. Indeed there were many barriers thwarting progress. As a result, they advanced through their lessons and exercises all alone. They did not share experiences, thoughts, or ideas. They did not interact. They did not post messages and come to know the thrill and excitement of building community in the online environment! Alas, they developed no passion, no enthusiasm, and no excitement for their online learning experience! They were lonely, isolated and frustrated. They did indeed lose interest and lacked satisfaction. They vanished! Ah, I am sad to say they DROPPED OUT!
Now, listen closely while I tell you about the second online community and its inhabitants! In the second community, I was a Simple Studious Student. My task (and so it was with all in this online community) was to discuss, share, and promote learning. In this community, all inhabitants posted abundantly - alas, many times it was an overwhelming duty to read, absorb and interact - the atmosphere was electric! There was great passion, great enthusiasm, great love for learning and great sharing in this community. There were personal introductions with many caring responses from one Studious Student to another. There were highly motivated learners who were working towards greater intelligence, higher degrees, and valuable online learning certifications. There were many topics for deep discussion with stimulating questions of great interest. There were other areas for fun, frolic and fantasy. Learners were from many different lands and levels of learning. They had a variety of experiences, and neither age nor gender made a difference. The Learned Facilitator worked hard to nurture, guide, support - in fact, the Learned Facilitator shared in all interactions and activities! Indeed the inhabitants had great interest, gained immense pleasure and persisted to great achievements in grades, degrees and certifications! There was great satisfaction and retention in this community! There was great happiness and rejoicing!
Perhaps you wonder - how was this wonderful online community created - how was it maintained? To help us understand this exciting phenomenon, some of the fortunate inhabitants agreed to interviews. They were asked "Which facilitative strategy do you believe most contributed to the rich sense of community in this successful Online Learning Community?" Here is a sampling of their suggestions:
- Require introductory biographical postings by all participants, perhaps to include "tell something unique about you that others do not know"; require each participant to reply to other biographical postings at least twice, selecting some element of similarity or familiarity they have discovered about their fellow participant.
- Include collaborative group work several times within the online course; this strategy provides a sense of who each classmate is.
- Include peer review of class assignments before submission.
- Include clearly defined instructor expectations for discussion forums; additionally, instructor should model expected behavior in discussion forums.
- Establish a separate forum for "open discussions" on any off-topic subject of choice.
- Facilitator should be both nurturing and guiding but know when to step back and allow participants to interact on their own.
- From the facilitator of this Community: Allow for flexibility in course content/plans that will adjust as the learners voice their interests plus show a mutual respect and acknowledgement of individual opinions in a positive way.
- From the author of this article: If possible, before the course begins, ensure that any technical issues have been resolved; during the course establish a Technical Tips forum for participants to exchange ideas and provide technical support to each other. Indeed, they may provide the answer to a technical issue before the instructor! Students need to feel comfortable with the technology first to maximize participation.
So now you have heard my "Tale of Two Cities - or Online Communities. One, in which there was no community building, resulted in low learner satisfaction and retention. The other, in which community building attempts had great success, resulted in great learning and satisfaction! Moral of the story: The development of a sense of community is a significant factor in online student retention and satisfaction.
Email: Carleen Shaffer
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