Week 1 Resources (Building Community)

Week 1 Readings

(15 pages, in all, + 3 short videos)

Schwier, Richard A. (2002). Shaping the Metaphor of Community in Online Learning Environments (pdf). University of Saskatchewan, Paper presented to the International Symposium on Educational Conferencing. The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, June 1, 2002. 8 pages.
Note: This fairly short paper discusses the elements of community and suggests implications for online learning communities. It is a fast, enjoyable read that while pointing to challenges also suggests ways to meet them.

– OR –

Watwood, Britt , Nugent, Jeff & Deihl, W. (2009). Building from Content to Community: [Re]Thinking the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning (pdf). CTE white paper. Virginia Commonwealth University. 22 pages.
Note: This does a nice job of relating good practice in face-to-face teaching to online teaching.

Facebook in Education: Building Online Learning Communities Through Facebook Connections, Facebook in Education's Facebook Notes, posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:18am
Note: This post and its parent post help us to think about (and just maybe consider) potential benefits of social network tools to help build community.
Creating Community Online: Facilitating Effective Student Introductions (2006). University of Calgary
Note: This 2-page tipsheet offers concrete examples and instructions
RRU - CTET. (2008, Fall). Facilitating Online Learning. Tools for Teaching (T4T) Tipsheet, 1(2), 1-2.
Note: This is a quick read and a must for for online facilitators!
Cowley, J., Chanley, S., Downes, S., Holstrom, L., Ressel, D., Siemens, G., & Weisburgh, M. (2002, October 21). Online Facilitation, e-Learn Space
Note: This post briefly discusses 'Facilitation' from what it means to roles and responsibilities.

(5:11 min YouTube video)
Note: Several profs giving tips: how to communicate, set expectations, presence, podcasts/videos
Using myCourses - Online Facilitation strategies re: Online Discussions (6 min. YouTube video)
Note: At 1:45 there is a nice piece on instructor presence in online discussions and at about 3:41 there is about a minute about using a tool (Adobe Connect) like Blackboard Collaborate.

And just for fun....

(3:08 YouTube video)
Note: Calling all Elvis fans....(funny because it's true?)

Guilar, J. D., & Loring, A. (2008). Dialogue and community in online learning: Lessons from Royal Roads University. Journal of Distance Education, 22(3), 19-40.
Note: If you have time, this is a paper by an RRU colleague and speaks to what many would view as the RRU approach.
McElrath, Eileen, & McDowell, Kate. (2008, March). Pedagogical Strategies for Building Community in Graduate Level Distance Education Courses. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 117- 127.
Sims, Rod, & Bovard, Bethany. (2004). Interacting with online learners: How new elaborations of online presence can foster critical thinking and reflection (pdf). In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference, (pp.841-850).
Vesely, Pam, Bloom, Lisa, & Sherlock, John. (2007). Key Elements of Building Online Community: Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(3), 234-246.
Chao, Tracy. (2004, February). Instructional strategies for Creating Meaningful Online Dialogue (pdf)
Have you encountered these situations in your online course? Discussions wander off without coherence and focus; learners post individually instead of engaging in dialogue; some learners are very active while others are not. Here are some strategies for dealing with these challenges.