Distance education has many positive advantages including gaining access to more information and links, students can work at their own pace and in their on environment, and more students can be reached at one time. Other advantages include requiring “students to be more focused, better time managers, and to be able to work independently and with group members” (2002). These skills are highly valued in any work place or classroom. However, being behind a computer screen and isolated in your own space can diminish the sense of community developed in a traditional classroom setting.
As a Liberal Studies and credential graduate, collaboration and a sense of community were huge factors of my success in the program. The ability to talk and share with my fellow student teachers was the highlight of my college career. We were able to sit and talk face to face without any computer screens creating distance. We worked together on projects, asked questions and received immediate answers, shared our experiences and became close colleagues and friends.
Having a face-to-face discussion was extremely beneficial in providing a sense of community in my field of study. Since distance education is not specifically designed to build a sense of community, certain steps must be taken to ensure that students are collaborating and engaged with one another. In order to do this, professor and teachers of distance education must provide opportunities for students to engage with one another. This can be done through the use of discussion boards, group projects and video chats.
Online profiles can also be included to give class members a sense of who they are working with. Even having a picture and an “About Me” section on the class page is helpful. Group projects allow students a chance to get to know each other and share ideas and thoughts about the specific topic. Discussion boards are a way for students to see what all members of the class think. I feel that the best way to build a sense of community is the hybrid class model. Although we have only on a few occasions, I feel that the class time we have spent together has been very beneficial. Discussion boards and group projects are also extremely valuable when developing an online course in order to build a sense of community among learners.
Valentine, Doug. “Distance Learning” Promises, Problems, and Possibilities.” Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. 5:3. 2002. Web. Dec 02 2012.
Fall 2012
ETEC 523
Victoria Schooler
Distance Education- Building a Sense of Community
Despite the obvious advantages to distance learning, there are problems that need to be resolved in regards to community. Trying to find a way to emotionally connect to content or to students can be a challenge in an online classroom. Teachers instinctively do this in a F2F class when they get feedback from students, but when there’s no way to read your students in an online class, the learning and instruction become negatively impacted. As a result, the distance learner may feel somewhat alienated from his peers, less accepted by the teacher and disconnected from the course.
Without connectivity or a sense of community, distance learning can quickly turn into the old model of independent study-learning on your own. The student starts to feel isolated and alienated from the rest of the class when there is no physical or social interaction. Students can’t read reactions from other students or from the teacher. When there’s no sense of community or connectivity, students begin to feel disconnected. When students feel disconnected, they feel like they don’t belong and that starts to affect their learning. Student persistence is affected; they start to procrastinate and they don’t stick with it because there is no one physically around to hold them accountable and no social support.
This lack of interaction can cause problems. It affects their learning because they start to have a lack of motivation due to no interaction, which limits their level of engagement.Students are prone to respond with apathy and absenteeism when there’s no interaction (West 1994). The physical separation (isolation) of students in programs offered at a distance may also contribute to higher dropout rates. Carr (2000) noted that dropout rates are often 10 to 20 percentage points higher in distance education courses than in traditional courses. Tinto (1993) emphasized the importance of community in reducing dropouts when he theorized that students will increase their levels of satisfaction and the likelihood of persisting in a college program if they feel involved and develop relationships with other members of the learning community.
Students who have a strong feeling of community are more likely to continue and excel in a distant learning environment than students who feel isolated and alone. According to Wellman and Guilia (1999), people experiencing and perceiving a strong sense of community receive multiple benefits. They are better adjusted, feel supported, have connections to others and to goals that may be above their own limited aspirations, and have stronger levels of social support and social connectedness.
Instructors can promote a sense of community by focusing on a more active learning environment through collaboration and small group projects. It can also be promoted through frequent dialogue. Dialogue is one of the most important tools in building a sense of community. Students need to interact with other students frequently in order to become acquainted and comfortable with other students, as well as frequent dialogue with the instructor. Building a learning community in distance education is imperative to retain students. Building this community and having active participation requires the cooperation, effort and time from everyone involved.
Works Cited
Carr, S. (2001). Union publishes guide citing high cost of distance education.Chronicle of Higher Education, 47 (35), 39-41.
West, G. (1994). Teaching and learning adaptations in the use of interactive compressed video. T H E Journal, 21 (9), 71-74.
Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89 – 129.
Wellman, B., and Gulia, M. (1999). The network basis of social support: A network is more than the sum of its ties. In B. Wellman (Ed.). Networks in the Global Village. (p. 83-118) Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.
Javier de Santiago
Creating a sense of community
It is obvious that the popularity of online classes has increased dramatically over the last few years. Students are choosing online classes not just because of the convenience of not having to physically drive to a campus, but because they actually prefer the format or because the format fits with their leaning style. The “Distance Education Report” (2002) noted a study by researchers at Saint Louis University that observed the learning styles of both students in lectured-based courses and online courses and found that both groups had academic success but that there was a difference in their learning styles. Although distance learning offers many advantages it does have one major drawback, the inability to create a truly dynamic learning space where conversations ignite a deeper understanding of the content.
Instructors of online classes face the difficult task of creating a sense of community and collaboration in a virtual world. It is very difficult to feel like part of a learning community when you don’t even know what the community looks like. When you work with someone that you have never met, you are less likely to feel a sense of dedication and responsibility towards that person. That is why instructors must be aware of this challenge and structure activities that allow students to get to know each other and work collaboratively on shared goals and explorations.
In an online environment, the instructor is unable to observe the emotions of the students and cannot make adjustments based on their emotional reaction to a learning situation. In a classroom, you can see frustration, anxiety, and confusion. Consequently, an instructor can make adjustments to bridge the learning. This challenge also hinders the creation of a sense of community between student and instructor. It is this sense that permits students to ask questions and take risks in a learning community.
The good news is that there are many things that an instructor can do to create a sense of a shared community. With video conferencing and webcasts, a student is able to “overcome the abstraction experience in sensory-reduced online communities” (Farmer: Instructional Design). Opportunities for students to explore identities like photo sharing should be structured early in the class calendar. Finally, with the advent of Web 2.0 tools, students should participate in collaborative projects and group discussions . Wikis and blogs lend themselves perfectly for these activities.
Distance learning will undoubtedly be a fixture in education, but in my opinion should be in addition to traditional face-to-face instruction. One of the most effective teaching tools is collaboration. When you have students helping students, you are creating a sense of community and fostering life skills.
Sense of Community
Distance education has many positive advantages including gaining access to more information and links, students can work at their own pace and in their on environment, and more students can be reached at one time. Other advantages include requiring “students to be more focused, better time managers, and to be able to work independently and with group members” (2002). These skills are highly valued in any work place or classroom. However, being behind a computer screen and isolated in your own space can diminish the sense of community developed in a traditional classroom setting.
As a Liberal Studies and credential graduate, collaboration and a sense of community were huge factors of my success in the program. The ability to talk and share with my fellow student teachers was the highlight of my college career. We were able to sit and talk face to face without any computer screens creating distance. We worked together on projects, asked questions and received immediate answers, shared our experiences and became close colleagues and friends.
Having a face-to-face discussion was extremely beneficial in providing a sense of community in my field of study. Since distance education is not specifically designed to build a sense of community, certain steps must be taken to ensure that students are collaborating and engaged with one another. In order to do this, professor and teachers of distance education must provide opportunities for students to engage with one another. This can be done through the use of discussion boards, group projects and video chats.
Online profiles can also be included to give class members a sense of who they are working with. Even having a picture and an “About Me” section on the class page is helpful. Group projects allow students a chance to get to know each other and share ideas and thoughts about the specific topic. Discussion boards are a way for students to see what all members of the class think. I feel that the best way to build a sense of community is the hybrid class model. Although we have only on a few occasions, I feel that the class time we have spent together has been very beneficial. Discussion boards and group projects are also extremely valuable when developing an online course in order to build a sense of community among learners.
Valentine, Doug. “Distance Learning” Promises, Problems, and Possibilities.” Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. 5:3. 2002. Web. Dec 02 2012.
Fall 2012
ETEC 523
Victoria Schooler
Distance Education- Building a Sense of Community
Despite the obvious advantages to distance learning, there are problems that need to be resolved in regards to community. Trying to find a way to emotionally connect to content or to students can be a challenge in an online classroom. Teachers instinctively do this in a F2F class when they get feedback from students, but when there’s no way to read your students in an online class, the learning and instruction become negatively impacted. As a result, the distance learner may feel somewhat alienated from his peers, less accepted by the teacher and disconnected from the course.
Without connectivity or a sense of community, distance learning can quickly turn into the old model of independent study-learning on your own. The student starts to feel isolated and alienated from the rest of the class when there is no physical or social interaction. Students can’t read reactions from other students or from the teacher. When there’s no sense of community or connectivity, students begin to feel disconnected. When students feel disconnected, they feel like they don’t belong and that starts to affect their learning. Student persistence is affected; they start to procrastinate and they don’t stick with it because there is no one physically around to hold them accountable and no social support.
This lack of interaction can cause problems. It affects their learning because they start to have a lack of motivation due to no interaction, which limits their level of engagement.Students are prone to respond with apathy and absenteeism when there’s no interaction (West 1994). The physical separation (isolation) of students in programs offered at a distance may also contribute to higher dropout rates. Carr (2000) noted that dropout rates are often 10 to 20 percentage points higher in distance education courses than in traditional courses. Tinto (1993) emphasized the importance of community in reducing dropouts when he theorized that students will increase their levels of satisfaction and the likelihood of persisting in a college program if they feel involved and develop relationships with other members of the learning community.
Students who have a strong feeling of community are more likely to continue and excel in a distant learning environment than students who feel isolated and alone. According to Wellman and Guilia (1999), people experiencing and perceiving a strong sense of community receive multiple benefits. They are better adjusted, feel supported, have connections to others and to goals that may be above their own limited aspirations, and have stronger levels of social support and social connectedness.
Instructors can promote a sense of community by focusing on a more active learning environment through collaboration and small group projects. It can also be promoted through frequent dialogue. Dialogue is one of the most important tools in building a sense of community. Students need to interact with other students frequently in order to become acquainted and comfortable with other students, as well as frequent dialogue with the instructor. Building a learning community in distance education is imperative to retain students. Building this community and having active participation requires the cooperation, effort and time from everyone involved.
Works Cited
Carr, S. (2001). Union publishes guide citing high cost of distance education.Chronicle of Higher Education, 47 (35), 39-41.
West, G. (1994). Teaching and learning adaptations in the use of interactive compressed video. T H E Journal, 21 (9), 71-74.
Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89 – 129.
Wellman, B., and Gulia, M. (1999). The network basis of social support: A network is more than the sum of its ties. In B. Wellman (Ed.). Networks in the Global Village. (p. 83-118) Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.
Javier de Santiago
Creating a sense of community
It is obvious that the popularity of online classes has increased dramatically over the last few years. Students are choosing online classes not just because of the convenience of not having to physically drive to a campus, but because they actually prefer the format or because the format fits with their leaning style. The “Distance Education Report” (2002) noted a study by researchers at Saint Louis University that observed the learning styles of both students in lectured-based courses and online courses and found that both groups had academic success but that there was a difference in their learning styles. Although distance learning offers many advantages it does have one major drawback, the inability to create a truly dynamic learning space where conversations ignite a deeper understanding of the content.
Instructors of online classes face the difficult task of creating a sense of community and collaboration in a virtual world. It is very difficult to feel like part of a learning community when you don’t even know what the community looks like. When you work with someone that you have never met, you are less likely to feel a sense of dedication and responsibility towards that person. That is why instructors must be aware of this challenge and structure activities that allow students to get to know each other and work collaboratively on shared goals and explorations.
In an online environment, the instructor is unable to observe the emotions of the students and cannot make adjustments based on their emotional reaction to a learning situation. In a classroom, you can see frustration, anxiety, and confusion. Consequently, an instructor can make adjustments to bridge the learning. This challenge also hinders the creation of a sense of community between student and instructor. It is this sense that permits students to ask questions and take risks in a learning community.
The good news is that there are many things that an instructor can do to create a sense of a shared community. With video conferencing and webcasts, a student is able to “overcome the abstraction experience in sensory-reduced online communities” (Farmer: Instructional Design). Opportunities for students to explore identities like photo sharing should be structured early in the class calendar. Finally, with the advent of Web 2.0 tools, students should participate in collaborative projects and group discussions . Wikis and blogs lend themselves perfectly for these activities.
Distance learning will undoubtedly be a fixture in education, but in my opinion should be in addition to traditional face-to-face instruction. One of the most effective teaching tools is collaboration. When you have students helping students, you are creating a sense of community and fostering life skills.
Works Cited
Valentine, Doug. "Distance Learning: Promises, Problems, and Possibilities." Distance Learning: Promises, Problems, and Possibilities. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Aug.-Sept. 2002. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.Farmer, Lesley. "Instructional Design". Chapter 7
Distance Education Report
http://www.nvcc.edu/oir/reports/DistanceEducationReport.pdf