Presentation slides for talk on building community in online courses.

1. Facilitating a Sense of
Community in Online and
Blended Learning
Environments

3. Communication leads to community, that is, to
understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.
Rollo May

4. Students in educational environments with a strong
sense of community are more likely to. . .

5. Solomon, Battistich, Watson, Schaps, & Lewis, 2000 in Schaps Creating a School Community
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Community.aspx
. . . be academically motivated.

6. Solomon, Battistich, Watson, Schaps, & Lewis, 2000 in Snaps Creating a School Community
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Community.asp
. . . develop social and emotional competencies.

7. . . . act ethically and altruistically
Schaps, Battistich, & Solomon, 1997 in Schaps Creating a School Community
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Creating-a-School-Com

8. Community-building should be emphasized not
just for the sense of togetherness it provides
students, but because it also helps keep the
students in the class, promotes full engagement in
the class activities, facilitates effective
collaborative learning, and encourages continued
communication after the course or program is
complete.
Brown, R. E. (2001). The process of community-building in distance learning classes. Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 5(2), 18-35.

9. Vesely, P., Bloom, L. & Sherlock, J. (2007). Key Elements of Building Online Community: Comparing Faculty and Student
Perceptions. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3, (3). Retrived from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no3/vesely.htm.

10. Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes
The development of community
should be an intentional goal when
designing class activities.

11. Research suggests that a sense
of community can be
encouraged through . . .

12. emphasizing common purposes and ideals

13. commonality is the essence of community
Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes

14. Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes
Getting to “know” each other. Finding out where people lived,
what they did, their experiences, whether or not they had
families and the like was the “X” factor. Participants generally
agreed that this should have been a first step in community-
building.
commonality is the essence of community

15. Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes
provide regular opportunities
cooperation and collaboration

16. Brown, R. (2001). The Process of Community Building in a Distance Learning Classes
actively cultivate respectful, supportive
relationships among students and teachers

17. Strategies and Activities for
Building Communities

18. Strategies for Building
Communities
In an online environment, human interaction
does not just happen naturally. Online
students need a way to get to know the
instructor, and others. There are several
ways to encourage your students to interact
with each other.
http://www.southalabama.edu/oll/jobaidsfall03/Icebreakers%20Online/icebreakerjobaid.htm

19. Make It Interactive

20. Focus on Student-to-Student Interactions

21. Use Skill Sets Familiar to
Students: Texting, Photo-

22. Use Multimedia –
Go Beyond Text-Driven Responses

23. Make it
fun,
creative,
engaging

24. giving students a voice and face =
discovering commonalities
(and building language skills)

25. Strategies for Building
Communities
Tips for Effective Ice-Breakers
1.Keep it simple.
2.Make it fun.
3.Be creative.
4.Consider various types of Ice-breakers--don't just
stick to "questions.”
5.Consider your audience.
6.Be aware of time constraints
7.Keep in mind technology requirements.
http://twt.wikispaces.com/Ice-Breaker+Ideas

26. Activities for Building
Communities
http://www.southalabama.edu/oll/jobaidsfall03/Icebreakers%20Online/icebreakerjobaid.htm

27. All About Me Photo Essay
http://community-building.weebly.com/all-about-me.html

28. I Am Poems
http://community-building.weebly.com/i-am-poems.html

29. I Am Poems
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78773858@N03/

30. I Am Poems
https://docs.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/presentation/d/1wBl3932bTQPqt5xpe4yl-CZf527KaTSh
id.g94293cd5_4_53

31. Personal Interviews via Texting
http://community-building.weebly.com/personal-interviews.html

32. Personal Interviews via Texting
http://padlet.com/

33. Voicethread Introductions

34. Other Uses of Voicethread
http://voicethread.psu.edu/use-case/

35. Dear Abby Letters
http://seltechnology.weebly.com/dear-abby-letters.html

36. Ongoing Social Networking

37. Facebook for College
Groups
https://www.facebook.com/about/groups/schools

39. Reflection Questions

40. Sharing Photos

41. Posting Web 2.0 Tools
Assignments

42. Student Feedback:
I really liked having the participation on Facebook as
part of our assignments. It was nice to have
discussions throughout the week with classmates
about what we had done in class.

43. Blogging

44. http://www.instantshift.com/2012/10/11/incorporating-blogging-into-education/

45. http://gretelpatch.wordpress.com/

46. http://perfectlypaigespage.blogspot.com/

47. Synchronous Webinars

48. Reading Ahead of Time
Sharing During Meeting

50. Student Feedback . . .
http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/mobile-learning-end-of-course-
student-survey-part-ii/

51. It provided us with a common ground on which to
get to know each other.

52. It made us open up to one
another because we had to
connect at a more social level.

53. We were able to communicate outside of
class and create friendships.

54. What a great way to learn communication techniques!
Thank you Jackie for all your creative ways to make this
class fun and exciting as well as informational.