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Review of Article:

McInnemey, J.M., & Roberts, T.S. (2004). Online Learning: Social Interaction and the Creation of a Sense of Community.   Educational Technology & Society, 7 (3), 73-81.

Problem Presented in Article
Students, who study within an online environment, may feel their attempts to socially interact with their instructor and fellow classmates are frustrating. Isolation is the result of feeling like an “outsider” or not belonging.   If a student feels isolated, they obviously will not feel satisfied with the online learning environment.   Being frustrated with technical problems, or content difficulties can exacerbate their feelings of aloneness.     This can adversely affect a student’s decision to continue studies online.   The author quotes Curry (2000) that “The attrition rate of online learners is brought about in a large sense by a sense of isolation.”

Summary
A sense of community is “a sense of belonging to a social structure.” (Marshall, 1998)   The author cites Clifton (1999) who stated that a level of trust must be involved in order for a sense of community to develop.   Otherwise when people don’t trust each other, don’t share the same values, norms or expectations, people lapse into self-interest and displays of status.

Conrad (2002) believes that online educators perform a real service by making online communities a priority.   An online community provides a safe nurturing environment.   Such an environment creates happy learners who are comfortable, and more apt to complete their course of online study.

OLE environments can benefit from both asynchronous methods of communication and synchronous.   The authors quote Aitken and Shedletsky (2002), “We think of asynchronous communication as the “backbone and muscle” for course content, and online chats are the heart and hustle of our web-based classes.”   By making use of synchronous chat rooms, a sense of social presence develops which in turn leads to a greater sense of community.

Wegerif (1998) believes that helping students become “insiders” (those comfortable with the medium, and class) can be facilitated through the use of chat rooms, and informal communication styles with students.   Insiders are more apt to feel confident, and successfully finish the course.   Wergerif (1998) also suggests that a “warm up” period be utilized in OLE’s.   This is done in an informal setting where people can be familiar with each other’s communication styles, online personalities, and levels of commitment.

Reaction
Students need a sense of community in order to not feel isolated in an OLE.   Allowing for more free form styles of communication such as chat rooms in addition to formal postings creates a stronger “human” connection.     Building a safe, nurturing environment for study will help students build confidence and stay focused on completing their online studies.   Creating opportunities for the same sort of impromptu interaction that face-to- face students enjoy will help to humanize and warm up the online learning environment.

References for Future Research

Aitken, J. E., & Shedletsky, L. J. (2002). Using electronic discussion to teach communication courses. Communication Education, 51, 325-331.
 
Cereijo, M. V. P., Young, J., & Wilhelm, R. W. (2001). Factors facilitating student participation in asynchronous web-based courses. The Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 18, 32-39.

Clifton, R. A. (1999). The education of university students: A social capital perspective. College Teaching, 47, 114-118.
 
Goffman, E. (1990). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin Books.

Hopper, K. B. (2003). In defense of the solitary learner: A response to collaborative, constructivist education. Educational Technology, 43, 24-29.
 
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 
Wilson, B. G. (2001). Sense of Community as a Valued Outcome for Electronic Courses, Cohorts, and Programs, Retrieved July 19, 2004 from http://carbon.cudenver.edu/bwilson/SenseOfCommunity.html.

Recently, Leslie Burkhardt of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) was kind enough to write and ask me about how time constraints influence students in online environments. I hope I can address her question adequately.

She wrote:
“In essence, as I interpret it, your line of inquiry is attempting to find Rovai’s third variable, and your hunch is that a major component of this variable is time. People who have time to devote to learning, also are more likely to be able to take the time to get to know other students. Is this distillation a correct interpretation of your research proposal? Can you provide a brief comment on where you are currently in your pursuit of this research question?”

Short answer:
From my real experience as an online grad student for three years: Yes, most adult students people don’t have a lot of time. They have constant time pressures and constraints. They may be writing papers at midnight or five in the morning to finish the course. They don’t have time for synchronous communication nor really care about “bonding” with one another. However, if the participants understand that developing and nurturing connections within the group will produce real and tangible benefits, they will be more proactive in taking part. They must have an instructor who understands the importance of building a sense of community, and constantly facilitates it.   Adult learners need to know what’s in it for them, how it can help them, before they are willing to donate precious time to anything.

Long Answer:
During my three years of research for my Graduate degree in Computing Technology in Education, I focused on online learning environments. Time and time again, I wrote on how important it was to develop and foster a sense of community within online learning environments.

Unfortunately as you know, the trade off for convenience of online learning is that we are separated from others in both time and space. Usually participants never have the chance to meet, see or bond with the instructor or fellow classmates. In effect then, some people may have little impression or connection to the others in the group. People may see each other as just a “user name”. They respond and write to them in order to meet the class requirements, but little else happens. They may not identify personally with one another. There is no feeling of social presence, or even that there are indeed real people behind all those postings.

With no real chance for a social connection the group can’t bond. Some students may feel lost, isolated. Without seeing or ever meeting one another it is hard to feel any sense of true caring, responsibility for one another, or personal connection. Therefore, we miss important opportunities. At one time or another we all need to find someone who can help us with a question. Members who care about each other share their newly found discoveries and new knowledge. This kind of knowledge sharing is unattainable in a cold, “just do our assignment kind of atmosphere”. Building, fostering and taking part in community opens the world up for exciting collaboration, trying out our newly discovered knowledge in thought provoking discussions, and even future job opportunities. Learning is accomplished not only on our own, but through our social interactions.

As you know in graduate programs, the courses become progressively more challenging. Isolation and subsequent frustration may intensify as time goes on. At the same time, job pressures could be mounting, and family members start to wonder why your constant paper writing and assignments seem more important than them. The probability for choosing to  quite the program at this point  could increase.

Facilitating a sense of community, and participating in it does indeed take time. But as in all things if the benefits are made clear in the beginning, most students will see it as an integral part of their education experience. In fact they would feel “cheated” if they didn’t get it. Who wouldn’t want to connect with people who are interested in the same things they are, and who could possible help them in their jobs, their future, or get through rough patches in the course.

The class must be taught by an instructor who truly understands how important it is to create and foster a sense of community within their environment from the get-go. When we belong to a helpful group, we feel less isolated and frustrated.

A sense of community within a learning environment  helps in many ways.   Students pull together, help and support one another, actively seek each other out to collaborate and create better work, feel comfortable enough to admit when they don’t know something, feel responsibility for each other’s success, cheer each other on, and generally just help one another connect as people.

Alas, most people simply don’t have the energy at the end of the day to truly devote themselves to being completely socially present in an online community. But if it is properly facilitated and encouraged from day one, students will understand the benefits and take part.

We will never be able to take the busy lives and time constraints of adults out of the equation. However, people will generally take the time to invest in the group if they see there are real and tangible benefits for them to do so. Just like you will make the time and sacrifice to nurture a friendship if you can see the intrinsic value of that relationship for you.

Thank you Leslie, I hope I’ve helped a little!
Diane Michel