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Community
Online learning can bring together any community by increasing accessibility and connectivity (Kearsley, 2000). By creating an online learning community that clarify expectations, it also gives students a sense of relevance.
Communication Norms
In many online courses, the majority of communication will come in the form of emails and discussion/forum posts. The following sections will provide an explanation of each type of communication and how to tell which is appropriate for the situation or topic. In most cases, general question should be posted in the discussion forum (Q/A section) so that other students can benefit as well.
Scholarly AttitudesOnline classes offer a unique platform for instruction, but also may be more reliant on courteous student participation to truly create a community of learning. While there is often an assumed sense of scholarly attitudes in a face-to-face course, online instructors should make clear their behavioral expectations of students.
Palloff and Pratt (2009) offer six essential elements of quality online learning:
For further reading about online communities, see Building Online Learning Communities (2009) by Rena Palloff & Keith Pratt. Grading ScalesJust as in face-to-face courses, students perform better when they understand not only the assignments given to them, but also how these assignments will be graded.
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