There is always a small group of people who are used to get everything done well alone. Undoubtedly, working individually may have high efficiency and flexibility, but most of us prefer or feel more comfortable with a community. From the human perspective, we are social animals, we tend to group up with other people. Therefore, a community is a significant factor is an online course, since online courses can hardly make friends or it is much more difficult than face-to-face lectures.

The author claims that ”community allows us to be around others who hold a common set of ideals and ideas and who can validate our own experiences and beliefs” (Major, 2015). In traditional lectures, both teachers and students like studying as a group which greatly enhances the conduction of lectures. It could be meaningful if gathering all groups into a community or forum in each industry. Every controversial issue may be discussed and solved in the popular and authorized community. If applying community in online courses, and it will be a creative learning method.     

Todd Conaway mentions a few points to form a better community in an online course. First of all, developing a sense of connection between instructors and students (Major, 2015). The purpose of communities is cultivating a higher engagement. Nowadays, technologies can help communications in online lectures even further because students can share their ideas visually and verbally via various applications. Meanwhile, instructors may assign group works which require a higher degree of interaction and students can learn in an effective way. Another strategy is setting rules to make the community more organized in distributing opinions and atmosphere of discussion. Since a community is encouraged to post and comment on other’s idea, it is critical not to offend others and have personal attacks. Hence, instructors should monitor the discussion in the community is interacting in a positive manner to protect introverted students. 

A community is an essential part of online learning, but it could be a double-edged sword. Instructors should ensure the community communicating in an academic mode. If a community does not manage properly, it will also be a tool against each other which is not the mission of a community. To make sure the participation of every student and prevent personal attack from happening are major problems. 

Reference:

Major, C. H. (2015). “Teaching online: A guide to theory, research, and practice”.