Working with online learning communities

One behaviour in online groups that has been extensively studied is that of the non-participating members, termed the ‘lurkers’ - Etienne Wenger[2] calls them Legitimate Peripheral Participants. Lurkers are widely known to be among the majority of defined members and they have been found to make up over 90% of most online groups. They are perhaps the most important members in view of their potential to contribute to online groups.

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online learning communities are grown, not built

online learning communities need leaders

personal narrative is vital to online learning communities.

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online learning communities are grown, not built

online learning communities need leaders

personal narrative is vital to online learning communities.

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Clark contends that “leaders are needed to define the environment, keep it safe, give it purpose, identity and keep it growing”. He gives a set of mantras for teacher/leaders in any online community:

• all you need is love
• control the environment, not the group
• lead by example
• let lurkers lurk
• short leading questions get conversations going
• be personally congratulatory and inquisitive
• route information in all directions
• care about the people in the community; this cannot be faked
• understand consensus and how to build it, and sense when it's been built and just not recognised, and when you have to make a decision despite all the talking.

He cites confirmation that “personal narrative is vital to online learning communities. Personal stories and experiences add closeness, and provide identity, thus strengthening online communities.”

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He gives a set of mantras for teacher/leaders in any online community:

• all you need is love
• control the environment, not the group
• lead by example
• let lurkers lurk
• short leading questions get conversations going
• be personally congratulatory and inquisitive
• route information in all directions
• care about the people in the community; this cannot be faked
• understand consensus and how to build it, and sense when it's been built and just not recognised, and when you have to make a decision despite all the talking.

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all you need is love

control the environment, not the group

lead by example

let lurkers lurk

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William Klemm has a more pragmatic approach[9, 10] to student participation, one that tends to coerce the engagement of post-secondary students in online collaborative learning. A minimum level of online participation as well as a deliverable piece of work relevant to the community activity is a mandatory course requirement. Many universities adopt a similar approach in order to ensure minimum online engagement of each student in collaborative study.

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her guidelines[14] for growing communities within a class of students:

• communicate frequently with the class
• make as much interaction public as possible
• create a space for non-classroom-related interaction
• understand the limitations and strengths of the technology you're using in terms of fostering interaction
• ask questions often, and interact with students in the forum you have devised for class interaction.

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