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- “Voices” Used in an OLE
- Missing out on the group
Social Communities or Learning Commmunities
Tonight I also expressed my uneasiness of the discussions on communities and not focusing on how these communities facilitate learning in an online learning environment. Many times, I do not get the chance to articulate what I mean in class and appreciate the times to just sit back and let it all out in this blog. Here is what I was going for.
Learning in my F2F high school classroom can’t be accomplished without forming some form of community. I would not say I’m an expert at forming this community, however, I have attempted to facilitate this community in a number of ways. Every class is different, every method changes with each group of learners. I do not negate the fact that students can learn more when they feel membership within a community.
What feels isolated within our discussions is the connection of community principles in an online learning environment. We have seen many examples of community (second life, club penguin, etc) but what can the K-12 educator learn from these communities. What learning goes on within these communities? Do these communities help promote learning or are they just social? I’m interested in learning and how to facilitate these communities that promote learning. Perhaps I should look into Carla’s examples about the Canucks forming networks of knowledge. For know, I’m connecting more with the readings in class than our discussions. To be fair, I have not participated fully in our discussions and have not been an active member in class.
