June 2002

ISSN 1537-5080

Vol. 16 : No. 6< >

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Student Exchange

Editor's Note: This is "The Midnight Camels" group essay from an online course taught by Professor George Takis, UMUC. The course was designed to provide subject matter professions in depth learning experiences in effective communication technologies for Internet teaching at both college and graduate levels. It was demanding!

Producing an On-line Community

Vaughn Jenkes, Nana Korsah, Henry Petersohn, and Elizabeth Perrin

Introduction and Meta Analysis:

"Community"

As we consider the critical, for Distance Learning, concept of an on-line community, it behooves us to identify the defining qualities of "community" per se. With these in hand, we can both qualitatively and quantitatively identify aspects of technology based, on-line association and determine whether an "on-line community" can exist, operationally and pedagogically, as an effective learning entity.

Community (ka myo6/ni te), n., pl. -ties. 1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and have a common cultural and historical heritage. 2. a social group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the large society within which it exists (usually prec. by (the): the business community; the community of scholars. 3. Eccles, a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule. 4. Ecol. an assemblage of plant and animal populations occupying a given area. 5. joint possession, enjoyment, liability, etc.: community of property. 6. similar character; agreement; identity: community of interests. 7. the community, the public; society: We must consider the needs of the community.
Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Random House, 1989.

The first definition makes physical closeness a critical building block of "community". This might prove troublesome for our on-line community. On-line students do not reside, necessarily, in 'a specific locality' nor 'have a common cultural and historical heritage'. However, in a certain sense, they do share government: the rules and processes of the Distance Learning Institution. If we move to definition number two, however, this is as valid for on-line communities as other communities… "a social group sharing common characteristics (i.e. one of our identifying common characteristics is our technology-based communication system) and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect, again, Communication Technologies, from the large society within which it exists. Our second definition illuminates community qualities that are achievable on-line, and one that is particularly pertinent the 'on-line' community of scholars. Definition 5, joint possession, enjoyment, liability, and community of property, has identity with the on-line community. 'Community of property' is as much community of intellectual property as of physical property and is particularly appropriate for members of the 'on-line' community as they create together new formations, clusters and learning, evoking knowledge in the sharing of common experience. Numbers 6 and 7 are equally appropriate as identifiable characteristics shared by both " community" and "on-line community": Communities on line exist as entities as valid and as 'real' as any "off-line" community. In the future, there may be more substantive exchanges within communities on-line than off-line. If business, economics, and scientific research are true indicators of our emerging world, the on-line communities have capacity, flexibility and vision for our societies that well may be hampered by the constraints of mere land-locked, "off-line" communities!

Process:

Building Blocks for On-line Communities

Brown, Ruth, The Process of Community Building in Distance Learning Classes, JALN Volume 5, Issue 2, P 11 - September 2001

Implementation:

Realization of Process:
Producing an On-Line Community

Building community in an on-line classroom is a significant undertaking. Its members include people located all over the world who possess differing backgrounds and experiences. This community includes mixed sexes, varying age groups, family situations, and educational and professional backgrounds. As on-line facilitators, it is our challenge and responsibility to take these many characteristics and meld them to produce an on-line community that operates efficiently and effectively and is viable. This on-line community must be free to interact, to share ideas, and build relationships needed to enhance their learning.

So, where do we begin? Craig Newmark, President of Fast.Company.com, indicates that there needs to develop "a sense of connection, an intimacy, and a feeling that we're all in this together." Kathleen Mieszkowski, writer for Net Company, states that, "Community is about connecting people." It involves, "people who have the potential to interact with one another while having a shared experience". Our challenge, as instructors, is to initiate communication and assure an open line is always present for the members of our community. We, the community's members, all have a great deal we bring to this on-line learning environment. The experiences and knowledge of our students combined with ours are significant benefits to assure the community thrives and survives. Our success in building this on-line community revolves around our ability to provide the means to initiate an open and effective communication process.

So, how then can we assure this will happen? We must establish "ground rules" under which all community members will function. We must allow time for our community to become comfortable with the available technology used in our on-line environment. One task is for us to provide a comprehensive and effective orientation to the on-line concept. This will lessen the confusion and frustration easily resulting in a learning environment very different from the typical face-to-face classroom.

We have various options to communicate with the community's members - email, group work, use of collaborative documents, etc. Early on in the development of our community we must decide the most effective methods for communicating, inform the members how we will communicate, then assure these forms be the norm throughout the life of the community. The use of too many forms of communication could result in an information overload leading to wasted time and frustration.

Lastly, we must assure that continuous and effective communication by community members is established and maintained. As on-line facilitators, we are responsible to start this process but should then allow our community members to take charge and lead the way to learning. Mieskowski concludes, "It's all about people helping one another".

Final Assessment:

To fully implement a productive and viable on-line community, we, within education, must encourage our students to help each other while we facilitate the actions of our newly developed viable, thriving, successful community.

The Midnight Camels
Elizabeth, Hank, Nana and Vaughn

Resources:

Brown, Ruth, The Process of Community Building in Distance Learning Classes, JALN Volume 5, Issue 2 - September 2001 http://www.aln.org/alnweb/journal/VOL5_issue2/Brown/Brown.htm

Harris, Edward l and Solloway, Sharon G., Negotiating students' needs and desires in cyberspace. Educom Review, Volume 34, Number 2 1999 http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/erm99021.html

Mieszkowski, Katherine, Net Company Issue 002 www.fastcompany.com/nc/002/026.html

Rheingold, Howard, Face-to-Face with Virtual Communities, Syllabus Magazine, July 2001 http://www.syllabus.com/syllabusmagazine/article.asp?id=4135

Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Random House, 1989

About the Authors:

Vaughn Jenkes has had extensive experience in all levels of education, both as a professor and as an administrator. He is now within community college administration and also administers associate degree programs for UMUC in Germany where he has been for the past 32 years. His wife, Pat is also an administrator for UMUC and a university faculty member. His interests are extraordinarily broad, ranging from gardening and baking to flight simulations! He may be reached via email: vjenkes@ed.umuc.edu

Nana Korsah has a broad background in the International Business arena and travels extensively, both in the United States and in Asia. She is committed to distance learning and creating a clear, supportive environment for Internet learners. She may be reached at: nabk_2000@jahoo.com

Henry (Hank) Petersohn has a Ph.D. in Business Administration, an MBA in Finance and Industrial Management and a BS in Economics. He is an author of three texts and a number of articles dealing with the data processing and telecommunications fields. He is also a college teacher as well as a professional speaker at a variety of trade and professional shows and seminars. He has had extensive experience working with Federal contracting and outsourcing. He may be reached at: WHPertersohn@JUNO.com

Elizabeth Perrin is an editor of this USDLA Journal and has spent many years deeply immersed in communication and Distance Learning. She may be reached at: eperrin@pacbell.net