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A framework for developing and implementing an online learning community

Abstract
Developing online learning communities is a promising pedagogical approach in online learning contexts for adult tertiary learners, but it is no easy task. Understanding how learning communities are formed and evaluating their efficacy in supporting learning involves a complex set of issues that have a bearing on the design and facilitation of successful online learning experiences. This paper describes the development of a framework for understanding and developing an online learning community for adult tertiary learners in a New Zealand tertiary institution. In accord with sociocultural views of learning and practices, the framework depicts learning as a mediated, situated, distributed, goal-directed, and participatory activity within a socially and culturally determined learning community. Evidence for the value of the framework is grounded in the findings of a case study of a semester-long fully online asynchronous graduate course. The framework informs our understanding of appropriate conditions for the development and conduct of online learning communities. Implications are presented for the design and facilitation of learning in such contexts.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Khoo, E., Cowie, B. (2011). A framework for developing and implementing an online learning community. Journal of Open, Flexible, and Distance Learning, 15(1), 47-59.
Date
2011
Publisher
Distance Education Association of New Zealand
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
This article has been published in the journal: Journal of Open, Flexible, and Distance Learning.