The Reasons You Should Have A Learning Community for Your Class (And how to build one)
The right community can be a source of support, connection and motivation. A learning community is no different.
If you want to provide your students with an opportunity to enhance their learning experience up a notch, and also help you grow your business and boost the reach of your brand, then you're ready to build the learning community.
Find out what is an online learning community and the fundamental elements that make up the successful community of learning.
What is a community?
Learning communities are an ensemble of learners with similar learning objectives who work together and connect with one another. Within a learning community, interactions are both functional and emotional. Learners share knowledge and resources and also provide support, with emphasis on ongoing, open communication.
Here are some ideas to help you understand what is a learning community - and what it isn't!
An online learning network is or can become...
- A group of people who share motives, goals and values.
- An online platform to discuss ideas, problems and questions
- A space for discussion
- A collaborative environment
- A source of inspiration
- A group of other students and professionals
An online learning network isn't...
- A professional school or committee
- Just a social group
- A jobs board , or marketing platform
- An alternative to traditional teaching
In case you're still trying to determine what is a learning community, these are some things to help you understand what it is and not. Follow these guidelines to help you understand how to build a learning community and what not to promote when developing a learning environment!
What is a Learning community? Four examples
As a the term "learning community," there are also different categories of learning communities. These classifications are based on the similarities between learners, and are usually based on the environment where the learning community develops.
Here are 4 examples:
- Communities of interest: In most cases, communities of learners come together in common interests or interests. An interest-based learning community might take inspiration from sourdough bread or sports cars, or something other than that! Whatever your interests, you can build or find a learning community around the topic.
- Action-based learning communities: Individuals who believe in a common purpose could create an action-based community of learning that is based on activities that help to promote or further their cause. Social activism groups that run workshops, produce educational resources and organize fundraisers are a good examples of an action-based learning community.
- Community-based learning based on location: For some groups, the common thread in their learning communities is the location. Geographical learning communities might focus on learning about the fauna and flora of the area as well as the past of the area such as.
- Profession-based learning community: A common type of learning community is one that focuses on professional community for development that aims to bring professionals from a specific profession together. They may offer advice and opinions, or simply support one another. An illustration of a professional-learning community is jazz musicians who get together to share their work, provide feedback and critique, and also network with fellow musicians.
Key goals of a community that learns
Every learning community will have their own shared goals built around their specific learning journey. However there are a few essential aspects of learning communities that work to make them an enjoyable and rewarding environment for students.
Here are the main objectives of a community that is learning:
Shared learning
In the center of every group of learners is an aim of creating a productive learning space that helps learners attain their targets. In a learning community, learners have the chance to discuss their learning experience with their peers.
Community members share in the method of learning. This could be:
- Solutions for building
- Sharing resources
- Critique and feedback
- Questions and Answers
These are the actions that take place in a learning community encouraging members to collaborate and become familiar with the learning material.
Connectedness
In addition to learning with others, a learning community is also about developing connections between the members. The best learning environments are collaborative, with the goal of open communication and encouraging better learning.
Learners can share thoughts, connect with emotional help and be entertained with each other. It's not just an academic environment, but also a sympathetic social space.
Support
As with any learning experience There will be ups and downs. The most effective learning community provides support for its members. It can include psychological and academic. The members can help one another and share their difficulties.
In addition to the assistance of other students, learning communities also offer a place for professionals to give their advice. This might be in the forms of mentors, coaches or course leaders who act as moderators in the community.
The support that learning communities can offer students not only helps to facilitate more extensive and detailed learning but can also make learning easier.
This is the Online Learning Community model
Online learning requires a slightly different model of learning communities to in-person learning or blended learning thanks to being fully remote.
In order to promote cooperation and social interaction in fully online courses, researchers in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology came up with the Learning Community model specially designed for online courses.
Their Fully Online Learning Community model is built on the Community of Inquiry model developed by Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson and Walter Archer in 2001. It is based on the concept that any online community of learners needs two things that are: social presence and cognitive Presence.
Social presence
In the event that you join a brand new group, it's nice to be able to show your true personality to participants in order to create a deeper relationship that is more significant. Your Social presence is defined as your ability to portray yourself both socially and emotionally - to become viewed as an authentic individual'. '.
Social presence includes:
- Communication
- Group cohesion
- Collaboration
When you're part of an online learning community, it can be harder to express your true personality while seated on a monitor. Digital technology is the primary tool for all social activities therefore it must be used well. The online learning community model considers how to improve interactions among group members, helping learners to feel more connected with one another.
The Cognitive Presence
The second element to the model of online learning communities can be described as Cognitive Presence. This is the learning portion of a learning community - Cognitive Presence is the capacity of students to comprehend information and verify what they've learnt.
Cognitive presence is defined as:
- Investigation of issues
- Solutions to be proposed
- Questions and/or challenges
Cognitive presence combined with social presence are two most important elements for an online learning environment to function effectively.
The tools to create a completely online community of learning
To build an online learning community that is genuinely useful for students, it's essential to be equipped with the right tools at hand. A good set of tools will facilitate the communication process and allow it to establish a sense connectedness between community members.
Helpful tools are:
- Software for video conferencing, e.g. Zoom
- Social media groups eg. Facebook
- Chatting applications, for example. WhatsApp or Slack
- Online Community Platforms, e.g.
The tools let students to easily collaborate - including asking questions, sharing issues, and socializing in the daytime and chatting.
How do you create a learning community in your course?
There are numerous benefits of having a learning community especially if you're a course creator. From boosting your brand reputation to encouraging feedback, these are some of the reasons to consider building an online learning community for the course you've created.
Grow your network
Online learning communities aren't only a means to stay connected with students and encourage more involvement - it's also excellent way to expand your professional networks. Invite members of your community to refer their friends to join the community, or send out posts from the community to their friends.
Boost your brand reputation
A learning community is an excellent way to build up your brand reputation. If you've got a group of engaged and enthusiastic learners, you can use it as a marketing tool to promote your company. People want to be aware that others are enjoying the course - and your learning community is an effective method to prove this.
Taking time to build your learning community can allow you to increase your brand reputation and convince other learners to be part of your group. Who wouldn't like to be part of an enjoyable, friendly, well-connected community?
Improve customer loyalty
If you are able to build a tight-knit community of learners about your program it will also help boost the loyalty of your customers to the brand you represent. Having a learning community as a touchpoint for customers can be a fantastic way to get repeat sales from clients. When they become a member of your group and you continue to sell to students even when they've finished a course.
As well as generating new prospects, you could also use your community of learners to present the latest products to your current clients. This can be especially beneficial when you offer classes that are built on prior courses' content. In other words, let students of your beginner's course to enroll in your advanced class next. This will not only provide value to your students but will also boost the revenue of your business!
Collect feedback from students
The best course creators know that the content they create for their courses is ever-changing and always more to do! One of the main advantages of creating a community around your brand is that it is easier to collate and collect customer feedback.
Encourage learners to provide feedback and reviews for the course as well as fill with regular feedback forms. It is then possible to use information to refine the content of your class and improve the student experience even better. Students who are part of a community are more likely to provide comments and will enjoy hearing their opinions.
3 things worth checking out for
Although creating a learning environment is simple, some learning communities aren't as effective than others. The study of why certain learning communities fail in their aims has revealed 3 factors that can affect the success of learning communities.
Here are the things to watch out for:
Too narrow a focus
It's great to set a goal of your learning group When a learning environment fails it's often due to the fact that its focus isn't enough. If too many limitations are placed on the scope of a learning group, it can lack impact. Students have a wide range of needs and interests that are related to your topic. your learning community ought to be able and willing to accept the diversity of learners and promote the development of this.
Insufficient support
Any learning community is only dependent on the help the students it gives. A majority of learning environments require the support of a solid, supportive group of mentors as well as other members to help students progress and reach their goals. When a learning community lacks this kind of support is at risk of falling short.
For more support and encouragement in your school community, you can try appointing dedicated mentors or coaches to assist students struggling. Also, you can encourage participation within the group by rewarding people who answer others' questions.
Limited communication
Alongside the assistance that is available in a learning community is the matter of communication. In order for a learning environment to function, there has to exist a spirit of collaboration and cooperation in the group. If members don't have enough resources, time or motivation to facilitate effective collaboration it's hard to realize the goals that the organization.
For many course creators, beginning the process of creating an online learning community are likely to involve more input from you or your staff to build up the environment of collaboration. Try posing questions, running polls and even offering competitions for increased engagement and interaction among your members.
The creation of a supportive, strong learning community requires the time and effort to plan. But with the right tools, you can create the perfect environment to help your students reach their goals.
Then you're aware of everything about learning communities. You can even try making your own!
If you've created an online course, or are working on it you should not hesitate to establish your own learning communities to help your students. Learning communities are a really effective way to boost participation in your class and improve the overall education experience. They also have some major pluses for your brand too.
Of course there is no need to limit yourself to just one learning community - you are able to create as many communities as you'd like or require.
Join the's learning community that's focused on course designers and sign up to the Pro Plan to get started in your learning community today!