In this topic I thought I should share my experience of lecturing online and distance students this year.

I find that learning in communities puts students at their best, especially when they are learning from and with each other. Building in opportunities for students to work together in an online course will help them be more engaged and invested in the coursework. Students’ interest in learning increases when they are actively exchanging, debating and negotiating ideas within groups. Further, by engaging in discussion and taking responsibility for their learning, students are encouraged to become critical thinkers and tend to contribute more often.

There’s a lot more advantages than disadvantages in learning in communities, most common advantages I noted during the course was:

• Collaborative learning allows students to tackle more complex problems than they could on their own.
• Online collaboration may provide opportunities for more equality in group work than actual face-to-face group work since in the latter approach group decision-making is often contingent upon which student has the loudest voice. Online communication can help equal the playing field because students who might be shy at voicing their opinion face-to-face now have the opportunity to express themselves and can take their time and think out carefully exactly what they wish to say.
• Through online collaboration, students may come to see the importance of taking responsibility for their own learning and feel empowered to do so while learning to respect the opinions and work of their online peers.

And the disadvantages was:

• Effective teamwork requires students to develop strong communication, coordination, and conflict resolution skills, which not all instructors feel qualified, or want, to teach, especially online.

References

Simmons University. 2015. Building a Collaborative Learning Community. (Online) available at http://internal.simmons.edu/faculty-staff/general/strategic-initiatives-simmons-online/faculty-hub/communication-collaboration/learning-community {accessed: November 2018}.