Community in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities

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avondale-bepress-to-dspace.facultyEducation
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.peer_review_statusPeer reviewed before publication
avondale-bepress.abstract<p>Exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the concepts of community and communication in online higher education, this paper reconsiders the intention to replicate face-to-face learning and teaching strategies in online learning environments. Rather than beginning with the assumption that face-to-face education is the prototype for quality, the authors appraise the online learning environment as a unique medium which, by its nature, necessitates unique communication, community-building, teaching and learning strategies. This paper proposes an in-depth analysis of the potential unique affordances associated with online learning contexts as existing in their own right. The concepts of community and communication are explored in relation to online Communities of Practice (CoPs). The nature of face-to-face and online learning contexts are considered, especially in the light of the possibility of redefining “face-to-face” within the online realm, in addition to physical learning contexts. The paper identifies unique ways in which online communication (in the context of learning) is different from face-to-face communication, and consequently four ways in which this can be an advantage for students; namely, there is a measure of social egalitarianism, emphasis on verbal/written proficiency, time for reasoned response, and social agency. The paper provides grounding for further research into strategies that forge rich online learning experiences and suggests an empirical study as a next step.</p>
avondale-bepress.articleid1103
avondale-bepress.authorsLily A Arasaratnam-Smith
avondale-bepress.authorsMaria T Northcote
avondale-bepress.context-key10163091
avondale-bepress.coverpage-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/edu_papers/101
avondale-bepress.document-typearticle
avondale-bepress.field.author_faculty_disciplineEducation
avondale-bepress.field.comments<p>Used by permission: <a href="http://www.academic-conferences.org/e-journals/">Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited</a> and the authors.</p> <p>© 2017 Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited (ACPIL).</p>
avondale-bepress.field.custom_citation<p>Arasaratnam-Smith, L. & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in online higher education: Challenges and opportunities. <em>The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 15</em>(2), 188-198. Retrieved from http://ejel.org/</p>
avondale-bepress.field.distribution_licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
avondale-bepress.field.doihttp://ejel.org/issue/download.html?idArticle=580
avondale-bepress.field.embargo_date2017-05-14T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.field_of_education07 Education
avondale-bepress.field.for130103 Higher Education
avondale-bepress.field.issn1479-4403
avondale-bepress.field.issue_number2
avondale-bepress.field.journalThe Electronic Journal of e-Learning
avondale-bepress.field.page_numbers188-198
avondale-bepress.field.peer_reviewBefore publication
avondale-bepress.field.publication_date2017-05-01T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.reportable_itemsC1
avondale-bepress.field.source_fulltext_urlhttp://ejel.org/issue/download.html?idArticle=580
avondale-bepress.field.source_publication<p>This article was originally published as:</p> <p>Arasaratnam-Smith, L. & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in online higher education: Challenges and opportunities. <em>The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 15</em>(2), 188-198. Retrieved from www.ejel.org</p> <p>ISSN: 1479-4403</p>
avondale-bepress.field.staff_classificationPermanent
avondale-bepress.field.volume_number15
avondale-bepress.fulltext-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&amp;context=edu_papers&amp;unstamped=1
avondale-bepress.keywordsonline community
avondale-bepress.keywordsComputer Mediated Communication (CMC)
avondale-bepress.keywordsCommunities of Practice (CoPs)
avondale-bepress.keywordsnonverbal communication
avondale-bepress.label101
avondale-bepress.publication-date2017-05-01T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.publication-titleEducation Papers and Journal Articles
avondale-bepress.statepublished
avondale-bepress.submission-date2017-05-14T21:37:10Z
avondale-bepress.submission-pathedu_papers/101
avondale-bepress.titleCommunity in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities
avondale-bepress.typearticle
dc.contributor.authorNorthcote, Maria T.
dc.contributor.authorArasaratnam-Smith, Lily A.
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-01T00:25:02Z
dc.date.available2023-11-01T00:25:02Z
dc.date.issued2017-05-01
dc.date.submitted2017-05-14T21:37:10Z
dc.description.abstract<p>Exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the concepts of community and communication in online higher education, this paper reconsiders the intention to replicate face-to-face learning and teaching strategies in online learning environments. Rather than beginning with the assumption that face-to-face education is the prototype for quality, the authors appraise the online learning environment as a unique medium which, by its nature, necessitates unique communication, community-building, teaching and learning strategies. This paper proposes an in-depth analysis of the potential unique affordances associated with online learning contexts as existing in their own right. The concepts of community and communication are explored in relation to online Communities of Practice (CoPs). The nature of face-to-face and online learning contexts are considered, especially in the light of the possibility of redefining “face-to-face” within the online realm, in addition to physical learning contexts. The paper identifies unique ways in which online communication (in the context of learning) is different from face-to-face communication, and consequently four ways in which this can be an advantage for students; namely, there is a measure of social egalitarianism, emphasis on verbal/written proficiency, time for reasoned response, and social agency. The paper provides grounding for further research into strategies that forge rich online learning experiences and suggests an empirical study as a next step.</p>
dc.description.versionBefore publication
dc.identifier.citation<p>Arasaratnam-Smith, L. & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in online higher education: Challenges and opportunities. <em>The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 15</em>(2), 188-198. Retrieved from http://ejel.org/</p>
dc.identifier.doihttp://ejel.org/issue/download.html?idArticle=580
dc.identifier.issn1479-4403
dc.identifier.urihttps://research.avondale.edu.au/handle/123456789/10163091
dc.language.isoen_us
dc.provenance<p>This article was originally published as:</p> <p>Arasaratnam-Smith, L. & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in online higher education: Challenges and opportunities. <em>The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 15</em>(2), 188-198. Retrieved from www.ejel.org</p> <p>ISSN: 1479-4403</p>
dc.rights<p>Used by permission: <a href="http://www.academic-conferences.org/e-journals/">Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited</a> and the authors.</p> <p>© 2017 Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited (ACPIL).</p>
dc.rights.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectonline community
dc.subjectComputer Mediated Communication (CMC)
dc.subjectCommunities of Practice (CoPs)
dc.subjectnonverbal communication
dc.titleCommunity in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities
dc.typeJournal Article
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