How can you build community and collaboration in a blended classroom?

1 Define clear goals and expectations

One of the first steps to build community and collaboration in a blended classroom is to define clear goals and expectations for the course, the assignments, and the online and offline activities. You should communicate these to your students at the beginning of the term and throughout the course, using multiple channels and formats, such as syllabus, emails, announcements, videos, and feedback. You should also encourage your students to set their own personal and academic goals and share them with their peers and you. This will help them to stay motivated, focused, and accountable for their learning.

2 Design interactive and meaningful activities

Another key element to build community and collaboration in a blended classroom is to design interactive and meaningful activities that require students to work together, share their ideas, and solve problems. You can use a variety of online tools and platforms, such as discussion boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, video conferencing, and collaborative documents, to facilitate synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaboration among your students. You should also align these activities with the learning objectives and outcomes of the course, and provide clear instructions, rubrics, and feedback. Moreover, you should design activities that are relevant, authentic, and engaging for your students, and that allow them to express their creativity, opinions, and perspectives.

3 Establish social presence and rapport

A third factor to build community and collaboration in a blended classroom is to establish social presence and rapport among your students and yourself. Social presence is the degree to which participants feel connected, involved, and supported in an online environment. You can enhance social presence by creating opportunities for your students to get to know each other and you, such as icebreakers, introductions, profiles, and personal stories. You can also use informal and friendly language, humor, emoticons, and multimedia to convey your personality, emotions, and enthusiasm. Furthermore, you should be responsive, supportive, and respectful to your students' questions, comments, and concerns, and acknowledge their contributions and achievements.

4 Monitor and adjust your strategies

A final aspect to build community and collaboration in a blended classroom is to monitor and adjust your strategies based on the feedback and data that you collect from your students and the online platforms. You should regularly check the participation, progress, and performance of your students, and use surveys, polls, quizzes, and reflections to gather their opinions, preferences, and suggestions. You should also analyze the data from the online tools and platforms that you use, such as the number of views, posts, comments, likes, and shares, to measure the level of engagement, interaction, and collaboration among your students. Based on this information, you should adjust your strategies to meet the needs, interests, and goals of your students and yourself.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?