You want to foster community in e-learning. How do you ensure remote learners feel a sense of belonging?
To foster a sense of belonging among remote learners, consider these strategies:
How do you build community in your e-learning environments?
You want to foster community in e-learning. How do you ensure remote learners feel a sense of belonging?
To foster a sense of belonging among remote learners, consider these strategies:
How do you build community in your e-learning environments?
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To help remote learners feel a sense of belonging in e-learning, use interactive platforms for discussions and group projects. Personalize communication with regular check-ins and feedback to show they are valued. Organize virtual events and social activities for learners to connect outside classes. Create mentorship programs to foster collaboration and support. Celebrate achievements, reflect diverse perspectives in materials, and encourage feedback for course improvements. Regular one-on-one meetings also help maintain connections and provide timely assistance.
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When facilitating online discussion boards, make sure to get around to every student roughly evenly. When I teach an online class, I keep a list of who I respond to and how often. Then I check that against the participant list and next respond to learners who haven't heard from me yet. In this way, every learner gets direct attention in the classroom, and I can monitor those who are not yet participating, to send them encouraging notes to draw them in.
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Intentionally using video for both announcements & feedback is essential to ensure students never forget they have a human working to guide their growth. Having a clear set of expectations & norms allows for people to understand the parameters in which they are going to be working together & communicating. Assigning critical friends & building in assignments for them to intentionally work with that critical friend, on their own schedules, supports a sense of trust and belonging. One thing that has worked brilliantly well is including in the threaded discussion rubric that students must address each other by name when responding. That small detail has been noted by students multiple times as making them feel seen.
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As learning delivery platforms advance and AI is incorporated the possibilities will be awe inspiring to incorporate activities that foster a sense of community. My go to activities for IRL groups has always centered one of the two "F's" of community building, food or fun and often both. And while food may seem impossible in a virtual learning environment, it is helpful to consider a more virtual friendly food, like food for thought. Providing a case study, or story, or a movie clip, anything really that is a departure from the norm and engages students in a new and different way, is potential food for the learning community and can provide the kind of connections that make real community possible.
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I make it a priority to create an inclusive and supportive environment by encouraging open communication from day one. I start each session with ice-breakers and share group challenges to help students interact with one another. Consistently recognizing individual progress and encouraging peer feedback also goes a long way.
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