Midterms are upon us, and that means it is a great time to sit down and have a mid-semester chat with your classes. How are things going? What is working well in the course? Is there anything you would like to see start, stop or continue? Last week, I asked my students just that, how are things going? Most discussed how they felt the midterm in World of Business, the first business course all Leeds students take, was way easier than they expected. Let’s see how they feel when they get their grades back.

I also asked my students how they felt about using Google+ in the course, and if they preferred using Google+ or Desire 2 Learn (D2L) which is the learning management system here at Cu Boulder. Watch for an update later in the semester for the results. Before I discuss this data, I wanted to share why I am doing this action research.

Becoming a part of the campus community, and contributing to the development of that community through engagement, is a cornerstone of the student success research.  There is a gap between that research from Austin, Chickering, Gamson, Kuh, Tinto, and current trends in educational technology. These authors characterize student engagement as an in-person act, where people interact in-person. Yale University still uses a residential college model that was established in 1703 where all students are expected to live on-campus (Stenvens, 2000). If a student needs help with something, they ask their community and the community responds with a referral or recommendation. Namely, learning takes place anywhere we want.  The 7 best practices outlined by Chickering and Gamson (1987) do not require fancy buildings with the latest and greatest technology or even a pretty campus. With the explosion of social media and ways to interact in a digital space offers a great opportunity where social learning can take place online.  Mohan (2013) attempts to begin this conversation and incorporate social media in a classroom. Blanchard (2007) also describes virtual communities and how they create feelings of community with minimal face-to-face interaction. More research is needed to determine if the ideas from Austin, Chickering, Gamson, Kuh, and Tinto can be recreated using a digital medium. This research is necessary to determine the impact of social media on social integration into a learning community.

Digital Learning communities are a great way for students and institutions to collaborate to improve the quality of undergraduate learning outcomes. These collaborative efforts of students, faculty and student affair practitioners create an environment where engagement, learning, expansion of wisdom, and a love of knowledge can be cultivated (Komives et al 2003). It is important for student affairs professionals to create student services, activities, programming etc. that focus on creating a sense of community across the entire campus: where all students can grow, develop and become active members of society. Specifically, the level of engagement inside and outside the classroom influences the quality of student learning outcomes (Chickering and Gamson, 1987). Learning communities are just one very important element we need to use employ to support students. Whether drastically changing curriculum or modestly clustering courses together, learning communities enhance the overall undergraduate learning experience (Smith, 1993). LCs benefit student learning outcomes in a myriad of ways but connecting students to an institution greatly improves their chances of finishing school (Komives et al 2003).

Blanchard (2007) suggests over the same amount of time, online communities have the same amount of social interaction and accumulation of relationships as face-to-face communities. Blanchard (2007) goes on to claim that the “exchange of support” and the development of norms have a positive impact on the “sense of virtual community” (p. 2109). As members of the online community develop their individual identities, community norms develop, and as individuals follow those norms, the sense of virtual community increases (Blanchard, 2007). For example, if one person becomes the “go-to” person for help with calculus, that becomes the community norm, and if someone asks for help for calculus, anyone in the community refers that person to the “calculus guy”. 

Living-learning communities and the residual college experience are the foundation of the American system of higher education and function much the same way. Community can be created without money or resources, and social media such as Facebook, Google+, Ello, or LinkedIn can be powerful learning tools. 

References

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Mohan, F. (2013). Chapter 3: Using a Social Learning Community to Actively Engage Students’ Participation in a Virtual Classroom.  In Yang, H.H., and Wang, S (Eds.), Cases On E-Learning Management, Dvelopment and Implementation (50-70). Hershey PA: IGI Global.

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