by Dr. Rebekah Redmer
Executive Director of U-Tech Preparatory Academy, an online private school for students in grades 6-12.
Dr. Redmer is also the founder of three online and hybrid schools and a champion of personalized learning.
Creating a sense of community in the online classroom is essential for fostering student engagement and connection. Unlike traditional classrooms, online learning sometimes requires nonconventional interactive strategies to ensure students and their families feel connected and supported. Engagement is at the heart of quality teaching and learning and plays a crucial role in nurturing an online community, necessitating thoughtful planning to tie each member of the learning community together. By focusing on relationships, educators can create a vibrant online environment that promotes collaboration and a sense of belonging.
One of the key ways to build community is through spending time developing a learner story for each student. Before the school year begins or in the first week, teachers may gain tremendous insight into students and their families by learning more about their abilities, interests, barriers they are facing, and family culture & traditions. This initial connection helps educators tailor their approach to meet each student’s needs and anticipate future connections with content, peers, and others across the larger online community. By taking the time to learn about students’ backgrounds and experiences, educators can create a more inclusive and engaging online environment that recognizes and values each member. This understanding fosters trust and communication, laying a solid foundation for collaborative learning experiences that grow throughout the school year.
As instructors reflect on each learner’s value, utilizing The Community of Inquiry Framework may be a way to enhance the online learning experience. It is wholly based on engagement practices and encompasses three essential elements: social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Social presence allows students to convey their personality within the online community, creating ways for them to appear as authentic individuals. Cognitive presence encourages critical thinking and meaningful, ongoing communication, while teaching presence promotes instructional design where educators facilitate learning effectively. By integrating all three elements, educators can create a supportive online community that enhances student engagement and leads to deeper learning experiences. This holistic approach not only strengthens relationships within the digital classroom but also helps extend connections to the broader online community.
Trade Secrets
- Curate the “Learner’s Story” (Tomlinson’s differentiation is a frame of reference that can be used to do so, specifically building the “learner profile”). Carving out time at the start of the school year to host a student-teacher-family meeting enhances relational capacity and helps to establish a supportive community as the school year progresses.
- Promote an environment of connectedness through timely touch-points each week, while providing academic support and celebrating achievements.
- Create opportunities for students and their families to participate in academic and non-academic activities that are beyond the online coursework.
