Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom

by Rena M. Palloff, Keith Pratt

"Building Online Learning Communities" further explores the development of virtual classroom environments that foster a sense of community and empower students to take charge of their learning to successfully achieve learning outcomes. This is the second edition of the groundbreaking book by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt and has been completely updated and expanded to include the most current information on effective online course development and delivery. A practical, hands-on guide, this resource is filled with illustrative case studies, vignettes, and examples from a wide variety of successful online courses. The authors offer proven strategies for handling challenges that include: Engaging students in the formation of an online learning community. Establishing a sense of presence online. Maximizing participation. Developing effective courses that include collaboration and reflection. Assessing student performance. Written for faculty in any distance learning environment, this revised edition is based on the authors many years of work in faculty development for online teaching as well as their extensive personal experience as faculty in online distance education. Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt share insights designed to guide readers through the steps of online course design and delivery.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction, Grad School

320 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sairam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for sharing this book. Please find this content as well.

What is the best eLearning site in India?

eLearning has indeed transformed the education and job sectors. It gained more prominence in the pandemic, when it was not possible for people to attend physical classes. eLearning is extremely beneficial as it offers enormous flexibility for learners, no matter at what stage they are in their careers.
eLearning has gained popularity because people can pay attention and grasp the concepts as per their convenience and comfort. The study material is always accessible and the physical location of the person does not matter at all. Those who are interested can learn from tutors located in other countries as well. This is because the geographical barriers no more deter teachers or students.

Collaboration is considered to be the key for success. It is an undeniable fact that eLearning has opened numerous opportunities for many, as they are able to collaborate in an effective manner. Online education is pursued mainly by college students who intend to gain knowledge about a particular field.

India's leading online platforms provide unique opportunities to acquire new skills and enhance existing skills. But, the overabundance of information on the internet and inundation of market with institutes making tall claims, has made it difficult for course seekers to take a decision.

Being from a small village in Karnataka, I came to Bangalore to gain expertise on IT skills. At this time, I became aware of the concept of eLearning. But, I struggled to find a genuine organization for eLearning. At that time, my close friend asked me to approach Elewayte, a Bangalore based organization. Elewayte owns the best online learning platform for IT based skills. Apart from placement assistance, the institute goes a step further by giving lifetime access to a third party portal with remote work opportunities. This helped me immensely to sustain and improve my career prospects

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated. There are Open Access out there that are better.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated but with some helpful principles. Generally not worth reading now given its age.

[Paul Signorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt, building from work which began while they were Ph.D. students in 1993, offer an educators' view of how to create and sustain effective online learning opportunities which lead to communities of learning. Their focus is on "teaching and learning" rather than on technology (p. xvii); the result is rewarding and inspirational. The first of the two sections of the book concentrates on the philosophy and mechanics of developing communities of learning online; the second section explores hands-on methods for producing those communities and includes explicit guidance on how to inspire collaboration by providing learners with clear guidelines as well as effective facilitation and feedback (pp. 111-125). A chapter on transformative learning (pp. 129-143) makes a strong case for how effective online learning can be by providing learners with time for engagement and reflection, and also reminds readers that effective online learning is a learner-centered process (p. 135). Sample course outlines, syllabi, lists of learning objectives, and online course guidelines make this an indispensable tool for anyone involved in online presentations and online learning. (Note: updated edition published in 2007.)

[Lauren Perotto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Redundant and boring. Also a bit outdated. Texts related to technology need to have more current sources than '89, '97, and '00 to be relevant currently. This isn't to say there is no value in older sources, but they should be intermingled with more current sources rather than being the main source of information.

[Debbie Whiting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although content is important, one of the most critical components of an online class is building community. With that aspect in place, the teacher is no longer the sole source of knowledge. Peers share with each other helping one another understand the content and deeper analysis of the material.

[Mark Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, a great compiliation of ideas.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good points, but they could all be covered in a few bullet points. Lengthy and redundant.

[Lyddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I loved this book, or even liked it, but I did get some learning from it.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, long, repetitive and done, thank goodness