In the article by Khalsa and Hildreth (2000), they explained how a professor can take an on-line group and bring them to a "optimal" standard. They explained that building a virtual community would require the need to set the right tone at the start through supportive participation that leads to collaboration, facilitation, and application. After that, the professor needs to take this budding on-line community and help them evolve. By evolve, the duo meant that the on-line group would then explore, apply, put what they've learned into practice, and then report back to the group.
We have followed this model through the first week's assignments which gave us the background knowledge necessary for an understanding of on-line classes place in life-long learning. Our professor also stated clear objectives and outcomes that set the tone for the course. She helped to maintain the community by individual responses to each participant during the initial assignment which served to spur the communicative event that was occurring and to further the need for us to keep communicating with each other. All of sudden, she disappeared from our posts because the framework of the class allowed us to join with others in small groups where we began to create our social capital.
To build social capital, or the "learning of the collective self," we needed to participate in activities that promoted the community good. This was accomplished by our group building the group charter. We all agreed upon the outcome and used or created networks directed to completing the only issue facing our community: Completing the charter. Our transition from individuals to a group took in both formal and informal learning. Formal learning from the readings and informal learning from our interactions. I learned straight-away that in order for the group to prosper, I had to back away from my normal "straight talk (ala John McCain)" that I normally reserved for groups in the past. Because of my knowledge of groups and group activities, I thought of myself as an expert for the group. I started to become frustrated when I was not asked to share what I know. Then we attempted a synchronous learning episode.
On Tuesday morning of this week, we "met" in the chat room. I had already explained to my class that I would have to delay the start of their assignment as I was involved in this group and my subject matter would be brought up late in the agenda. This was my first "chat room" experience, and I soon became frustrated at the delayed response time, the fact that I would write something and hit enter and nothing came up, the fact that some group members would stray off topic, and the fact I had to go last as the meeting was soon eating into my class time. Then, just before it was my turn to participate, I furiously typed out my section for the group to read just as all of the group members signed off! I became furious that I had just wasted the time that 37 students had for completing their assignment on time and the anger built up. When given the first opportunity, I laid into the group leader for not calling on me and for quitting before the end of the agenda she had written. Instead of an apology, I received a "I thought we were done" message followed by an explanation of what I was to do even though I had already done it. Any social capital that had been built up in me went completely out the door.
During this time, I was also experiencing complications from some medications and I withdrew from the group completely for two days. Initially, because I was angry. But after some time, I finally figured out that it was all experiential learning and that I needed to get back to the group. So now, with the meds figured out and the anger dissipated, I am ready again to build on the social capital that was ours by actually rejoining our community's discussion.
I figure that this interaction was actually good for me and, therefore, the group because I am now ready to face the remaining assignments with the awareness that nobody really gives a damn about who you were, but who you are right now and the need to apply our learning to our community and beyond. I will definitely be using this knowledge gained through the informal learning process in my classes and share what I learned to help apply these ideas to the communities I am involved with outside the on-line environment; thus completing the process of creating an optimal on-line community.
In summary, setting the tone, setting the expectations, maintaining the community, evolving the community, and then applying the knowledge to other environments are the core steps in creating the optimal on-line community. Because of the way the class was designed, and because of the nature of the interactions with the professor, we have followed all of these steps and have built up social capital that I hope we can share throughout the process and beyond.
