How to create an Online Community for your class

1.  The first question to ask yourself is “what is the purpose of your online community?”  Is this online community the main communication of your class (ie. online class) or a sub form of communication for nightly help?  The research that I conducted on this subject was for a focus group of older adults, who could find help after classes through chatting.  While on my own finding did not find a successful way of involving and evolving the nightly online communities, there is many situations when they can be successful.  

2.  Which application or program would work best for you class?  There are many online communities to join.  I advise to take a class poll of what online community the students presently use.  Some well-known online communities are AIM/iChat, MSN chat, Yahoo Chat, Skype, and Facebook.  The goal is to pick a chat will be the most accessible for your class. (You could put a poll on the class blog to easily find which Chat is the most popular)

3. Find an organized way to exchange Chat addresses. In my class we exchanged AIM/iChat screen names. I printed out the class list and gave everyone a copy.

4.  As the educator it is your job to set guidelines and standards. Read the class chat rooms “FAQs” or “Rules” section before the chat session. Follow basic computer etiquette when interacting with your instructor and peers. For example, if you enter a chat room in the middle of a discussion, wait a few minutes to understand the discussion before posting. Never write in all caps (it’s considered shouting). And, give writers a chance to finish their thoughts when they conclude a paragraph with ellipses (it means that they’re not done writing yet). 

5. Be friendly but formal. Chat rooms are often a casual environment, but don’t forget to convey a professional image when chatting for an online class. If you want to be taken seriously, present your ideas in a more formal manner. You don’t have to be stuffy, but you should write in complete sentences. Capitalize the first letter of each sentence and avoid the over-use of emoticons, unusual fonts, and abbreviations such as “lol” or “brb.” Many web browsers now include spell checkers that can help you catch mistakes while typing in online fields – make use of these.

6.  Trial and Error.

Advertisement