From the text, it is clear that creating an online learning community involves more than just providing access to information and technology tools. Students must establish a sense of belonging and identify a purpose for belonging to the community. Effective communication is also essential for the success of the student, and the instructor needs to pay particular attention to the communication of each individual student and the group. It is important to provide opportunities for communication and collaboration, both synchronous and asynchronous, through tools such as chat rooms, discussion boards, wikis, and blogs. Sustaining an online learning community involves developing forums in which students feel comfortable sharing ideas, opinions, and facts with others, and where they work collaboratively to reconceptualize the course content. In addition, it is important to use a variety of communication and collaboration tools to keep students engaged and connected, both within and outside the course module or LMS.
