Together to Learn

 Week 3: Thoughts on Virtual Learning Community Chapters

I can relate to “community” as a metaphor for an online learning group, as Schwier proposes, as a group of people bound together to learn.  I’ve seen learning communities evolve online among geographically-dispersed professionals who start to share articles, perspectives and resources that enable them to learn from each other and literally change the way each person works.  I have online “relationships” with colleagues in Alabama, Minnesota, and Ohio whom I have never met and probably never will. But despite not really knowing each other, we share learning and informally point each other in new directions to learn more.  We are bound together loosely but use each other to enhance our own learning.

I also like Schwier’s sense that learning communities are everywhere we look.  They aren’t all online; they can be book clubs, fishing groups, quilting bees and survivor support groups.  They are all communities of interest and provide informal learning opportunities.  They offer social connections and often rich learning through social engagement (and Schwier reminds us, intimidation through social engagement, sometimes).  But technology can bring together learners who would not have connected through any other means.  New online collaborators offer different perspectives and an opportunity to access new information and ideas. 

But the jury is still out on participation in communities or online environments, as Schwier also calls them.  In fact, he asks whether online environments promote social engagement or social isolation before pointing to research from Canada that online networking can increase participation in communities and social organizations.  He concludes that online learning communities may be engaging and/or isolating, depending on the participants and their agendas. In the end, technology, as we all know, has advantages and disadvantages, but also presents new opportunities in connecting and learning.