The process of shared creation: two or more individuals interacting to create a shared understanding that none had previously. Collaboration creates a shared understanding about a process, a product, or an event.

Collaboration

With the substantial increase in online learning, communication between teachers and students has become critical. Instead of in-person communication, teachers must adapt to using technology-mediated communication (TMC) with their students.

Communication in Online Learning

Assigning students personal responsibility makes each of them feel a sense of ownership and commitment to bettering the community, thus promoting higher engagement, communication, and participation. 

Personal Commitment to the community

The greater the cohesion within the community, the greater chance ideas exchanged are agreed upon and encouraged greater engagement with one another to collaboratively improve the online community and its information.

Cohesion within the community

When there is more collaboration of information creation, there is also likely a chance for higher engagement, cohesion, and connection amongst the members of the community, leading them to continue contributing and maintaining the community.

Collaboration within the Community

- Cohesiveness within the community
- Personal commitment to the community
- Constant Communication within the community
- Capacity for growth (i.e. enough members for expansion of the community)
- Well-qualified leaders (ex: instructors, admin, etc.)
-  Collaboration within the community

New York University

Online learning communities are peer-to-peer learning environments conducted through the internet. 

Online learning communities

Lock, J. V. (2007). Laying the groundwork for the development of learning communities within online courses. Online learning communities, 129-149.

Laying the groundwork for the development of learning communities within online courses

Altebarmakian, M., & Alterman, R. (2019). Cohesion in online environments. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 14, 443-465.

Cohesion in online environments

- Q&A Communities
- Blogs
- Course management
- Social networking
- Social learning
- Online universities
- Skills and language exchange platforms

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