Creating Online Communities for Higher Education

New Approaches to Professional Development, Faculty Support, Learning and Collaboration though Online Communities

Week 1 — Online Communities in Higher Education

• Overview of the online workshop and the community design process

• Community Lifecycles and Development
• Community applications in higher education and the case for community
• Case Study

• What are the different purposes a higher education community might have, and how are community purposes determined?
• What are the key questions to explore when identifying the audience, purpose, goals and vision for a community?
• How do we go about finding out what has worked in the past, so we can build on those experiences?

• Synchronous paired interviews involving all participants.

Week 2 — Assessing Needs and Designing Communities

• Defining audience, purpose, and supporting activities

• Engaging Members – From Communication to Collaboration
• Case Study

• Who are the community’s stakeholders?
• How can we gather information about and understand stakeholder needs - at an individual, group, and institutional level - in order to understand the community purpose? How is this community purpose to be articulated?
• What kinds of activities and interactions will generate energy and support the emergence of online community presence, and sustain community momentum?
• How will community members communicate?

• Success Scenarios – Assuming your community is successful, what difference will it make to your projects, programs, or institution?
• Stakeholder Analysis – Who will the community serve and how will they benefit?
• Community Stories – What is your community’s elevator pitch?

Week 3 — Prototyping Communities

• Prototyping, testing, and rolling-out communities

• The Role of Content in Community
• The Role of Technology in Community

• What are pre-existing resources and information that can be provided to the community?
• What new knowledge will the community gain and what learning objectives will be achieved over time?
• What related work products might the community collaboratively develop in support of its learning objectives?
• Given the community’s purpose, goals, resources, collaborative activities, and work products, what technology features are important to this community’s success?

• Functional prototypes of online communities
• Online community field trip(s)

Week 4 — Launching, Growing and Sustaining Communities

• Community Roles and Rhythms

• Tracking Benefits and Measuring Success

• What roles will be created to support the launch and growth of the community?
• How will various community members be supported so that they can be effective in these roles?
• How will new members be recruited and become oriented to the community?
• What rhythm will be established for the community’s activities, and how will this be communicated to members?

• Finish functional prototypes of online communities
• Give and get feedback on functional prototypes of online communities

Quotes:

"The online conference allowed me to participate on my own schedule, save travel time and costs, and come away with new knowledge, practical resources and new relationships. I'd definitely attend again."

Laura Hofstetter,
Director of Web Education,
Barry University