The Goal:
"To clearly and continuously communicate our mission and values in all that we undertake, and to foster a strong sense of community on campus in pursuit of academic excellence."
Challenge:
From Downes:
Probably the greatest misapplication of online community in online learning lies in the idea that a community is an adjunct to, or follows from, an online course. This is perhaps most clearly exemplified by the existence in itself of online class discussions. It is common to see the discussion community created with the first class and disbanded with the last. The community owes its existence to the course, and ends when the course does. |
And later:
So learning occurs in communities, but communities cannot be based on the group, but rather, the network, where connections cut across existing boundaries, via weak ties, to form layers of association. The implication is that the course content (if any) ought to be subservient to the discussion, that the community is the primary unit of learning, and that the instruction and the learning resources are secondary, arising out of, and only
because of, the community. |
Unfortunately this approach also discourages cross-course and cross-disciplinary discussion. It also locks out participants outside of our campus -- and engaging with people outside your walls is crucial to to healthy community. Even more absurdly,
The Solution:
We will build accessible, visible, and public spaces for discussion that allow academic engagement with on and off campus participants.
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