What are Student Perceptions of Community in Online Learning?
Abstract: While current research tends to show that interaction and community lead to more positive learning outcomes, could it be that today’s students, as busy as they are, would prefer and perform just as well in distance learning environments where these features are not present? Using demographic data and the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, the author conducted a mixed method research study to examine student perceptions of community in an online graduate-level distance learning course. Results show that while social interaction is important for community, it is not necessarily needed in the form of collaborative assignments. It also seems that the structure and design of the course and nature of assignments, not the involvement of the instructor, were largely responsible for the sense of community that existed.