Palloff and Pratt (1999) briefly describe the changing nature of community in the advent of new computer technologies. In addition to the key concepts of differentiation and membership—the shared interests and distinguishing aspects of the community that make it different from other groups—place is a historically important element of community. The advent of electronic communications and information networks, however, has changed these notions somewhat. Educators have the advantage of working with gatherings of people who share common purpose because in online education, students are choosing the courses based on their needs. Nevertheless, educators should be direct in their efforts at building community in online courses. Basic steps include:

• Clearly define the purpose of the group.
• Create a distinct gathering place for the group.
• Promote effective leadership from within the group.
• Define norms and a clear code of conduct.
• Allow for a range of member roles.
• Allow for and facilitate subgroup.
• Allow members to resolve their own disputes (24).

Preece (2000) presented the idea that although the concept of an online community may seem easy to define, in actuality a working definition must include specific descriptions of the elements involved in the definition. Preece‘s definition of online community includes the following elements:

• People who interact socially as they strive to satisfy their own needs or perform special roles such as leading or moderating;
• A shared purpose (such as an interest, a need, a form of information exchange, or a service) that provides a reason for the community;
• Policies (in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, protocols, rules, and laws) that guide people‘s interactions; and
  
• Computer systems to support and mediate social interaction and facilitate a sense of togetherness. (10)

References

Paloff, R. M. Pratt, and K. Pratt. 1999. Building communities in cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Preece, J. 2000. Online communities: Designing usability, supporting sociability. Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons.