Comments after Session 2 Creating a Sense of Community; Online Student Unions, Chats, Discussion Boards

1. Creating community requires a hook to get students to return to both the internal (MyMC) or external (edu) site.  The MC Bookstore is developing a student to student book resale through classified ads posted on MyMC. 

2. Online courses as a place to develop community.  Some online faculty see this as an integral part of instruction, some don't.

3. MC has the Online Companion, a WebCT site for all online students that contains information about online learning and advising.  Counselor, instructors, and DL staff make this a staff driven resource.  Students might find something like an online Student Union, created and driven by students a better place to develop community.  Needs to be oversee my advisors.  Adult students need their own place to connect with one another

4. Ideas for uses of ID card digital photos - upload to online course site, to MyMC

5. Facebook discussion - peer to peer online community

• Students are doing this whether or not we support it
• Online communities develop around common interests, games and much more
• Facebook has a high school and college versions
• Many concerns about students sharing too much which might result in identity theft and more
  Question - do we take a proactive stance to education students about the resource and concerns?

Here are the Maryland schools who support facebook:

6. Resources:

Convergence of games and education - Marc Prensky - http://www.marcprensky.com/
Learn more about ePortfolios - http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studevgt/onlinsts/Resources/ePortfolio.htm
Pp (with white background) and more about Online Student Services at: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studevgt/onlinsts/Resources/onlinestuserv.htm

Let me know what I missed. 

Hope to see you next week for Online Orientations.  I'm curious to hear about his 4-5 categories. 

Anita