The dynamics of this class are certainly very interesting. This is not my first online class, and therefore I knew what to expect...or so I thought. I know that collaborating with classmates is important in an online setting to create a sense of community. However, I was not prepared for how strong the sense of community is in this class. It has felt somewhat overwhelming. Maybe it's because other students have been in previous classes with each other before. Or maybe it's because there is so much discussion, it's hard to keep up with it all. Either way, there is so much good information going back and forth, I just try to dive in and absorb it all.
That being said, I do believe that collaboration is an important part of an online learning environment. I also believe that group assignments contribute to the sense of community as well. I believe it's very easy to get caught up into one's individual assignment as far as meeting all of the requirements, meeting deadlines, etc... Group assignments provide the opportunity for students to not only share ideas, but work together in meeting their goals. I think one of my best online classes was one where we had a group that we worked with for all of the projects, however we were individually responsilbe for critiquing the project. I thought this was great because it created a sense of community, yet there was just enough individual work.
