How to Create a Learning Community that Thrives

The word “Learning community” is used very often these days; it has become a buzzword. When the term is thrown around in different contexts, it is easy to lose the significance of a real community. The relevance of creating a learning community in the professional realm is becoming prominent.

So what is a professional learning community, and how can educators cultivate one?

Teaching online can be isolating, but building an engaging online community can turn it into an energizing experience for both students and tutors. 

In this blog, let’s delve deep into what a learning community is, what constitutes a good community and how to nurture one. 

What is a learning community?

A learning community is a group of learners with shared learning goals who connect and engage with each other. In a community of students, they share knowledge, resources, and support with an emphasis on open and group communication. Communities exchange updates and queries and provide encouragement, motivation, and help in achieving their goals.

A learning community is not:

• A school.
• A social group.
• A marketing platform.
• A substitute for formal teaching.

Instead, a learning community is for:

• A group of learners with shared motivation, values, and goals.
• A space to brainstorm ideas, problems, and questions. 
• A place for discussion.
• A network of students and expert tutors.

Tools for cultivating a learning community online

If you are working on how to create a learning community that is genuinely helpful for learners, it is significant to have some tools ready. The right tools help in efficient communication and make building a sense of connection between community members easier.

Helpful tools for building an online learning community include:

• Social media groups like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.
• Video conferencing software like Zoom.
• Chatting tools like WhatsApp and Slack. 
• Online community platforms like your own tutoring platform to host live classes and online courses.

How to create a learning community?

Now let’s look into how to create a learning community that thieves and is profitable. 

Define the purpose

When learning how to create a learning community, start with the basics and get it right. Start with important business goals and make them real. Clearly define the purpose of the learning community, why you are creating it, whom it is for, and so on. This helps to set the focus and drive for each member who wants to join the community.

Set community guidelines and rules

When creating a learning community, you must set rules and guidelines as a part of your moderation strategy to keep your community free from spam and abuse.

Setting community rules and guidelines make it clear what is the right behavior that is appropriate for your learning community. 

Here is what you need to focus on:

• The behavior expected out of community members.
• What moderators can and cannot do.
• What topics are in scope for your learning community? What are some of the irrelevant topics?
• How can users flag complaints, and how will they be resolved? 

Choose a platform

Every learning community must have a dedicated platform, even if it’s online. You need to choose the platform, which is the meeting place for learners and teachers whenever they want to participate. This allows members to feel at ease with sharing their opinions knowing the space is safe and secure for exchanging and brainstorming ideas.

So what platform to choose when creating a learning community? 

The best approach is to build a space to host your learning community, your own online tutoring platform. 

Leverage Pinlearn, a readymade software with a 100% customizable script. You can host tutor-led one-to-one and group classes. The software includes a full suite of capabilities for all users; it helps both tutors and students have the best community experience. 

Here are the features of Pinlearn to create a learning community that thrives.

• Pinlearn allows tutors to host live online classes and on-demand courses to be hosted under an online marketplace mode.
• You get access to 100% source code to completely control the website and customize it according to your unique needs.
• Pinlearn allows learners to record live classes and play them later for reference.
• Interactive whiteboard for a real classroom-like training experience. A multi-channel internal communication system for users to stay connected. 

Establish a social presence

When building a learning community, a social presence that is too prominent one is inevitable. To develop a prominent social presence:

• Create an introductory video.
• Give students reasons to visit your tutoring platform often.
• Let students share work that represents them.

Leverage collaborative learning techniques

Collaborative learning needs learners to work with each other, which helps to reduce feels of studying alone. Many learners seem to value engaging and forming relationships with their peers. Understanding each other in an online learning community helps improve learners’ overall experience. 

Collaborative learning strategies are as follows:

• Students can work in small groups to develop knowledge about specific topics and teach what they have learned to another group.
• Conduct seminars for meaningful discussions centered on student work.
• Engage in problem-solving sessions.

Tips for growing a learning community

When creating a learning community, there are two possibilities.

Either you have a valid target audience and want to build a community that you can use to grow your brand. Or you have created online courses and want to develop a learning community to sustain and keep selling.

To successfully grow a community, you need:

Proper levels of access

Learning communities must be able to meet online consistently on a regular basis. Both quantity and quality of time are important. 

Strong relationships

Members of a community must have a strong sense of belonging to the group and trust one another.

Organized structures in place

In a professional learning community for tutors, tutors in the group must work in the same grade or worth with the same group of learners. 

Multi-lingual feature to translate content to desirable languages

Translating content into different languages is an important feature when creating a learning community. 

To conclude

Now you know about all learning communities, try building your own. If you are an educator creating online courses or an edTech business, you can start building a learning community. Learning communities are effective if you want to boost engagement and improve the overall learning experience while benefiting your brand. 

Connect with the Pinlearn team to build an online tutoring platform to nurture your learning community immediately.