Why community is so important in online learning

The internet has created endless opportunities for us to learn new skills and subjects. However, we strongly believe that taking an online course should be much more than just sitting in front of a computer and should include being a part of a community of people learning together.

Looking back at our own days at school, we all understand the importance of the relationship between students and teachers, but for those of you who used peer study groups, how effective they can be in a learning environment.

A recent article on 'The Importance of Building Online Learning Communities' from Colorado State University Online, shared that 'students are not passive receptacles to be filled with information, instead, they are active learners. Being a member of a community means engaging in reciprocal learning activities, soaking in new ideas and sharing perspectives and experiences to make meaning of the information. Learning happens through discussion, reflection, collaborative teamwork, and most importantly, taking initiative and responsibility to listen, question, and think critically within the community of fellow learners."

We understand why people build evergreen courses which enable people to simply download your content and work at their own pace. It can be a passive income stream which requires very little time.

However, when you are building your next course or online learning program, think about how much more effective your training and expertise could be if you gave your students a community where they can truly engage with your content and learn from their peers.

We strongly believe that if you take the time to foster a learning community, the people who go through your courses or programs will have a better experience, gain more value from what you have to offer, will be more likely to recommend you to others and buy from you again.

Here at Ugenie, we can see this happening every day as we have a growing number of coaches and trainers using our platform to bring together their content and community in one place. Students can easily access course content in various media areas on both app or web, and then use the community forum and private messaging to discuss it with other members in the program.

As our platform also enables clients to create different groups and levels of membership, like the community featured in the video below, alumni can also stay as members of community, but also see content that is relevant for them!

If you would like to explore how Ugenie could to bring together your learning and community, get in touch here to schedule a consultation and demo.