by Darren Sudlow

The Importance of Community

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"We know the rules of community; we know the healing effect of community in terms of individual lives. If we could somehow find a way across the bridge of our knowledge, would not these same rules have a healing effect upon our world?
We human beings have often been referred to as social animals. But we are not yet community creatures. We are impelled to relate with each other for our survival. But we do not yet relate with the inclusivity, realism, self-awareness, vulnerability, commitment, openness, freedom, equality, and love of genuine community. It is clearly no longer enough to be simply social animals, babbling together at cocktail parties and brawling with each other in business and over boundaries. It is our task--our essential, central, crucial task - to transform ourselves from mere social creatures into community creatures. It is the only way that human evolution will be able to proceed." (Peck, 1987, as cited in Shaffer & Anudsen 1993 p.165)

Shaffer and Anundsen (1993) define community as a dynamic whole that emerges when a group of people share common practices, are interdependent, make decisions together, identify themselves as something larger than the sum of their individual relationships, and make a long term commitment to well-being (their own, one another’s and the group’s). Their exploration reinforces much of Peck’s message - the human yearning for a sense of belonging, kinship, and connection to a greater purpose. If we recognise this as fundamental to who we are, then we cannot overstate its importance in an online environment.

Without building community, learning online can be a sterile, lonely experience which will only appeal to a very small number of learners. It is important for well-being that both teacher and students feel a strong sense of connection to each other and a place to feel at home. It is therefore imperative that the sense of connection we experience in face to face activity is transferred online and that we enable learners to ‘gather’ virtually.

“Everyone in my distance class was super supportive and we were able to learn from each other.” (Adam, NetNZ Student Review 2018)

“As a whole my class was a very close knit group. This allowed for an easier environment to discuss sensitive social topics.” (Bethany, NetNZ Student Review 2017)

“Over all it is really good I feel that I’m getting a lot out of it and the website is helping me interact with other kids and make new friends because there are not many kids in my school.” (VLN Primary student)