Students working in an online environment are isolated from their educators and other learners. Asynchronous discussion forums are often used to provide the learner with assistance, support and the social structures more readily available in the face-to-face environment. A further benefit of online discussion forums is the enabling of the development of electronic learning communities. However, the operation of these communities has required learners and educators to adopt behaviours and strategies appropriate for communication within this medium. This paper presents a model for electronic learning communities developed from studies of computing students and their teaching staff. The studies found that the development of an electronic learning community was largely student driven; however, staff had key roles to play in this process. The paper concludes with a set of strategies for the establishment and effective management of these communities.
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