Design for co-moderation in online learning communities

摘要

The aim of this article is to generate implications for organising co-moderation within online learning communities (OLCs) in higher education. Data have been collected from a larger empirical study of a professional OLC in general medicine. By using a social perspective on learning, undertaken as a transactional approach, co-moderation can be understood in shared actions, independently of roles. Results indicate how conditions for organising co-moderation emerge as a collaborative affair, by shifting the focus away from the moderator role towards continual discussions on how to participate online. The implications guide organisers and participants of OLCs to create co-moderation that maintains engagement. As students make progress in learning and online participation, they need to continually negotiate their involvement in such a way that further realises the contract created at the beginning of the course.