MULTILINGUAL COMMUNITIES ENGAGING IN DISTANCE LEARNING: What Lessons Can Be Learned?

While distance education technology combines individual locations virtually, distance education communities are shaped by how participants share resources. Distance education communities are established over time through overlapping spheres of influence. Research is needed that considers how transnational families and students are either invited or discouraged from sharing their linguistic and cultural resources within distance education communities. This article describes the results of a 2-year qualitative study that examined distance education communities containing transnational multilingual elementary students and families. This article discusses factors that should be considered when supporting distance education programs.