Institutional, program, and professional community: a framework for online higher education.

This paper reviews theories regarding online learning communities in higher education and their relevance to online degree programs. While these theories are used extensively to promote and maintain community within online courses, little attention has been placed on broader factors that can influence perceptions of online community. Based on our research as well as an extensive review of the literature, this paper articulates limitations in current research and posits a framework to look at institutional, program, and professional layers. The framework also considers community salience from these layers at various points in a learner's program. Based on the layers presented, the framework proposes that true communities are shaped by myriad partners and that these partnerships should not be ignored in community research. Furthermore, it admonishes educators to provide guidance to learners regarding the purposes of community formation both during and beyond program completion. Lastly, the paper articulates needs for further research as online degree programs consider community development and maintenance through more holistic approaches.

First and Second Order Barriers to Teaching in K-12 Online Learning.

While an extensive literature base has focused on online learning, fewer studies have explored the unique implementation challenges in K-12 education. This case study addresses this gap by exploring how an urban, diverse school migrated to a fully online format through the lens of the first- and second-order barriers framework. In terms of first-order barriers, the study highlights the importance of (a) time needed to design and adapt instructional materials, (b) accountability within an online format, and (c) administrator support in the communication process. For second-order barriers, teachers commented on how they perceived online learning to impact important teaching activities (e.g., accountability, timeliness of feedback) and the teacher-student dynamic. Finally, they commented on the challenge to support the socio-emotional component of students and parents in online learning, which is important for school culture and community.