Creating and Sustaining Community in a Virtual Environment - Information Communication Technologies for Human Services Education and Delivery - page 111

DeSigning a virtual community a face-to-face community setting. Dialogue, staff

development, discussion groups, etc. can extend
boundaries and reach into the more geographically
isolated areas. Connections among the members
of an online community can take place anywhere,
anytime as long as the Internet is accessible. The
key to an online community group working suc-
cessfully is in the balance between synchronous
and asynchronous interactions between those who
use the online learning community. Geographic
boundaries do not play a role in this interaction
working successfully; it is the members who
make it work.
Technology's potential for instruction and
learning can pose numerous challenges to the
members of an established community. Despite
its potential for innovative teaching and learning
practices, technology also contributes to an un-
fortunate division between the information-rich
and the information-poor. The information-poor
are often minorities, low-income, or children in
single-parent homes. This group also includes
those who may wish to interact with others or
may wish to gain further education but cannot
do so because of geographic isolation (Ho &
Burniske, 2005). It is a hardship to have to travel
to a location where these technologies are avail-
able. Therefore, being active in a community is
not always possible and this can compound an
individual's feeling of isolation.
The advancements in technologies have re-
cently begun to transcend the boundaries of time
and space and to create online learning com-
munities for interactions with others around the
world. While one does not need to be physically
near another member of the same community, it
is critical to be alert and active in the community
so that the boundaries of distance and information
levels are not obvious.

Being an active and effective member of a vir-
tual community requires not only the proper
equipment but also careful consideration and
planning on behalf of all those involved. This
includes the designer of the community. There is
an extra workload imposed on both the member
and the designer if both are to be active in this
setting. The members have to be willing to take
an active responsibility because, no matter how
much effort one exerts in this setting, it will not
be beneficial unless they actually spend time
interacting with one another. The designer needs
to also be interactive if they wish others to feel
that they are not using this community without
any guidance or support. The leader in the group
(whether or not it is the designer) should guide
the members in establishing the direction of the
discussions and the goals that the members want
from this group.
People rely on the members of the community
for a number of reasons and in all areas of their
lives. Communities are defined in many ways—by
geographic region, by demographics, by topics,
or by interests. The community may evolve over
time and change as the core members' interests
change. As a community grows subcommunities
may emerge as people find themselves in different
categories. The designer of the original commu-
nity needs to be prepared for this to happen. This
may happen unexpectedly and the community
membership can either increase or decrease ac-
cording to the interests of its members. One needs
to realize that the make-up of the community is an
ever-changing presence defined by the members
involved. This includes the resources available to
them. Resources does not always mean the Inter-
net, or newspapers, etc. In this environment it can
mean the knowledge of those in the community.
As the members grow and learn, the information
shared (i.e., the resources) changes. This can
cause the memberships' interests to change and
therefore the membership to change.