Building a Sense of Community for Text-Based Computer-Mediated Communication Courses

Building a strong sense of community in text-based computer-mediated communication courses can be a challenge to instructors. This article presents how a sound practical approach called STEP is implemented into one text-based fully online course and one hybrid course at a university in the northeastern region of the United States. Students' perceptions on connectedness and learning are measured toward the sense of community. The effectiveness of the systematic approach with a variety of strategies in building a sense of community in both fully online and hybrid courses has been confirmed in this study. Discussion and conclusion of building the sense of community for text-based computer-mediated communication courses are included.

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