eLearning: from social presence to co-creation in virtual education community

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an example of how the synergy of different competences in students’ teams, out-of-the-box thinking style and various motivation factors in a culturally diverse learning environment is the foundation for knowledge construction, driven by the idea generation process and co-creation – the so-called Medici effect, one of the benchmarks for excellence in eLearning. Design/methodology/approach – Developing this case study in the area of eLearning and Virtual Education Community (VEC) involves passing through various stages: from providing social presence and cooperation of students to co-creation in the eLearning environment by contriving ‘‘e-students’’ in the VEC whose profiles and learning processes are managed by pairs/teams of real students with different experiences and types of behaviour. Findings – The paper presents outcomes of the research focused on the formation of the VEC for students who are motivated in sharing common passions and principles, in developing good communicator-and-listener techniques, in studying and creating situations of success. Practical implications – In order to use and promote this pedagogical approach, enhancement of the desk-top technology is needed in terms of a user-friendly interface for creating a VEC where everyone, including people with special needs, feels comfortable, interested, and motivated to communicate, learn, construct, and share knowledge. Originality/value – The original ‘‘4A’’ (attention, actualization, attraction, and action) pedagogical model applied in eLearning is aimed at ensuring students’ social and cognitive presence through their e-profiles for self-assessment and positioning, adjusting learning trajectories and monitoring learning results, as well as assessing progress and final outcomes of learning.