Participation in an Educational Online Learning Community

This paper discusses the issue of learner participation in a net-based higher education course. With the starting point in recent educational policies formulated by the European Union and the results of an evaluation report from the Swedish Net University, I raise the question of which pedagogical aspects need to be considered in order to support active learner participation in these types of learning environments. Based on analyzed data from 19 semi-structured interviews with trainees on a Swedish net-based teacher training programme supported by Information and Communication Technologies, I attempt to show that in order to become a member of such educational online learning community, each trainee is required to be active and hold an inclusive attitude towards the other members. Further, it seems that the trainees often had to rely on and trust each other due to the sparse communication with their teacher trainers. I conclude this paper by discussing the need for a pedagogical approach that relies heavily on social, collaborative and ethical aspects of learning as a starting point for the design of online learning communities to support the kind of education needed for the 21st century.