Virtual Communities of Enquiry: An Argument for Their Necessity and Advice for Their Creation

In this article it is argued that communities of enquiry can and should be developed in courses delivered online. These communities make the most of the available technological resources and overcome some otherwise daunting challenges faced in online course delivery. Indeed, asynchronous tools like discussion boards offer a range of benefits for the creation of such communities that are unobtainable in the traditional classroom. Further, the authors also point to some simple measures that have been found to be successful in helping to create net-based communities. Finally, they draw on recent empirical evidence to demonstrate that online communication tools can, if appropriately employed, offer unique benefits for the creation of learning communities.