Building Internet learning communities

The push by education providers towards the internationalisation of courses has seen a growth in Internet based learning environments. The design of these environments needs to take into account the normal learning methods of students. In particular, much learning undertaken in a non-Internet environment involves a significant component of interpersonal interaction. The interactive relationship between teacher and student in a formal learning environment can be important for successful learning. For an Internet environment to be successful then, there needs to be adequate provision for this interaction. Rather than building Internet learning environments, Internet learning communities should be envisaged, where the normal interpersonal interaction associated with face to face learning environments is facilitated.