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The capacity for online learning environments to provide quality learning experiences for students has been the focus of much speculation and debate in the higher education sector from the late 1990s to the present day. In this area, quality has become synonymous with engaging students in a learning community. How do students experience community? Do they create it themselves? Can we design the learning experiences and the eLearning environment itself, to support the development of learning communities? Community in the Electronic Classroom explores these questions. Community in the Electronic Classroom: Virtual Social Networks and Student Learning provides new evidence of the benefit of community for students studying online and argues that future online learning environments should be shaped by five key principles designed to foster a sense of social connection between students.

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Dr Lisa Harris is Discipline Leader Social Science at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests include Technology and Society, Public Policy and improving on-campus and online teaching quality in a university setting.

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