Unfortunately, the administrative structure of most colleges and universities makes developing and maintaining learning communities very difficult. Recently, however, the more comprehensive forms of groupware, especially those developed specifically for educational applications, have combined the three forms of electronic communication into a single web-based environment. The major components of the course content, as well as E-mail and conferencing, are accessible by the student from an opening page. Some of these environments, such as LearningSpace from Lotus and TopClass , are available commercially. Others, such as Nicenet's Internet Class Assistant and Madduck's Web Course in a Box , are free.
None are there yet, but they are getting closer to being an approximation of a learning community.
To put these ideas into focus, consider how a student in my Principles of Learning and Behavior class would use our VCS on a typical topic, Pavlovian conditioning. In advance of our first class meeting about Pavlovian conditioning, students come to the VCS, look at the schedule, and click on Pavlovian conditioning. This brings them to my web page, which begins with a fairly condensed exposition of the basics of Pavlovian conditioning. After they have read this basic material, they are presented with an active demonstration of Pavlovian conditioning. The conference section of our VCS appears in an accompanying frame, and they are asked to describe their reaction to the demonstration, using the concepts they have just read.