Developing Creative Online Learning Communities: A Case Study of Student Perceptions

This paper is a qualitative case study measuring student perceptions of a pedagogical strategy for developing creative interactive online communities. The article reviews a teaching strategy for increasing student engagement through the use of creative and artistic expression. Using "Digital Moments" as a way to build inclusion in two synchronous graduate online courses, the author describes how the teaching strategy increased student participation, developed student ownership of learning, and encouraged collaborative processes between participants. This teaching strategy makes a significant contribution to digital pedagogy. Although the growth of online learning is quite substantial, our ability to develop online communities that inspire creative thinking has not kept pace. With online education becoming an integral part of academic institutions and corporations worldwide, support for such endeavors can be critical to the innovative and nimble approach required of organizations facing the fourth industrial revolution. This paper analyses and interprets the graduate students' perceptions of the value of using "Digital Moments". Specifically, the research methodology involved using a 12 question online survey, followed by semi-structured open-ended one on one interviews. Data were analysed using SPSS software and examined to reveal that overall student perceptions of the level of creativity in the online community were improved using this pedagogical approach. This also improved a sense of belonging and engagement in the class, and improved the learning environment by increasing connections between and among students and the instructor.