Community-Powered Learning-Insights From Community (re)Focus, 2022

The education industry today is witnessing a 360-degree makeover. The traditional modes of education are shifting from learning in colleges and universities to remote learning via dedicated online communities and platforms.

Educators are struggling to create online education strategies, build communication, and support students to keep them motivated. Online communities are the perfect medium to understand a student’s approach and keep them engaged for unhindered learning.

But what are some key metrics and strategies to make this learning experience wholesome and fulfilling? Let’s find out from the expert.

Our session on ‘Community Powered Learning’ was led by community expert Scott K. Wilder-VP of Customer, Partner, and Community Engagement, Base. Let’s get more insights into what the session was about.

Collaborative Learning: Communities & Customer Education

Scott started by explaining that communities are not restricted to simply managing discussion threads. Many organizations think of communities as siloed initiatives that add no value to the brand’s growth. But now, communities are integrated with numerous technologies like SSO, AI, and more.

He continued to explain that the education industry has benefited immensely because of these integrations. Practitioner-led community learning has proven to be a game-changer for various institutions in delivering sub-par experiences. By adopting a collaborative learning approach, experts can easily teach courses virtually across multiple touchpoints –

• Education
• Advocacy
• Community

Collaborative Learning: What are the Owned Properties?

Moving ahead, Scott stated that students now prefer learning using bite-sized snippets of information such as videos, snapshots, etc. Through communities, institutions can create study groups within communities to make it an interactive experience for learners.

He explained a use case that via communities, institutions could create quizzes or ask and motivate students to sign up to get all their questions answered. They can be asked to be a part of a cohort first, and then a study group.

An Insight Into the Non-Owned Properties

Thinking beyond the owned properties, communities like TikTok, YouTube, Slack, Discord, and more are succeeding in their initiatives when it comes to education. Scott explained that these communities are spaces where brands can bring in collaborative learning and engage with their users in a more humanized and organic way.

Talking about advocacy, you can partner with your community champions and customers and have them represent you on different outposts. This will help you, as a brand, to identify various channels where people wish to learn more about your services and products.

Micro-Learning in a Collaborative Environment

Scott continued to explain that the CIA’s (champions, Influencers, and advocates) can be people from your own company, external SMEs, or practitioners.

He also mentioned that people take 8 minutes or less for people to grasp text-based or interactive content like podcasts via communities. Brands should adopt the approach of spoonful, micro-learning to create more engaging experiences.

Wrapping Up

‘It’s a journey from transaction to relationship mindset.’ – Scott K. Wilder

Summing up the session, Scott explained that delivering an integrated experience to educators and learners will not only improve engagement but will also boost advocacy efforts. Brands must avoid using long pieces of content. They should resort to a strategy that includes bullets, action points, bytes, and scoops.

Explore More About Building Cutting-Edge Online Communities. Talk to Us!