“An effective […] learning community has the capacity to promote and sustain the learning of all professionals in the school community with the collective purpose of enhancing pupil learning” Bolam  A learning community is an online education platform where teachers and pupils can interact with each other, for example, Fronter. I will now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of learning communities from the perspective of both, pupils and teachers.

Implications of learning communities from the perspective of pupils

Advantages of learning communities for pupils:- 

• Pupils can benefit greatly from learning communities if used properly.
• Learning communities enable pupils to submit work and get feedback on their work. This allows them to use the resources available on the learning community to enhance their learning, making them feel more confident in their learning .
• Pupils can keep up-to-date with lessons and work if they missed a day. This prevents them from falling behind in their work.
• Pupils can communicate with one another, work together and  support each others learning through a safe platform. This relates to Vygotsky’s theory of Zone of proximal Development whereby a child is supported by someone who is more knowledgeable (see picture and video below). 
• Pupils have the ability to contact teachers if necessary.
• Pupils are able to work at their own pace – they are able to go back and fourth from lessons allowing them to feel more confident in the topic before moving on, thus becoming confident learners.

Disadvantages of learning communities for pupils:-

• Pupils with no internet access or lack of technology will not be able to access the content on the learning communities. This may result in the pupil falling behind.
• Some pupils may find it difficult to use learning communities such as fronter and therefore, do not use it.
• Some pupils may surf the web whilst doing set work thus completing their work to a lower standard.

Implications of learning communities from the perspective of teachers

Advantages of learning communities for teachers:- 

• Teachers are able to monitor and track pupils progress. They also have the ability to mark and provide feedback on their student’s work.
• Teachers are able to share and obtain information from other teachers around the world.  This makes it easier for teachers to obtain ideas and plan their lessons.

Disadvantages of learning communities for teachers:- 

• Have to take out extra time to ensure the learning community is up-to-date.
• Might be difficult to use and therefore do not use it.

In conclusion, I believe  learning communities are an excellent tool for both pupils and teachers. It helps pupils to become confident learners and enables pupils and  teachers to stay in contact with one another and as Ernest Boyer’s (1995) research suggested, a successful school is that of connection, where pupils and teachers can communicate with one other. I will leave you with an article (see article linked below)  which discusses the benefits of VLEs both inside and outside of the classroom for both teachers and pupils.

http://www.vles4vet.eu/Benefits_of_VLE.pdf