Learning Communities Online (LCO)
This page defines the term Learning Community Online and provides access to the new draft handbook developed to assist schools interested in exploring this kind of collaborative arrangement.
Learning Communities Online
A handbook for Schools
29 November 2002
To assist schools which are considering how they might use a combination of information and communication technologies (ICT) to increase student access to quality teaching and learning programmes, particularly at senior secondary school level, the Ministry of Education and the Correspondence School have developed a handbook that provides a framework for establishing a `Learning Community Online' (LCO). The contents of this handbook draw upon the experiences of a number of schools and individuals who have been through the process of establishing and maintaining such learning communities.
The term Learning Community Online refers to a group of schools that are bound together by formal agreement to provide enhanced learning opportunities for students across electronic networks. It has been chosen to differentiate this arrangement from other forms of clustering or school networks that may exist. The three words in the title are each important in defining the arrangement. `Learning' denotes the nature of the relationship among the members (i.e. more than simply a school or class); and `Online' describes the means by which these learning communities are developed.
The first draft of the handbook can be downloaded from LCO handbook this draft version has been released for evaluation and comment. If you would like to suggest any changes and improvements to the writing team, please email ict.strategy@minedu.govt.nz