ABSTRACT
Becoming a learning community can be thought of as both a means and a goal for online classes; not all classes are able to achieve full development of this potential. This chapter explores research and theory concerned with social support for learning and the development of virtual learning communities in online educational environments. This is an important topic both because of the continuing emphasis on social learning in general, and because of historical questions concerning the ability of online learning environments to support affective communication and the development of social relationships. In addition, research on online learning has consistently identified asynchronous course discussion as one of its more unique and promising features. This has led to considerable investigation into the phenomenon; in particular, into social interaction among discussion participants and its relationship to the development of learning communities.
