Well actually, the answer is an overwhelming no.
It's a rather new and exciting concept that students actually take part in a social setting completely removed from their physical space - the online community. This is a community that people build based on the interactions with people in the online forum - often with people that they don't know. The very definition of community is being reshaped by the concept of the online setting.
In a presentation by Michael Wesch to the Library of Congress, he looks at this phenomenon of the online community from an anthropological standpoint, focusing primarily on the community built through Youtube. Although this video is quite long, the first 20 minutes provide a very interesting view of Youtube.
Although this video does focus solely on the community of Youtube, it is still very intriguing. Wesch states that "Youtube is a medium for community." Clearly, Wesch believes in the presence of the online community in Youtube. In fact, in one of the opening statements, he states that Youtube is facilitating "new forms of expression, and new forms of community, of new forms of identity." Youtube is allowing people who are online to challenge traditional definitions of community, and to forge connections across larger distances than ever before.
People may question whether this community really exists in places like Youtube. But as Wesch points out, "almost ten thousand videos on Youtube out of the two hundred thousand are addressed to the Youtube community every day." That's a lot of people addressing this online community at once. But what's even more exciting is that people respond. Youtube facilitates what are called "response videos" that create links between users' commentaries, and allow Youtube users to forge links between themselves.
But does this online community extend to other areas of the internet? Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and even blog forums such as Tumblr or Blogger create an online presence and help to build networks of communications that could be considered a community. But beyond these sites, even information sites can help to build communities. This is done through hyperlinking.The concept of hyperlinking is to tie information together.This means that different web pages can be linked together to create a sense of connection, and through these connections, hyperlinks create community. The more a web page is linked or references other pages or other words, the more that page is being present in the online community. As Keven Kelly states, the hyperlink is "the most powerful invention of the decade." Hyperlinking allows users to transcend time, distance, cultures - any barrier imaginable. Hyperlinking allows people to participate in the online community and engage in a larger conversation.
Why is this important? As discussed in Cognitive Surplus with Clay Shirky, the more people that gain access to that online commuity, the more opportunity there is to have communal creations. People can work together to take unimaginable concepts and make them into real entities. But this can only be accomplished if people make connections online and build a sense of community in order to work together online. At its best, "linking unleashes involvement and interactivity at levels once thought unfashionable or impossible" (Kelly).
This online community is such an exciting concept when it comes to interactive learning. We have already discussed that hyperlinking can facilitate exploratory practices online, that can lead students to more information. But in addition, hyperlinking allows students to forge connections through that information and build upon it while working with their peers. Kelly states that "the deep enthusiasm for making things, for interacting more deeply than just choosing options" is the force of the internet, and is the factor that draws students in. This online community makes students feel welcome, it makes them feel like they belong, and it makes them feel heard. The key aspect of the online community is that it will allow students to feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts and stand on the shoulders of others.
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Sources:
"An Anthropological Introduction to Youtube." Michael Wesch. Presentation at the Library of Congress, uploaded to Youtube.com. July 2008. Link.
Kelly, Kevin. "We Are the Web." Wired. 13.8 (2005).
Purves, Alan C. The Web of Text and the Web of God: An Essay on the Third Information Transformation. New York: Guilford Publications. 1998.
Pictures From: blog.tickyes, and blog.pleasefund