Introduction
Marlene is Flexible Learning Coordinator at the Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE (SA), and State Manager for Learnscope in South Australia. As a Flexible Learning Leader of 2002, Marlene’s project was to investigate the concepts surrounding sustainable online learning communities and networks to explore and evaluate the reality versus the theory of building learning communities. As a result of her investigation, Marlene has developed a model for community sustainability. She notes -  “I’ve confirmed something which I think I already suspected: successful communities are not about communities at all; they are about individuals.”

This article summarises the outcomes of Marlene's project. The full report can be found at the link at the top of this article. To find out what Marlene is currently involved in, select the link at the bottom this article entitled – 'Marlene’s 2003 Update'. To hear about her current thinking, don’t miss her presentation at the NET*Working 2003 Conference!

Professional Development Goal
· To search for what makes online communities successful and sustainable

Strategies
Contacting previous Flexible Learning Leaders/Fellows, updating knowledge of the current theory, investigating successful models, work shadowing with the TAFE NSW PDN Unit, conferences, mentor, post-graduate online study.

Outcomes
· Published a website of my FLL journey: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~marleman/index.html
· Created a smaller version of this website for publishing to the Knowledge Tree
· Prepared the content on one sheet for printed distribution (see FLL website)
· Constructed a professional network
· Gained a “working knowledge” of current thinking and opinion on the subject
· Compared theory with reality, encouraging subsequent investigation
· Developed a clearer understanding of the TAFE structure of another state
· Gained a broader understanding of community and a meaningful action learning experience
· Gained a first-hand student view of the online course experience
· Developed my capacity for leadership
· Achieved a completely altered view of the work world and my role within it

Learning & implications

Summary of learning 
The model of a successful online community is:
If the Participation inside an online community is made up of Individuals who have these positive Feelings, then the Community will grow.

A successful community cannot be built, but it can be shaped by:
· technology (a small part)
· focus on each individual rather than on a composite and homogeneous group
· ensuring each individual has positive feelings, and is important to the group
· handing over as much of the ownership as possible to the community itself, allowing it to change over time
· being clear on the purpose (identity) of the group and whether it will meet needs
· ensuring a sense of place, cyclic events and rituals
· recognising and rewarding contributions 

Implications
The skills involved in shaping vigorous and sustainable learning communities lie in a focus on humanity, not technology.

Communities survive because they have an indisputable identity, and people participate because they relate to that identity.

Any community building exercise which deals with community members as VET practitioners and ignores the balance of what makes them an individual, is not going to be sustainable because it is only focussing on one small part of that person.

Communities are a way to elicit and share practical know-how that would otherwise remain untapped – tacit, or informal knowledge.

Adult education therefore provides content far above that written into a Training Package.

The future
· Currently attempting to encourage a Community of Practice for all the South Australian Flexible Learning Leaders
· Will present a paper and workshop at the Educause international conference, and at Net*Working 2003
· There will be an increased focus on the individual, and less on technology which will resume its rightful place as a learning tool
· The move is away from content development to emphasis on e-facilitation skills and the development of a sense of community within online courses. This links strongly with flexible learning, and ultimately, customer service and client choice
· It will be essential for VET to work toward providing the structure to support and encourage these changes by
- urgently addressing current difficulties with measurement processes
- providing ongoing professional development in e-facilitation and community development
- recognising the changing role of VET staff and the impact that a focus on the individual will make on teaching and support staff

Marlene’s 2003 Update: 

http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/leaders/fl_leaders/fll02/updates/update_manto.pdf