Social connectedness in Online and Blended Learning Communities: acceleration plan innovational education with ict, flexibilisation

Increasing flexibilisation and personalisation of education creates challenges in terms of
students’ social connectedness with each other, with the programme and with lecturers.
For this reason, a team of researchers and professors from four universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands carried out research into how a sense of community can be created in learning communities. On the basis of a literature review and design-oriented research, we conducted experiments aimed at fostering social connectedness in eight learning communities. These learning communities were in the domains of Nursing, Healthcare and Welfare Teacher Training, Management in Care, Teacher Training, and Nutrition and Dietetics (part-time, full-time and dual programme variants).