Collaborative online learning communities are at the heart of effective digital learning. Benefits of community and connectedness in online education include actively enhancing the learner experience by enabling collaboration, confidence, and ultimately, learner success. But creating these types of learning environments can be easier said than done, and it requires intentional, thoughtful design choices, such as improving accessibility and incorporating collaborative activities.

Read more about how to build better online learning communities below.

When all learners can access and engage with their course content, they can participate fully in discussions, group work, and collaborative activities.

Design with accessibility in mind

In order to feel connected to their online course, learners want to feel included in the design thought process and valued in the output. One way to help achieve this is by ensuring accessibility. This isn’t just a moral imperative, but also a cornerstone of community building in online learning. When all learners can access and engage with their course content, they can participate fully in discussions, group work, and collaborative activities. This ensures that no one is left on the margins, fostering a shared sense of belonging. In courses with truly accessible design, learners don’t just consume material—they contribute to the collective experience, strengthening the learning community as a whole.

Accessible design means anticipating different learner needs from the outset. Below are some examples of ways to improve accessibility in your online course.

Captions and transcripts

When captions and transcripts for videos and audio content are accurate, they’re highly effective at helping learners follow the course effectively. Plus, not only do they help with accessibility in digital learning, but they’re also a valuable resource as a text version of audio/video content, aiding in comprehension and note-taking.

If your audio/video content has a written script for recording, this can easily be used as a basis for a transcript. Otherwise, there are many high-quality transcription technologies available.

With insendi, you can easily create and add subtitles to your videos, as well as provide text transcripts and audio-only options for learners who may benefit from them. Giving your learners multiple options to interact with their course’s content allows them to pick the best way for them to learn, helps them feel included, and creates an environment ripe for community building.

Image alt texts

Visual content may be an integral part of online learning, but not everyone can benefit from it. Including alternative text (alt text) for images increases accessibility by giving descriptions that can, for example, be easily read by screen readers.

Alt text can usually be added to an image by right-clicking and choosing the relevant button in the drop-down menu, but insendi course builders can easily add and edit image alt text directly in the integration as shown below. For guidance on how (and when) to provide alt text, check out this decision tree from the Web Accessibility Initiative.

These are just a couple of ways to improve accessibility in your online course一there are many more avenues to explore. With insendi, however, ensuring inclusivity in your online courses is easy from the get-go. Our technology facilitates the use of screen readers and offers tools like audio transcripts and rich alt text for images—without requiring a single line of code. This means academic staff and learning designers can build inclusive courses at scale, without relying on tech specialists.

The solution lies in engagement by design, using collaborative activities that spark interaction and create a sense of belonging, and going beyond text-heavy discussion boards.

Encourage authentic interactions

One of the biggest challenges in online education is recreating the sense of community that naturally emerges in a physical classroom. Learners may report feelings of isolation when studying online, particularly those who are taking part in distance learning and are geographically distant from their peers, which can impact motivation, retention, and learning outcomes. The solution lies in engagement by design, using collaborative activities that spark interaction and create a sense of belonging, and going beyond text-heavy discussion boards. Learners thrive when they can collaborate, create, and reflect together—not just passively consume content. Below, we will look at the two main types of relationships within an online learning context: peer-to-peer and learner-instructor.

How to facilitate peer-to-peer relationship building

Peer-to-peer interactions, such as collaboration and knowledge sharing, are a key driver of learner satisfaction and motivation in online learning. Collaboration increases social presence, which helps learners have the confidence to learn in a supportive environment. Shared knowledge building also helps course participants to co-construct understanding and learn from each other, rather than learning in isolation.

Incorporating opportunities for collaboration and teamwork throughout your online course is one of the best ways to achieve this. With insendi, you get access to 25+ pre-built activities designed specifically to help your learners feel part of a close-knit learning environment. These ready-to-use activities can support community building from the very first session. Some of our favourites for this include:

	Geotagging This activity collects location-based responses and displays them on a world map, illustrating global perspectives. It’s great for engaging learners from around the world and improving connectedness.
Whiteboard Students submit text responses to a vertical board and vote on peers' submissions. Higher-voted responses move to the top, encouraging collaborative idea development.
	Live class Allow participants to learn together in real time by scheduling live online sessions with a date, time, and link, connecting synchronous events with course content for a cohesive learning flow.

Want to explore these activities and more? Take a look at our interactive demo below👇

How to improve learner-instructor communication

Feedback fuels progress, and regular, timely feedback not only guides students academically but also reinforces a sense of presence and connection. This helps remind learners that they are seen and supported. When instructors respond to questions, comment on reflections, or acknowledge contributions, it humanises the digital space and builds trust. This two-way dialogue helps reduce feelings of isolation, encourages participation, and creates a culture where learners feel comfortable engaging with both faculty and peers. This is an essential ingredient in building a strong online learning community.

Insendi allows instructors to collect learner reflections at any stage in the learning journey, helping them understand sentiments and where participants might need extra support. There are also various ways insendi facilitates feedback to learners, for example:

	Leave general, pre-written feedback that will be shown to learners after completing an activity.
	Give personalised feedback and endorse certain submissions to show appreciation and acknowledge hard work. You can also leave multi-modal feedback to suit you or your learners’ preferences, such as text, audio, or video formats.

An inclusive, connected online learning community doesn’t just happen—it’s built through careful design and thoughtful technology. But difficulties arise when online courses are created with technology that doesn’t support thoughtful design from the outset, facilitate accessibility, or make it easy to offer ample opportunities for interaction.

With insendi, institutions can empower academic teams to create high-quality digital learning journeys that feel human, connected, and supportive, ensuring that no one is excluded from the community learning experience.