Do your online courses tend to have higher withdrawal rates than their traditional or hybrid counterparts? Sense of isolation is often cited as a reason for lower retention rates in online courses; therefore, an abundance of literature advocates the benefits of building a close-knit online learning community. The question is, how do you build a true community that inspires peer-to-peer learning? In this session, presenters will demonstrate ways they have successfully leveraged technology to build this type of community, resulting in a decreased withdrawal rate (from 17 percent to 4 percent)in an actual online course. Specific strategies for using synchronous and asynchronous tools to create more involved learning communities will be discussed to offer participants new approaches for engaging and retaining online students.