Online communities are meeting places for learners on the Internet designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration among people who share common interests and needs. Most participants are drawn by an opportunity to share a sense of community with like-minded strangers, regardless of were they live. School communities can be distinguished by goal: there are communities of practice (teachers in the same practice or department sharing information), communities of learning (student and teacher study groups), and communities of purpose (project groups, committees, etc.). This paper will focus on online communities in K-12 school settings and the higher education communities that support them. It will describe some of the initiatives between the Department of Defense and the University of Hawai'i occurring right now and also offer the author's perspectives on needs and opportunities for the future.