The pedagogic exploitation of cyberspace (e.g. internet, email, web, videoconferencing, discussion fora, chatrooms) has become very attractive for both distance education and traditional face-to-face courses. The ultimate goal is that users in all types of programmes can contact learners and educationists who work in different institutions and spaces and can collaborate, exchange ideas and expand their views. It is argued that, in this way, 'virtual learning communities' are constructed where learners' interaction and collective work affects growth of learning and competences. Although such learning environments are offered mainly for adult learners, there is a tendency for developing resources (or making available resources through sites) and for structuring 'communities' that aim to attract learners and teachers in the primary or secondary levels of schooling. How such learning communities are being structured, what are the explicit and/or hidden agendas, how they grow over time, how they address the needs of learners and teachers, how they re-contextualise content and what is their impact (if any) for traditional courses and curricula remain open questions for educationists, researchers and designers. For the particular case of designing curricular activities (or courses) for learning school mathematics in technological contexts, there is awareness that a number of parameters influence the resulting educational experience (e.g. the type of software, the structure of the online context, the nature of the pedagogy, the ways teachers and pupils connect with the technology and with themselves: for more details see Chronaki, 2000). Overall, there is agreement that particular types of software, learning environments and interventions can promote meaningful mathematical experiences and can have potential for learning (Balacheff and Kaput, 1996). More recently there is evidence from specific experimental studies that certain online environments can enhance students' experiences on mathematical topics. However, one must admit that the majority of available online resources addressing school mathematics are neither interactive in nature nor well integrated into a didactic or pedagogic context (Chronaki and Stoikos, 2003). This paper aims to present a model of basic principles for the pedagogic design of a learning context for school mathematics based on the idea of a learning community and taking into account epistemological, cognitive, didactic and social issues. These basic principles (i.e. development, access, participation, engagement, reflection, critique, imagination) belong in three dimensions: a) promoting learners' own activity and participation in tasks of shared interest, b) facilitating development and access to mathematical knowledge and literacy, and c) encouraging identity growth via reflection, critique and imagination. The development of this model (principles and dimensions) is heavily based on the recent work of Etienne Wegner (1998) concerning the design of learning communities. Discussions are facilitated through the example of an experimental project (i.e. the iris project) which uses the introduced model as a basis of its design. References Chronaki, A. 2000. Computers in Classrooms: Teachers and Learners in New Roles Chronaki, A. and Stoikos, I. 2003. Online Resources for School Mathematics: A content analysis. 6th International Conference for Teaching Mathematics with Technology. Conference Proceedings. University of Thessaly. Volos. Greece. Balacheff, N. and Kaput, J. 1996. Computer-Based Learning Environments in Mathematics. In A. J. Bishop et al. (eds.) International Handbook of Mathematics Education. Kluwer Academic Press. Dordrecht. Wegner, E. 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge University Press.