The Online Environment
I appreciate the online environment because I have students who would prefer, especially in basic "information dissemination" courses like a how to succeed in college course, to do it online but even in those, establishing a relationship with the school, faculty and classmates is crucial. Can the online environment ever match that level of rapport or can that only happen if we use programs like Skype (and then it becomes more on the ground anyway)?
Lainisha,
I have found a similar situation. It is inherent in the design because you have to communicate with the students digitally and oftentimes through written media and you can talk much faster than you can ever type. If you really know your topic you can almost "wing it" in many on ground courses, but online it does not work that way.
Herbert Brown III
I think that any avenue of instruction that is not face to face takes more effort on behalf of the instructor and the student. I teach a virtual class where students are able to see me on screen and vice versa, but it is still more difficult to connect with them than it is for me to connect with my live students.
Patrick,
I agree to a point that students will get out of the course what they put in to the course, based on effort. However, it is also the instructor's responsibility to design the course and content in such a way as to motivate the students, encourage their participation in the course learning community, and for then to reach for higher order thinking skills.
Herbert Brown III
I think it will always come down to the student. I can deliver quality lectures/material/etc to a face-to-face class and if a student doesn't want to engage or do the work, they'll only get so much out of the material.
If my online students are presented with quality material/media and don't want to spend the time needed to understand it, they'll only get so much out of it.
But the students that DO want to learn will learn from any technique, as long as the material presented holds quality information.
david,
I think you can get close. The level of interaction is all in the design. Even asynch. discussion can be very interactive if designed with open ended questions and regular feedback and interaction is provided. The student to student interaction you build in really adds to the students' sense of being a part of a community. The more the students have to interact with one another AND the instructor the more they feel connected with them all.
Herbert Brown III
