As distance education grows, many educators are concerned about the quality and amount of communication their distance students will experience with their peers and with their instructors. Please take this short survey about communication in the online education realm. Results are immediately available. After completing the survey, provide a short reflective answer in the comments thread:
Why do you believe that communication in an online class is/is not equivalent to communication in a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom?
Please check back and respond to at least one of your classmates within the comment section. Thank you for your participation!
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If structured and designed correctly, I do believe that communication in an online course can be equivalent to that of a traditional learning environment. Online students experience more freedom and confidence to express their beliefs and contribute to discussion in multiple ways. There are so many tools that give students numerous opportunities to communicate in a number of ways. Also, despite the lack of face-to-face communication, online learners have a wide array of resources and information available to them. This makes the communication even better, as students can pull from so many places.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy! I appreciate your comment that online communication can even be better, in some instances, than that in a traditional face-to-face environment. Many find it difficult to believe that I have more genuine communication with my distance students than I did with my traditional classes. Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to effective distance education, many of which can be handled, as you suggest, with careful pre-planning. Thank you for your comment! - Rebecca
ReplyDeleteI agree that pre-planning is extremely necessary when planning for a successful online course, especially when it comes to the problems that may arise when technology is used. I myself prefer online discussion boards in comparison with traditional classroom discussions. I feel they give more time to ponder and there is less stress in participating!
Delete\Leah/
I believe that communication in the learning process of an online classroom can be equal to that of a traditional classroom but it must also be considered different in that tonal inflections and facial expressions are absent, technological factors must be in place, and lack of physical presence affects motivational factors (Simonson, et al., 2012). This requires that instructors develop other means of establishing the classroom environment to keep students motivated and interested in collaborating. Technology
ReplyDelete\Leah/
Reference
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S. Albright, M. Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc..
Leah, the lack of a physical presence and the ability to interpret these silent cues is a great distinction between traditional courses and online distance courses (Simonson, et al., 2012). Many find that they tend to enjoy one or another, however. The longer I work online both as an instructor and as a student, I find that I clearly prefer online interaction. This surprises me greatly! However, many of my colleagues would strongly disagree. Thank you for your comment!
DeleteSimonson, M., Smaldino, S. Albright, M. Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.