Online Learning Myths and Realities

I’ve chosen this photo of Trinity Church in Boston to illustrate my first week in Introduction to Online Teaching. (It could just as easily be called Introduction to Online Learning.) It represents the juxtaposition of the old and the new. When I first saw this church from afar, dwarfed by the skyscrapers, I was not impressed by man’s progress. But the closer I got the more beauty I was able to see. That has been my relationship to the technological world, cold and impersonal as I thought it was, the closer I get and the more I understand it, the more inspiring it becomes. Because computers aren’t going away, I can pretend they don’t exist or I can allow a whole new area of learning to occur for myself and embrace the creativity they can offer me and my students. (I’m saying this even though this is the second time I’ve written this post…the first one is somewhere in the ethers, but not on my blog!)

I am very familiar with what it takes to be a successful online student, as the requirements are about the same as the low-residency program I enrolled in to finish my B.A. at Vermont College. Without face-to-face professor contact we had to be self-motivated, disciplined, open-minded, and willing to commit a lot of what was considered our ‘free time’ for the duration. We did not have the auditory or visual clues from a professor in a classroom setting. The learning was accomplished through research, reading and reflection, and we became critical thinkers. The only other thing an e-learner needs is a computer with a modem and the knowledge to use it.

I’ve taken several other online classes. I appreciate that Lisa, our instructor, has been extremely specific about when postings are due, what makes a substantial post, and what quantity of posts she’s looking for. Her expectations have been clear from the start of the course and she’s been thorough about telling us where everything belongs. This has made me feel comfortable in the course on the one hand. On the other hand, Lisa has taken me out of my comfort zone with this whole blog thing! I'm beginning to feel more comfortable about it, however, honestly, several hours ago there were several aaaarrrghs coming from my mouth. Thanks for helping me remember what it’s like to be a student.

Two misconceptions I had about online learning were that:

1) That geographically distant learners made up the majority of online students, when in fact it is traditional undergrads that are taking these courses, and
2) The very things that make online learning attractive: being able to fit it into a busy work schedule, and being able to be available for your family are the very things that often make students drop out of the class.

I do believe that learning can take place in many different settings and that we can learn to integrate what we love about the classroom into the cyberspace arena.