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Online expectations If you're returning to college after many years, especially if you'll be trying out an online class for the first time, you're probably asking, "What can I expect?" We all go back to school with experience of being in a classroom. Typically, it was a traditional classroom where the teacher, who is expert in a field, transfers knowledge to students through lectures and testing. So that's what we expect now, too. But times are changing. Some teachers are reshaping their role from lecturer to that of guide and facilitator, and classrooms are becoming discussion groups. This is a good trend for adult students. With our diverse experience, we have much to learn from each other by sharing and examining multiple points of view, and challenging each other's assumptions, in both formal and informal discussions. These discussions happen naturally face-to-face at work or in the classroom. And they have even more learning potential in the virtual classroom where students gather from all over the world and log into the conversation whenever convenient. At least, that's the expectation I had when I signed up for my online writing class. I do like the class. It has already helped me hone my writing skills. The instructor is excellent (and very diplomatic), the "lectures" are interesting and the homework assignments get me writing. The course method creates a unique learning experience – we learn by writing, but also by critiquing. Each of us writes a weekly piece to be reviewed by the instructor, and twice during the course, we submit an original essay for review by our classmates. As reviewers, we follow strict guidelines – 2 positive comments and 2 "constructive criticisms" (not negative!). This can be very intimidating for the author, and the reviewers find out it's a lot more work than anticipated. But I discovered that I learned as much from my critical reading and analysis, and by reading the comments on other students' works, as by writing and receiving feedback on my own work. There's just one problem with this method – it doesn't work if people don't actively participate! We lost half our online class in just one month – I think. Maybe they're still here, or maybe they dropped out, or went on vacation, or just got busy? I've been in many physical classes where people dropped out. It's discouraging to see the class dwindle, but at least you know who you're talking to! I found it much more difficult to log onto an online class and not know who's there, and especially to offer my work for critique and get a response from less than half the class. Is this negative feedback or just no feedback from the silent ones? And the whole class grinds to a halt if students don't submit work for review. We started out strong – 4 out of 4 students submitted work for review in the first week. By the second week only 80% participated, and by the fifth week (only halfway through the class), no on submitted work. Student critiques also declined, from nearly 80% of the class in the first week to less than 40% in the fourth. This doesn't mean that the works submitted and the critiques offered weren't good. But look at how much opportunity we're missing. The more perspectives, the better. The more feedback, the more valuable the experience. This situation certainly didn't meet my expectations! Last week I shared my frustration in an open letter to my classmates. The few responses took me by surprise. Only one student said she was troubled by the lack of participation, saying "I was wondering if anyone was really interested in this class anymore." Others noticed, but didn't seem to mind. Why? I think it's because they didn't expect a participatory experience. They expected the more traditional classroom, where they would work one-on-one with an instructor. One student, puzzled, said "writing is a solitary activity" – she never considered learning from her classmates. Others, equally confused, asked me what it was I wanted. I suspect that the students who dropped out were uncomfortable with the level of work and commitment required by this online discussion format. And I think the students remaining are satisfied with the class primarily because they are getting good feedback from the instructor. But as we head into the eighth week of class and lack of participation is reaching a critical level, I am disappointed. What did I learn from this experience? What you can expect – the actual experience of an online class – will be determined to a large extent by what expectations you start with. And if each of us expects to learn from our fellow students, we'll be more committed to participate in these discussions ourselves. 8/16/02 TOP |
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