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Online Course Journal
 BackOpen Letter Shared With My Online Writing Class Dear Classmates, When I opened the door to our classroom this morning, and yesterday, and the day before, no one was there. Maybe the room has been changed? I walk down the school's halls – still no one, but I sense something or someone lurking in the shadows, silently watching every move I make, just out of my sight. Is this what it's like to take an online class? I knew the class would be "virtual," but I didn't think the students would be, too. We had such a promising start. The class was crowded during the first few sessions, filled with dynamic discussions and critiques more thoughtful and insightful than could be imagined of more casual spoken comments. I eagerly anticipated learning from the unique perspectives you bring from so many different backgrounds. Then, inexplicably, attendance (or is it participation – I can't see who's really here) dwindled. Now the Booth is as empty as last week's chat session, and no one's been at the Blackboard for several days. The words scrawled on the Blackboard just hang there, waiting to be read, ready to be answered, haunting reminders of a brief occupation. And my mouse clicks are echoing in my ears like magnified footsteps in empty corridors. In the first week, when I put my work up for critique, I was excited to get your responses. You didn't disappoint me! This week, as I head for the Booth to post my work, I hesitate, take a few steps forward, stop, turn back, re-edit and nudge myself forward again. I can handle exposure to critique, but silence is deadly. Where is the community I so hoped to find? I believe in the power of the Internet to bring people together. That's why I developed my website, the Adult Student Center. The Center is the result of my own frustrating experience as an adult student unconnected with other students and teachers in a traditional college environment. My goal is to provide the community we miss as older students. I have read of a phenomenon of "vanishing" online students – about how easy it can be to escape into the invisibility of an online class. Somehow, I never expected to have the same problem in a writing class. I re-read our bios, and am again amazed at how much more people reveal of themselves in writing. We seem to have all the ingredients we need to form a cohesive learning group. We're all enthusiastic and motivated to learn, we have a common goal to improve our writing skills, and through GWW and Internet technology, we have the opportunity. So what have I learned? That I need the give and take of on-going group discussion to learn and grow. And that, even in the best circumstances, opportunity is wasted without personal commitment. I was describing these virtual experiences the other day to a friend who is taking a classroom-based writing workshop. I asked how my experience compared to his. "Actually, this workshop seems to be degenerating into a therapy session," he complained, "but I guess I'll stick it out." Okay, I'm envious. I don't want (need?) therapy, but at least his group is engaged! Call me Pollyanna, but I cling to my dream of virtual communities that can provide learning and support to groups of people who share common interests. I refuse to give up on my adult student forum. And I'm not ready to give up on this class, either. How about you? Best, Nancy | 
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