Archive for the ‘Classmates in the Online Classroom’ Category
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 20th, 2009
The students in all my classes at UMUC were respectful and friendly while participating in classroom discussions and each person added fresh perspectives to the topics discussed each week. There was a feeling of camaraderie amongst us because the majority of the students were working adults who were struggling with balancing school, work, and family, just like me. All interactions were via the online discussion boards, although a few times I interacted with fellow classmates via email.
For every class I had at UMUC, group projects were a mandatory part of the curriculum. For me, this was probably the most difficult part of my classes because I tend to be solitary, preferring to work on my own. However, working in these groups was good practice for real-life workplace scenarios where group projects can be common. With nearly every group, there was always one to two people who failed to participate which made the process frustrating at times (this is when I was usually emailing other students, as a way to communicate “off-line”). However, I learned to ease my frustrations early on. If you end up in such a situation, here are some suggestions in dealing with group members who end up MIA:
- Immediately volunteer to be the group leader. Many people shy away from the leadership role, but by being the leader, you can leverage how the project will move along as well as choosing the portion of the project you would like to work on versus having someone else choose it for you.
- Post frequent notices to the MIA students that their participation is needed. This documents you made attempts to include them and to reach out to them.
- Notify the instructor as soon as possible of the non-participation. This shouldn’t be viewed as tattle-telling, but more of a heads-up to the instructor that the participating students are completing extra work to make up for the non-participation.
Following these tips should alleviate the stress of dealing with group projects. By keeping a level head and acting professionally, group projects are a valuable lesson for academic and career success.
One of the best parts about being an online student is getting to know students from all around the world. Students can choose to really get to know their classmates or just be an independent learner.
I found that in a class of 20-30 students, it was easier for me to select 5 students to really interact with and get to know. I picked people who had qualities or characteristics that I was looking for, whether it be the industry or company they worked for, other experience, proximity to where I live, etc.
Once I identified those folks, I really worked to learn more about them through reading their posts and interacting with them in class. Additionally I would contact those folks offline and chat about the class and other topics to build those relationships.
Finding ways to connect with classmates really helped sustain me through the classes. I found students that I was in several courses with and we continued to connect with each other during and after courses.
In the online platform Moodle, the icon for a discussion forum is two faces looking at each other. It is an interesting icon, as you may never see the faces of your online classmates; unless they post a picture in their profile. You don’t always know a lot about their personalities either, as many participants stick to the topic of the online assignment and don’t add a lot of voice to their writing. Occasionally, a controversial topic arises and then you start to read more passionate responses. The result, participants discover the personality behind of the writer.
A colleague of mine took her entire masters in an online program. She didn’t like the written environment for discussions. She said she missed the non-verbal types of communication, especially facial expressions, which add meaning to the spoken word. I didn’t have the same reaction, but I understand her point. There are a lot of non-verbal cues along with what a person is saying. The cues are helpful to understand the words of another person.
In education we have a concept we call “the hidden curriculum”. These are the things that students learn without direct instruction by the teacher. It is the social and emotional interactions amongst the students themselves. There isn’t as much hidden curriculum in the online environment. Social interactions are few and far between and are limited to an occasional personal email.
At 18 years of age I was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. I loved the hidden curriculum, the social interaction of the college environment. Away from the structure of my mother, I had to make my own decisions and take care of my own business. I knew she was there to pick me up if I fell, but I learned a lot through my new independence. During my master’s program I met a woman and we have been friends for 34 years. I haven’t made life long friends in the on line environment. It saddened me when my daughter, chose to live at home and not live on campus to experience the hidden curriculum of college. While it is a lot cheaper for me, I felt she missed out.
The online environment can’t duplicate this hidden curriculum. I suspect as college becomes more expensive in the current recession, more students will stay at home and more will use the online environment. It is today’s reality. This could be a good or bad trend. The good things are that as technology evolves more and more jobs will be at home using the on line environment. Students who have gone to school online will be especially well prepared for these jobs. The bad, no human interaction, no social interaction, no hidden curriculum.
Posted by Sharon Cece on March 17th, 2009
We all remember those first-day-of-school jitters, and I’m not referring to second grade elementary class. Even college students get the jitters. You walk into a new class and feel new eyes on you; suddenly you’re starting over, hoping to establish friends and contacts once again, all the newness intimidating to even the stalwart.
Personally, I was never one among the college populars. I was pleasant with other students, of course, and engaged in enough social interaction to make a few friends and get my work done. Yet, I didn’t join clubs or sororities or that sort of thing. I lived off campus and worked at Sears to pay the rent; I volunteered at a local shelter, had a boyfriend in the army. Because of this I was busy but for the most part socially quiet. My responsibilities kept me a step removed from the gregarious dorm-girl clusters that bustled to my classes. I felt the divide; it didn’t affect my school work, but it did keep me at a distance.
When I returned to school in an online format, I found one unique and satisfying difference in classmate interactions–online, we were all equals. Removed were the physical comparisons, the sheepish glances, the nervous clique-assessments or pressures to seek out empathetic collaborators. Removed were the barriers of social awkwardness that, for some, discourage spirited and bold discussion. We were equals, starting on the same ground and on the same level playing field. My online courses were comprised of the dynamic and diverse: younger students, older students, those retired, those returning, parents, grandparents, socialites and the shy. Students from this country, students from abroad; Olympians, World Travelers and the Unknown, all participating together, unseen, but undeniably heard.
Strangely, I came to know my online cohorts more deeply and more intimately than others I sat next to in chairs; perhaps erasing our collective visage from the engines of academia allowed us to delve further into the thoughts of our college compatriots, as well as our own thoughts, moreso than when face-to-face. The written word is very powerful, evokes many images, ideas and expressions. Online courses are heavily weighted on the written word and in this way candid dialogue is not inhibited, as often happens in a classroom, but rather encouraged and radiated. It may be that behind our computer shields we were able to express our inner selves in a way learning is optimized–that is, without social distractions.
My online classmates kept me sane, focused and informed. There was little competition–we were teammates, and one student’s success was everyone’s success. Online, we were working for same cause: to grow, to learn, to contribute, to succeed. And so we did.
Posted by Jeff Davis on March 16th, 2009
It has been my experience that during my online learning at the University of Phoenix, fellow classmates were always helpful, courteous, dedicated, and as much a part of the learning experience as the course itself in this type of environment. In regards to being courteous and professional, there was rarely an incident involving inappropriate behavior in my online classes, unlike a traditional classroom which may allow time for “horseplay” or for things other than just learning. It has been my experience that an online school is more for those who are serious about learning and being able to quickly apply their new knowledge and skills immediately in their respective career fields. Maybe that is why online schools seem to appeal more to an older crowd. From what I can recall, most of my fellow students held full-time jobs and were experienced in their career fields whereas my experience with a more traditional school was quite a bit younger and typically just out of high school and with little actual work experience. There just didn’t seem to be any time available for “having fun” like I did when I was going to a more traditional school. Of course that was 15 years ago!
In regards to being helpful, there were many occasions where I have learned an important skill or valuable information from what my other classmates had shared with the class. In this type of environment, everyone must participate since it’s a required part of the grade. This was not my experience during attendance of a traditional school. In my traditional school, many students did not participate and that is why I think it hinders the opportunity for growth. In a full participation type of setting, you can gain many helpful tips and tricks that can help you progress in your career field. In regards to being dedicated, I have never worked on a team in my online classes where we accomplished anything less than satisfactory. Most of my team experiences were very positive and very productive in terms of cohesion, overcoming diversity, accomplishing tasks, and getting assignments turned in on time.
I was able to interact with other students in my online courses very easily by email, chat, or telephone. Working in a team environment gave us an even broader range of tools to utilize in order to hold productive team meetings and such. Some of the tools that we used to effectively communicate were email, telephone, instant messengers such as Yahoo or Microsoft, and even more recently, Skype. All of these were very effective in helping to meet our overall goals. Most of the time, the tool used depended on the assignment involved. Now that I am attending school online once again, while working on my Master’s degree, it seems that the most effective communication tool used among the learning teams is probably Skype.
