Online, We Are All Equals
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.
