Online Learning Vs. Traditional Learning

As I completed this week's readings and then answered the discussion post on Moodle, I found that I had quite a lot to say on the differences between online and traditional educations. In fact, I rambled on for close to a thousand words, and still didn't feel finished. In my post, I cautioned about how easy it is for some people to become "passive participants," as Burke describes them, in online classes, and thus to not really get much out of the experience. I also talked about how hard it is for me and likely for others to take online classes as seriously as traditional classes.

What I didn't get to touch on, though, is why many of us become passive participants who just can't seem to take online classes seriously. This is something I have struggled with for a while, especially with my first online courses. I think I am getting better now, but I've still got some work to do.

My big problem is that the majority of online classes just seem to be lacking in real connections. They are all to often the "impersonal," "superficial," and "dehumanizing" classes mentioned in Rovai and Barnum's study. The thing is, I don't know if the classes really are all these things, but they sure feel that way to me.

My whole life I have been someone who thrives around others. In class, I have always loved assignments where I could work with others, or even just participating in discussions where we got to share our thoughts and feelings. People are how I learn. I find my voice and opinions through hearing the voices and opinions of others. So, when I find myself in an online class ,that connection feels like it is lacking.

Most teachers try to make up for that. They have us work together, though we usually just communicate via quick emails. They have us comment on each other's blogs, but it's still just an assignment that we have to do. Everything just feels like work, and connections rarely, if ever, feel authentic, at least to me. I guess I am just the kind of person who ultimately needs to do things the old fashioned way. I need to see people's faces when I talk to them. I need to laugh together, not type "lol." I feel, though, that my way is outdated, unappreciated, and inconvenient, and I also feel and fear that I'm being left behind because of it.

I am scared of a world in which we don't really communicate, except through email or text messages. I am scared of a world where real connections are the exception not the rule. I am scared of a world where we are all so self invovled that we spend hours and hours crafting the image we will portray through sites like Facebook. Yet, this is the world we live in, and it seems that if I don't step up and figure out a way to become a part of it, I will be antiquated at the age of twenty-six.

It's a scary thought, and one that I am dealing with every day. I hope I can find some common ground and learn to live in this increasingly technological society without losing too much of what makes me who I am.