“There are some standard advantages to online learning that advocates cite: Everybody can hear. Students and teacher have time to think before they reply. There is more writing practice because the responses are written instead of spoken. In this impersonal atmosphere, the timid speak up, racism practically vanishes, and the discussion is free of intimidation, on one hand, and the fear of hurting others, on the other.
Well, maybe. But what I experienced was mostly disjointedness. A student in children’s literature might write, ‘I completely agree with what Tina said about violence.’ And I would think, quick, who’s Tina? Did I read what she said about violence? Click, click. It must be back here, oh yes, two days ago, I remember now, about how cartoons are unrealistic. Hmm, okay, hit Respond. In the text box I write: ‘Surely they are unrealistic, though this is a tricky concept. What is unrealistic about them? Isn’t ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ unrealistic also?” Click, click, next comment. About “Cinderella.’ The mean sisters: ‘Can this be considered violence?’ Respond: ‘This depends on whether it’s useful to think about physical violence as a separate issue. What do the rest of you think?’ Click, click. Next comment. If there’s a thread to this discussion, I’ve lost it.
Three years ago, I agreed to give online teaching one last try — a composition class that met in person for three hours every other week, with the intervening week used for online discussion and exercises. We call these hybrid classes. It seemed like an interesting compromise.
The class got off to a bad start. By that time, the software had become more sophisticated and secure, and nearly everyone had a computer at home. But most still encountered problems logging on at first. The face-to-face sessions were supposed to be scheduled in a classroom with a cable connection, but they weren’t. The students were supposed to know when they registered that the course involved Internet use, but they didn’t. I don’t want to make too much of these startup problems because most were quickly overcome, but, one way or another, about half the class dropped out.”
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