Introduction
The Internet has been part of my life for the past ten years. I had used the Internet for various activities but not for online coursework. When I came across a completely online MS program, my first reaction was that it should be easy and extremely suitable for me since I was a student who would never sit in the first row and had tried to avoid interaction in classes. My assumption for online coursework was that there must be video lectures through video conferences or video files. Students would most likely then email their assignments to their instructors. The only person that a student would have to interact with would be the instructor so I added online coursework to my list of online activities without any hesitation. I would like to share some of my experiences with online learning after taking eight courses in the MS OTL program in this paper.
First day of school
I could not wait for the exploration. I logged in to the Blackboard courseware almost as soon as it was available. Without any orientation, I was confused when I entered the new classroom as it seemed to be a completely new computer program to me. Am I the only person who knows nothing about online instruction? As I would do with any new computer software, I checked all the buttons. I was surprised that there was not any video lecture. The course was completely asynchronous. The major component of the course was the discussion board where I had to post everything. I had to interact with so many classmates, which was beyond my imagination. The immediate problem was already there. I had to find a partner for my first group activity, and there were more group projects coming up.
Language Barriers and Cultural Difference
Because of my cultural background, I would never disclose my personal information to a person I did not know well. My first assignment was to write something about myself, which would be read by everyone in the class. This created some pressure for me. Furthermore, I was not a read/ write learner. Writing was my weakness especially in English, which was my second language. How can I have my writing read by so many people? Do I really want to take the course? Or should I drop it? These are the words that came to my mind.
I decided to stay after continual personal debate for a week. Understanding that all the work would be public and recorded, I found myself spending many hours on a short post as I did not want people to laugh at both the content and the way I wrote it. I needed to make sure people understood what I was saying. It would take me a long time for the choice of a single word, as I was afraid that it was not the way that a native English speaker would use it. It would be frustrating to receive feedback commenting that it was hard to understand my writing without pointing out where the problem was. I really appreciated one of my previous classmates, who showed me how to improve my paper. It provided a wonderful learning opportunity for me to sharpen my writing skill.
Without visual cues and vocal tones, it is very easy to cause misunderstandings especially for non-native English speakers and with cultural difference. It did happen to me in one of my previous classes. I tried to commend one of my classmates and she very obviously took it negatively as shown in her reply and never responded again, though she was the first person I knew in the class. The lesson taught me that I had to be extremely careful. I would read and revise many times before making a post. Fortunately, under the asynchronous environment, I was able to work on my own pace.
For language learners, the most effective way to master a language is to follow the way that native speakers speak. However, one could easily face the problem of plagiarism. Therefore, I had to be extra cautious when I tried to use new vocabulary.
From my previous education and training, what cultivated in my mind was that it was not a desired behavior to argue with the instructors or friends. Students had to follow what instructors told you. Students were trained to learn passively. In an online learning environment, students have to be active in their learning. Knowledge is no longer pushed from the instructors to the learners. Instead, learners have to pull what they want to learn, and debating is inevitable in the learning process. In one of our classes we had a vigorous debate over intelligence and ability. I saw cultural difference in interpreting the topic, which broadened our view and enhanced our learning.
After taking so many online courses, I found that the most beneficial aspect of this mode of instruction is that it facilitates the students to be able to learn from each other. Students come from different backgrounds with a myriad of experience and skills. One can never predict how much he/she is going to benefit from a course before coming to the class. Building of online learning community requires special techniques from both the instructors and their learners, especially when learning teams have to be formed.
Learning teams can bring both positive and negative learning experiences. I have many positive group learning experiences in my online program. Some of the group members became my e-pals. However, my first team experience was not so successful though it was interesting, as two of the team members joined us in the last minute, and we were unable to contact one of them until I caught her on the discussion board. Our group paper was submitted right before the deadline by merging the individual parts without much collaboration. From this group experience, I understood the difference between online and face-to-face teamwork and realized the difficulties an online team might face. The strategies such as team charter and individual accountability for successful online group learning seem to be extra valuable after all the previous experiences.
From the reading materials and personal experiences in the online courses, I realize that in order to create a positive online learning community, different techniques can be employed. For example, students should be encouraged to release personal information in icebreakers as long as they feel comfortable so that a closer relationship may be built up among the classmates. Multiple discussion groups can be formed for a large class and students may be allowed to choose their groups. In forming an online team, students should be informed in advance allowing them to search team members who match their working styles.
Conclusion
Online learning not only provides me with flexible schedule and time saved from commuting, it also provides extraordinary learning opportunity beyond the subject matter. I have met so many lifelong learners and have built up social capital in my MS online program. The most invaluable asset I have gained is the confidence of expressing my thoughts in a language not of my origin. From reading the posts of my classmates, I learned the technique of articulating the tone of writing. Now text communication becomes the main media I would use for connecting my friends, colleagues, relatives and me.
Reference:
Betz, M. (2004). Online Learning Teams: Indispensable Interaction. Retrieved October 18, 2005, from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jun_04/article03.htm
Khalsa, Datta Kaur, Instructor (2005). Unit #2 Lecture. EDUI 6707 The History and culture of Online Learning Communities, CSUEB.
Rovai, A. (2002). Building Sense of Community at a Distance. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Retrieved October 9, 2005, from
http://www.irrodl.org/content/v3.1/rovai.html
Rudestam, K., & Schoenholtz-Read, J. (2002). Handbook of online learning: innovations in higher education and corporate training. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.