My Experience with Distance Learning

When we were originally assigned the distance learning assignment I was interested in how it would go because I have never taken an online course. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it went, despite a lack of communication at the beginning of the assignment. I can see how easily it would have been for a group member to forget about the assignment, and then leave the rest of the group to pick up their slack. Luckily, this wasn't a problem in a graduate level course, but I wonder if it might frequently become a problem in an undergraduate composition class. Further, I thought facebook was an easy way to communicate, although I think if we had used email everyone would have been involved in our conversation earlier. 

The thing I really liked about this assignment was that the conversation we had was documented. Days after Christine and I began communicating, I could go back and refresh my memory by reading the discussion board. Also, because I am a visual learner and have to read something in order to retain it this worked well for me (even better then face-to-face interaction would have). Some people, however, may prefer to communicate through speech rather then text, and for them online learning may present some obstacles.  If I was going to teach an online class I would want to provide students with both audio and visual aids. If a student is in a traditional classroom they both hear the teacher explain assignments, and receive an assignment sheet. I think in an online course this would be beneficial as well. Perhaps a power point would be sufficient for students, but an actual video lesson would probably be ideal. I think when teaching an online course the teacher really needs to take all types of learners into account, and try to provide students with as much support as possible. 

Real conversations will also be beneficial for students and teachers in online learning. If I were to teach an online course I would try to hold "office hours" a few hours a week, where I would be on some form of chat (AIM, facebook, gchat) so students could have the chance to have a moving interaction with me. Email will always be an option, but an actual conversation--where students can ask questions and propose problems to the teacher and receive immediate, personal feedback--will give students the support they need in a composition class.