What is the first thought coming out when you hear online learning/ elearning?
I remember the first time when I hear this new leanring environment in 2001. I was thinking..."ok..who is going to be my teacher, and where are my classmate?"
Around 2001, I signed up a online English learning program, which allows you practice English speaking with people from other contry. This is my first Elearning experience. The other Elearning experience was in spring 2007, I first took a online couse at CSULA. To be honest, that elearning experience was so.........isolating.. and lonely. The only person that I have communication was my instructor. Ironically, we communicated by EMAIL only.
As we have learned so much in this quarter, we now know that IDT is appealing and boosting in educaiton field. A lot schools provide online courses for undergraduate even for the graduates also. The insteresting finding is some very aggressive schools even compete to each other, and enrich their technology so the students who taking online courses can have better enviornment and experiences. The other new trend that has been very popular is the Second Life world. Now, we have a whole new experience of online learning. All the classmates can meet in Second Life ,do the presentation in Second Life and listen to a lecture too. So now online learning is no longer isolating.
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Online learning can create a feeling of isolation. A year ago, I enrolled in the HUX program at Cal State Dominguez Hills to earn a Masters degree in Humanities. All communication was by email. All assignments were submitted by email. Some of my reactions included:
1. I only learned from reading; I missed hearing lectures.
2. I never had a real-time interaction, so it was like talking to myself all the time.
3. I felt restless always studying at home.
4. I did NOT miss the drive or parking, but I did miss seeing fellow classmates - it was as though I was the only person in the world studying my chosen subjects.
5. I did not make any new friends - when I attend a school, I make friends, and this has always made learning a social experience.
An online virtual world sounds interesting, but I strongly suspect it is not enough. We have a physiological design that has been the same for at least the last 40,000 years. To suddenly live in virtual environments is not just a question of adaptation. It is a question of whether we find alternative ways to fill our human needs. We simply cannot live a full life from a computer terminal. In my case, I decided that driving and parking are prices I will chose to pay to attend a real classroom. It's a bit old-fashioned, but far more interesting overall.
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