The Social Side of Online Learning
By Sherrie Negrea
After landing a job in human resources at BAE Systems, Tia Wiggins knew she would rotate through three different offices at the company — in New Hampshire, Maryland and Washington, D.C. — before being assigned a permanent position. Yet as her work took her around the country, Wiggins was also able to complete a master's degree in business administration from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.
Though she was hundreds of miles away from her classmates, Wiggins worked on her degree at night from her home computer. Despite the distance between her and her fellow classmates, she quickly became acquainted with them through video and telephone conferences, chat rooms, e-mails and discussion boards.
"I'm a big proponent of borderless working," says Wiggins, 25, who now lives in Fairfax, Va. "I know I'm so busy. There's no need for me to be right there sitting in the classroom."
With an expanding range of communications platforms emerging in the virtual world, students working on online degrees can now easily connect to their classmates in different time zones across the globe. They are using Wikis to write and edit papers, websites such as Second Life to meet other students in a virtual environment and teleconferencing tools to view photos of students during online discussions.
"When we're talking about folks in their late 30s and mid 20s, they are very comfortable with the idea of getting social via technology, and in some cases they are more comfortable with that than sitting around drinking coffee," says Lynda Aiman-Smith, an associate professor at the Jenkins Graduate School of Management at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.
In the MBA program at North Carolina State University, online students often set up a Facebook page for their classes not only to discuss assignments but also to post what they did over the weekend. Using a technology forum they are already familiar with, the students can learn more about one another personally as well as share information about their courses.
Jason Hall, a 32-year-old translator who lives in Cuenca, Ecuador, is earning an online master's degree in global affairs with a specialty in translation studies from the University of Denver. Since he began his coursework in 2008, he has interacted closely with students through e-mail, discussion boards, instant messaging via Skype and live classes and presentations.
"The professor's ability and willingness to employ creative technologies is the key to building community here, and plays a large role in determining the overall quality of the class," says Hall, who will receive his degree next year and plans to continue working as a Spanish-English translator.
Web-based learning management systems used in online degree programs offer two types of communication tools: synchronous, where discussions occur at the same time, such as a live chat; or asynchronous, which do not have a timing requirement, such as a discussion board.
At Bellevue University, a private university in Nebraska, students in the online master's program in clinical counseling can participate in a synchronous discussion with their classmates using Adobe Connect. The tool allows each student's picture to appear on a grid while the users talk to one another via webcam. Students can also complete role-playing assignments, just as they would in a classroom.
"When we first started using it earlier this year, it was very cut and dry," says Carole Patrick, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Bellevue. "Now the students are getting to know each other. It's more of like, 'I've got a face with a name and I've made friends just like in a residential classroom, but my friend is in Texas and I'm in Kansas.' "
Other online degree programs rely on asynchronous communication tools because they fit the schedules of students who want to work on their coursework at their convenience. Many students enrolled in online degrees are working adults who are completing course assignments while holding full-time jobs.
"One of the reasons people take online courses is flexibility," says David Stoloff, an education professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn. "To say that you have to be in front of your computer at 4:30 on a Tuesday is very hard to do. When you have your class on campus, you have to create synchronous courses, but online people want their flexibility to get on when they have time."
The online master's program in educational technology at Eastern Connecticut State University primarily draws working teachers, who often do not respond to discussion board questions until late at night, says Stoloff, who teaches in the program.
One student enrolled in the online master's degree, Susanne Pearson, says she has connected more with her fellow classmates in the online courses than she did in a traditional classroom. "You have very limited time sitting in a chair in a class," says Pearson, 42, who has worked as a teacher for ten years. "You don't have time to socialize. However, in an online environment, we can have independent discussions. Students are more open to what they say and they're more honest when in an online format."