The instructor can ensure that syllabi weekly assignments and or discussion questions and or replies to student posts can easiy elicit personal experience. And, the students get to polish their writing experiences. In traditional experiences, it is my experiences, that a limited group of talkative students tend to do much of the sharing, while the "shy" folks stay quiet. In online, an instuctor can direct posts to "shy" folks to inspire sharing of experiences.

My dissertation dealt with characteristics common to successful members of widely dispersed self managed virtual teams. I am a collaborating on a web-based assessment for potential successful applicants for international businesses and their virtual workers. I will be using this assessment, a book I am co-authoring, and syllabi to offer universities courses to finally teach how to teach how to successfully work in the virtual environment. Gary, there is not ONE university, traditional or online that offers such a course. Joel

There are a host of challenges confronting students who are widely dispersed, do not have an opportunity for face-to-face interaction; come from conflicting values emanating from different cultures. There are, in fact, characteristics that are common to folks collaborating in a virtual environment. Would it not follow that there are different proclivities to learn in virtual environments? Joel Dr. Joel Ginsburg