Teachers are the best defense against student alienation
This post is in response to Question 1 of Quiz 2.
The question is: The primary reason for online students to feel alienated is:
A Inadequate knowledge of computer technology
B Unavailability of technical support
C Absence of face-to-face interaction
D Quality of instructor support
The correct answer is C. I chose D. I understand that the lack of face-to-face communication is a problem, but it is a problem that the students are aware of before they sign up.
Every retention meeting that I have ever attended has always focused on the teachers as the critical element in keeping students in school.
Give me a good teacher, and I will have happy students. When the computers go down, a good teacher can teach effectively. When technical support is lacking, a good teacher can teach effectively.
When a good teacher is online and does not have face-to-face interaction with the students, a good teacher can still teach effectively.
On the other hand, a poor teacher in a traditional school will have lots of face-to-face interaction. And that poor teacher will alienate plenty of students.
I stand by my answer in the quiz. Instructor support is the most important factor in education, bar none.
Stephen:
Thank you for sharing your position on the Question. As with the other one, i will re-evaluate the options. While students are definitley aware that there will be no face-to-face interaction in the online version of the course, they have not experienced the laienation arising from it. Moreover, face-to-face interaction was not meant to refer to the Instructor only; but to other students.
Satrohan
Stephen,
Great minds think alike! :-)
I totally agree with you and answered the same on that Quiz. See my deeper narrative under the main forum question.
Jim
I also answered D, and I think I see the point the question/examiner is attempting to raise. I believe this issue is worthy of more focus. If the examiner believes online students have significant risk of alienation, then let's spend some time addressing this risk. Maybe the topic will be discussed in the last 2 modules.
Instructor support is definitely the most important factor in education, outside of a student's own intrinsic motivation.
The face-to-face aspect of a classroom can sometimes provide a more "human" experience, and cut down on feelings of alienation, but it can also be a detriment to learning itself. If you miss your face-to-face due to traffic, you have missed that chance to interact with your peers and instructor. You won't get that back, but you can join an online conversation at any time.
Also, anyone who has experienced listening to an "adequate" instructor drone on about a topic in a lecture, while itching to run to the library or check out other resources that are available, understands that an online environment can be a much more effective avenue for learning at your own pace.
I considered each of these answers to question 1 of quiz 2. Ultimately, I chose C. While students do choose on-line instruction and should realize there will be no face-to-face interaction, it still doesn't negate the fact that human being need to be in community with one another. A computer interaction cannot, and should not try to replace a human connection.
A perfect example is Facebook, a hugely popular, on-line, social networking site. We may interact on a daily basis with our friends through the computer, but, our friends are those with whom we've already established a face-to-face connection.
A good teacher is the solution to most educational problems. But a good teacher can have a student who chose an on-line class, for a variety of reasons, that still craves and needs the face-to face interaction and support of a classroom.
In the example you gave of a student that is in an online class but wants the face-to-face interaction and support of a residential classroom setting, how do you help that student when they are in the online environment?
