One interesting question Bates and Poole (2003) brought up in the reading is "what is there about face-to-face teaching that cannot be replicated through technology?" (p. 57, para. 2). This is the question that has been asked and will probably be asked forever because it brings up a debate between people who prefer face-to-face courses over online, and vice versa.
Is learning online the same as learning face-to-face? Some would say yes and some would say no. Personally, I see learning as learning and in this situation, we just learn through two different mediums. The interaction is still there and communication exists between students and faculty, but the only thing that is different is the classroom setting.
Students who prefer face-to-face interaction will always see a con in online learning, even if technology progresses further up the ladder and we begin to incorporate audio/video devices as the authors envision in the future. I think no matter how many pros/cons we get from the question above, the one thing we probably can pick out from these is that live communication is missing.
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What if you consider online chat? Doesn't that give us "live" communication? I've chatted with teachers before in the WebTycho chat and it is the same as being in a classroom and asking a question. Maybe it's the group conversation and immediate feedback that is the main difference. Again, we can use the online chat function, but I find that gets hard to follow. Too many people "speaking" at once and going in many directions.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it may not be a preference of face-to-face vs online but the matter of convenience. At times I think I would prefer going to a classroom, but the time required for travel to/from etc. doesn't allow for it. The only way I am able to commute 2-3 hours a day, work full time, maintain a household and go to school is online.
Online chat would be considered synchronous, live chat...but it wouldn't still be considered as face-to-face chat, like in a chatroom. For an online course, live chat is the closest we can get to face-to-face communication. I don't think the whole class can meet in person, unless it was a blended course. Time and schedule is the roadblock to face-to-face meeting.
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