Getting to Know You?

Online and in-person education are the two-forms of education today, and many are wondering if the relationships we develop with these students and professors the same. Many believe that we're not getting to know other students and professors as well as you would if you took in-person classes.

When dealing with online classes the main ways for communicate are through e-mail, chat rooms and forums/blogs. Within these classes professors and peers may respond through e-mails but sometimes these forms of communication may feel impersonal. In a traditional format class there is only one way to communicate with your peers and often times, it's not a good representation of oneself. I know that when I am put on the spot, I don't think clearly and just say generic or boring thing about myself to get the situation over with. The other students and the professors are only getting to know the "watered down" version of myself. I personally find it easier to express myself online because I don't get the anxiety I would get from an in-person course.

I do not agree with Gergen statement that online interactions can lead to a sort of "dissolution of the self"? I think online courses allows us to get to know each other better. In my previous, traditional classes most of the time there is little not no communication between students. It is usually the class listening to a lecture and taking notes, and from time to time there are questions being asked and answered. But, there is really no time to get to know the people sitting around you. With online classes I feel that people are getting a better representation of a person because they're not as guarded and would be more open to express themselves, whether its through their writing, photos, personal blogs, etc. I think online interaction is a fun and harmless way to connect with peers and professors. 

With modern inventions like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and blogsites people are finding it easier to communicate online then in-person. Online interaction is starting to become the only interaction for many people around the world. So it would make sense that many are preferring to attend online courses to the traditional in-person schooling. Students that do attend traditional classes like the face-to-face interaction they get from an actual professor and their peers. Online students, I think, like interacting through forms because its an easier and stress free way to express themselves.