Thursday, November 27, 2008

Characteristic of Success in Online Teaching & Learning

Research shows that introverts might be better adapted for success in online teaching. Comparing introverts and extroverts in the online environment is different than comparing them in a traditional classroom setting. ( What Faculty and Students Need to Be Successful Online, Palloff,R and Pratt, K, 2002) In the traditional classroom, extroverts tend to learn by processing ideas out loud at the time they occur. A response to their thoughts gives them an opportunity to refine their ideas which is hard to do in an online environment where everything is asynchronous. On the other hand, an introvert who is quiet in class might be less self conscious in the online environment and having time to reflect and present themselves through text can find them being more of the “extrovert” in responses. “People who are introverts are more adept at creating a virtual environment because they can process information internally and are less outgoing socially. It is more comfortable for an introvert to spend time thinking about information before responding.” (Beyond the Looking Glass, Palloff,R and Pratt, K, 2002) Please share with me some examples that support this thought or examples that repudiate this.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Embracing the Learning Paradigm

An inspiring goal in the learning paradigm is that each graduating class learns more than the previous graduating class. The Learning Paradigm takes responsibility for student learning, constantly modifying to better achieve the goals. This paradigm prescribes no one answer on how to organize the learning environment but supports any method that creates learning outcomes.