Virtual Learning Environments

I found the reading this week to be quite challenging, but extremely interesting. I’ve read a bit of theory about one’s virtual presence in the past, but the works assigned for this discussion really cover the topic from all angles. Legget’s piece is very conceptual and I like how it examines the idea of presence in relation to the arts as well as science and technology. I especially liked the discussion and definition of “telepresence”, described as “a psychological state of subjective perception in which even though part of all of an individual’s current experience is generated by and/or filtered through human made technology, part or all of the individual’s perception fails to accurately acknowledge the role of technology in the experience”. I recently created an avatar on metaplace.com and was completely shocked at how well developed the site was, and especially so because it’s a free service to users. Not only that, there were so many users engaged in complex social networks. My first time “in” Metaplace, I hooked up with a user that meets his friend from California each week who he rarely gets to see. They trade off going to each other’s worlds for visits. I was actually invited over with them for this weekly get together, and it was pretty cool how they hung out in the house and chatted. While it’s certainly not like a real-life conversation, I experienced a lot of what Leggett’s discusses in his piece about failing to acknowledge the role of technology in the mediated experience. The Metaplace world becomes the focus of your perception and what goes on in Metplace translates into the experience of a real event. While I am an avid gamer and have played many completely engrossing games like WoW, I was unaware that free programs like Metaplace are available and can offer so much in the way of social networking. Additionally, I think that platforms like this have enormous promise and application for education. They can give online classrooms a central forum for students to attend class, where one’s avatar can sit in a virtual classroom on behalf of the student, allowing the student to engage his or her peers and professors directly. This would allow a weekly “class” can be held in addition to the turn based postings that currently dominate online classes.

Presence, collaboration and play:

I found the readings this week, interesting, especially since I never really knew there was so much thought that went into what it actually meant by describing presence, especially in an online environment. From our readings we become aware that presence simply isn’t the physical appearance in the present time- it continues with the state of consciousness and also promotes “the pursuit of verification, dispute and debate” in an oral culture. The attributes continue and are an additive to “telepresence.”

Telepresence “is broadly understood…as that sense of knowing or feeling another human presence across a physical distance mediated by media…” This idea, in our culture encompasses our everyday use of myspace, twitter and facebook, along with other social networking sites. These sites each have a space and/or profile that represent you- the user, which can then interact with other users. The profile alone gives you a presence that you are there. The interactions- posting, messaging, texting, tagging and poking – continue to strength and reiterate that presence online.

Telepresence through online classes and other virtual learning environments are a bit more complicated, especially since more interaction and participation needs to be present. Engagement within these environments has to continue with the idea presented by Michael Schrage on collaboration being “an act of shared creation or discovery.”

What I have noticed through the past year’s worth of online classes is that the New School respectfully treats the online learning outlets as “classrooms” however it is more of a team setting. Most if not all of the classes I have been a part of are structured like a sports team, where the instructor acts more like a coach in pointing you in the right direction and helping when needed and the classmates or students are part of the team, where we learn from our own performance but collectively build and collaborate together. The core values on page 129: Mutual – trust, respect, participation, and commitment are all values that a coach would sound to his or her players.

I know its a clever title.

When first looking at the question of my first online learning experience I would have said that this was my first truly online course. Like many of the rest of you though, I have had various other mixed online and onsite courses. So looking at the definitions provided by the reading then my first online course was during my Junior year of High school. I took an elective computer course on Cisco networking which had most of its curriculum online. Although there was a teacher to guide us, the majority of our material was online. The online portion was only a small percentage of the course though and would be defined by Harasim as merely an adjunct online course. The majority of the work done in the class was hands on lab work including physical networking hardware as well router programing through telnet. It was during this class that I experienced my first MOO. This was around the time of the first of the Matrix movies, so for immature male teens, most of which were also in the computer programming classes, and whom were bored with lectures, the temptation to use the Telnet applications to communicate and take ourselves out of the physical classroom was too strong.
Because I made a comment about blackboard already, I think I should elaborate on what I meant. Like a few others in the class I am new to the New School and was required to take the Intro to Media Studies course. The course itself was not bad, it was rough around the edges and needs some fine tuning, but it was the Blackboard online experience that left a bad taste in my mouth. Mainly the poor dialogue box and time out problems. In the past I have had courses which relied heavily on blackboard and have never really had a problem. But the New School’s blackboard just seemed, for lack of a better word, annoying. So, when I said I was glad we weren’t using blackboard, I really meant that we weren’t using the same blackboard as last semester. Also, isn’t the great thing about this class the chance to play around with all the other tools we can use to create VLE’s. I for one am looking forward to the Second Life experience.

I was trying to remember what my actual first online class had been, and after enough digging into the depths of my memory I somehow came up with a class I took in my first few years of undergrad at a community college in Orange County, California. It was a class that was available during summer session called “From Bach to Rock”, and the only reason why I took the class was because my roommate had recommended it to me as an “easy A.” No judgments here guys, we’ve all done it. Plus, I was 19. Anyway, the class consisted of page after page of reading materials that were stored in an online database. After each “lesson” — lessons being the long, mundane readings that usually, but not always, had accompanying MP3s that served as examples of the types of music being discussed by the readings — we were required to take a quiz before we moved on the next lesson. It was always a 20 question multiple choice quiz, and if one had the foresight to print out the lessons (which I did) then one could simply skim through the readings to find the right answers. We had several chances to do well on the quiz, and I believe as long as we got 17 out of 20 correct we could move on.

I learned almost nothing of value from this class, and I think this was because there was absolutely no element of professor-student or even student-to-student collaboration. It was such a poor excuse for simulating an actual classroom experience that I almost wonder how I got credit and a grade for this experience.

Jump forward about 3 years to when I’ve received a speeding ticket in a county other that where I lived and have opted to do traffic school online. The experience, now that I think about it, was entirely identical to my online “Bach to Rock” class. I whizzed through the lessons, about four each day, just to get the experience over and done with. And really, I learned nothing new that I didn’t already know. Granted, traffic school and a music education are quite different, which is almost exactly my point: the forum should not be the same for the two. Traffic school is not an educational environment, no matter which way you slice it. There is usually a singular officer who stands at the front of a courtroom or small meeting room who lectures his class about safe driving habits, shows them videos, and leaves some time for answering questions. It is not a place for collaborative participation due to its hierarchical set up of government official teaching citizens, which is why the online platform works in this case. A class for college credit, even for an elective such as music, is an educational platform, and should not be given the same brush off as an online traffic school course. I’m sure the music class has changed significantly since then, since this was probably in or around 2003, but I almost feel upset thinking that classes like this still exist. An online class is, in its incipient stages, what the professor makes of it. If the professor sets the bar too high or too low, students will either feel uncomfortable when participating, or just write the class off as a joke, as was the case with my undergrad music course.

I was trying to think of a way to tie this all back to the readings we completed for this week. I suppose that the parallels I found between this topic of half-hearted online classroom environments and Harasim’s article lie in the fact that even in the early 90s, VLEs were more advanced, well-organized and cared for than this “Bach to Rock” class I took. The disparities between different levels of involvement, interactivity, and effort between each and every institution’s versions of VLEs are what cause certain individuals to look at them as less than ideal learning environments.

I can’t really propose a way to change these attitudes, since it is difficult to even convince some members the wider online community that, for example, Twitter isn’t just blatant narcissism. I think that, in line with Robbins-Sponaas and Nolan’s complaint that “there is no open-source community dedicated to bringing MOOs in line with existing standards of development” (434), it makes sense that the conversation needs to be about collaboration between institutions and developers for a general upgrade in the quality and capabilities for interactivity in order to make an online classroom as beneficial as a literal face-to-face classroom space. And the best way to encourage that development is by the means that the aforementioned authors have already employed: starting a discussion with the academic community via articles, journals, and texts dedicated to the topic.

Hey all,

Like many of you are saying in your posts about your first experiences with online classes, I am no different in believing that there are positives and negatives to this method of learning and teaching. I completed my undergraduate degree just over a year ago now, which seems like forever ago while in reality I am probably one of the youngest members of our class. Anyway, during my undergraduate courses, there was never an opportunity to take an online course. I became prejudiced towards them without realizing it because my college didn’t offer them, convincing me to believe they weren’t really effective. I decided to give it a go though last semester by enrolling in Media Economics. Unfortunately, my experience with this class wasn’t spectacular (the course was difficult and the professor wasn’t great) which made it seem like taking a course online was more challenging than it should have been.

Despite the setbacks of this class, I really came to love using a virtual environment for communicating with my fellow classmates. While I agree with a few of you that Blackboard can be really glitchy and sometimes painful to deal with, it does provide those who are maybe a little shy in real classroom discussions (me!) to be more open and articulate with their thoughts and ideas. While real-time discussions are riveting and more intimate, the online platform allows people to get their ideas across clearly and in a timely manner. In other words, we don’t have to waste precious class time going off on tangents during discussions or losing focus; or limiting fellow classmates’ chances for sharing their ideas.

Joining a virtual learning environment is an effective way to communicate and learn from others because there are a number of ways to do it. Besides Blackboard (which I am glad we are avoiding this semester) I think it’s great to use blogs, google groups, email, etc, because we can reach eachother in multiple ways using different outlets that increase our knowledge of this form of communication. Virtual learning environments are the direction education is steering itself, and its crucial that we are on board. In 2004, when the “new” facebook came out, I was resistant to register because I didn’t find it to be anything that special or important. I had also never used a social networking site and didn’t see the necessity behind it. I’m glad that my boyfriend made one for me anyway, because now I can’t imagine not having it as a way to communicate, reach a mass audience, and stay up to date with others.

I am looking forward to the work and discussions that continue in this class. It seems as though there is a lot to learn about virtual learning environments and I am eager to become a part of them!

During my undergrad at University of Wisconsin – Madison computers were pretty limited even when I graduated in 1991 – I laughed when I opened the History of VLE and it starts with 1990…. I was an art and art history double major and I remember taking one of the first animation classes – limited to 10 people. We learned how to animate an object – that took an entire semester since we had 4 computers and the programs we used were so new that even the professor had fun working through the bugs. 10 years later my sister took the same class and was animating an object by the end of the week. My first experience with a computer based class was grueling and time consuming but rewarding in a very unique way. Now that was not my first computer experience – I had the unique experience of growing up in Livermore, CA – home of the Lawrence Livermore Lab and my BFF’s father was head of the molecular energy department there so she had a very very early computer and we did not know it then but it was part of the test program for Stanford, the government and the Lab. (a very interesting place to grow up! 2/3 of my class had parents who worked at the Lab)

In 2005 I decided during my first year at the New School I would take an internet course to try it out – New Media Ethics during the Summer – grand ideas of sitting in my backyard with my laptop rather than going to class appealed to me! This class is the reason why I hate the blackboard more than humidity. If I wrote down how many times the blackboard crashed while I was posting I might start crying out of pure anger. We still had books to read and an occasional url but the only real interaction we had was on the blackboard and it was so limiting that I found myself wondering when I went through the pages and pages of text from posting on the blackboard would I ever do this again. It was the only class I did not get an A and it was mostly because I really found the platform working against learning rather than complementing it.

I returned to VLE 3 years later to find classes that only used the blackboard as a tool rather than all encompassing and I have not returned to the classroom since. The last 2 semesters I have enjoyed working in a variety of platforms to interact with the professor and classmates – skype, seesmic, second life, google groups, facebook, delicious, blogspot, twitter and the list goes on. I enjoy each class I take expanding my knowledge of what is out there in the great WWW and how I can use these new tools to my advantage within all aspects of my life.

Undergrad was pretty typical for me. I woke up late everyday, rushed out of the house with a cup of coffee which I tried (usually unsuccessfully) to balance on my handlebars of my bicycle. I was generally late to class and often covered in coffee stains and/or mud if it rained. I either talked too much in class or felt awkward and shy. If I could have taken even a quarter of those classes from home, I think I would have been very happy.

So, I welcomed online classes. My first official online class was Fall ’08. Though I intended to attend The New School on site, life threw me some other opportunities that I couldn’t pass up. So taking online classes has been a great solution for me. I can work professionally and still attend graduate school – but on my turf (at home with my personal comforts) and on my own terms. No racing on a bike in the rain or finding parking on an overcrowded campus; no points taken off for being 5 minutes late.

Looking at Harasim’s historical time line of e-learning, I am amazed that I didn’t take online classes sooner. Which brings me to another point: there has always been a strange (and not very positive) stigma associated with online learning. Though I do not agree (because I know that VLEs are the future of education), online learning has association with the questionable “easy” degrees as shown on TV. The truth is, online learning has been challenging for me in many aspects. Certainly, it is nice to have class at home. But there is a lot of things to consider like time management, work load, intrinsic motivation, and the willingness to read online text – a lot of online text.

There is something wonderful about being somewhat free of generalizations (gender, race, socioeconomic, etc) in a virtual learning environment, too, as other people have mentioned. Having to write instead of speak in a class environment has its benefits. Yet there is something I love about in-person banter that doesn’t quite seem to carry over.

I imagine that I will continue taking online classes through my graduate degree as I do not plan to give up my job anytime soon. I may take some on site classes during a summer break, but online is working pretty well for me now.

Eva Olysha

Hey class,

The post below, titled “Going to Class at 2 a.m.” pretty much sums up my first online experience as well. Taking my first online class, with 15 other credits on my schedule, during my second semester of my undergrad was a bit much. 18 credits worth of intense classes was really difficult.

Before I began my first online class, I was worried that the format was going to be cumbersome and hesitant about how the overall format would work out. Looking back, the class proved me wrong. I actually had a very good time with the class. The format was very structured, even better than some “in-class” classes I had that semester.

The online system Blackboard, was the program that my university used for the online class rooms. The program is a very structured program and easy to use.

I think a lot of the success that comes out of taking classes online is from both the instructor and the student, as well as the ability to organize yourself within the VLE. Also the flexibility to “attend” class whenever you want is also a positive spin.

Last year, when I decided that I wanted to continue my education with an MA an online degree was my only choice; especially with the workforce and economy the way it was. Before looking into the New School I would always see advertisements for University on Phoenix and other online Universities. I was very hesitant to enroll in a university that has an entire campus online.

Looking back, I have no doubts that The New School was the right choice. Doing an entire degree online is a huge commitment and takes dedication from each student and also the instructor. I haven’t had a bad experience yet with the program and the convenience is especially helpful because I work full time.

I’m looking forward to a great summer session!

Hey All,

My first online learning experience was in my junior year of undergrad. In the beginning of my undergraduate career I started pursuing a minor in communications. I ended up ditching the minor and doing a double major instead and so I took two classes online during the summer so that I would graduate on time. I only remember one class which was titled “introduction to tourism and hospitality management”. I can’t for the life of me recall the other…I guess it was thrilling.

I personally love the online classroom environment. I admit that I am one of the people Linda Harasim talks about in her article when she discusses how e-learning helps to put students on equal footing allowing those that are not the most vocal to have a say as well. I tend to be shy in classroom settings, not in life (ha) and so an online platform works really well for me. Also I like being able to go to “class” at 2 a.m. in my PJ’s. My online experience in undergrad was a little different than it has been so far in The New School’s program. There was a lot more “interaction” in undergrad. In addition to our online discussion boards we would also have chats scheduled every week where you could just drop in and talk and ask questions. It was a great way to get your participation points in quick and easy. We also had lectures that ran through PowerPoint with the professors voice attached explaining each slide. Just like if you were sitting in a lecture.

I am so excited about this class. I will confess that I know very little about (or have been resistant to) a lot of the platforms we will be using here. I’ve been trying so hard to stay away from Twitter forever despite the urging of friends, mainly because I didn’t see the point. If you guys are following me there you will see that my first post was “I am here against my will!” because that’s how I felt. And now, of course, I’m addicted and log on as soon as I get to work to see what was tweeted through the night. I hate proving people right! So annoying.

Anyway that was a rant. I am so looking forward to this class!

P.s. This may be dumb but I really don’t understand “MOOs.” I read that entire article and I still don’t get it…

Before enrolling in this online media studies program, I had a very limited exposure to virtual learning environments. My first semester at The New School was spent studying sociology at the School for Social Research and one of my classes had a small online component, which I found to be quite challenging. Our professor created an online forum for class discussions and made weekly contributions a course requirement. To be honest, I was very annoyed at the whole process and didn’t understand why I had to bother navigating blackboard which, at the time, wasn’t the most user-friendly service. Since then, I’ve obviously had a lot of experience learning online and I’m quite satisfied with the results.

My first semester of online classes was conducted entirely on blackboard and I was initially quite skeptical about the effectiveness of the platform. Once I became a bit more familiar with the service, however, I found that online learning came quite naturally. Of course, I think it takes a certain kind of student to succeed in a virtual learning environment, as it requires a much more proactive approach to one’s education.

Looking back at my course history, I wish I had enrolled in this class my first semester at the school (I’d even argue that this course should be a requirement for first semester online students). Based on this first reading by Harasim, which alleviates any uncertainties about the quality of online classes, I think this class (meta-class?) is extremely important for online students so that they can understand the method by which they are learning (it was especially fun to learn about The New School’s pioneering effort in early online education).

As Harasim states, there are many benefits to virtual learning environments. For one, participation rates are extremely high; based on the study of 64 schools, 85% of students logged in at least 5 times per week and 81% of all students posted at least three messages per week. When I compare these results to my own experience in onsite classrooms, where only 3 or 4 students regularly contribute to class discussions, sometimes even dominating them, I find online learning to be especially advantageous. And according to Harasim’s piece, many professors agree.

That being said, I do find myself longing for live interaction with my peers. I think that no matter how technology advances, there will always be something lost when people can’t personally engage each other, face to face. While Harasim states that many professors reported knowing their online students as well, if not better, than their onsite students, I generally find myself feeling a bit distanced from my instructors. A slight exception to this was a class I took where the professor posted some video lectures and assigned projects that required students to verbally record responses to class work. Just seeing and hearing my professor’s lecture, even if it wasn’t a live discussion, was enough to make me feel a bit more engaged in the class. Also, hearing my peers critique my work as opposed to reading their written comments gave me a stronger feeling of connection. Perhaps these are the small “human elements” online classes need to incorporate to realize their full potential.