Virtual Meeting

Change of Pedagogy in Virtual Classrooms
In Danowski’s article, she quotes Holmberg “distance education is based on learning as an individual activity.” I cannot really understand why this should be the case. I cannot imagine an online class where students are confined to individual activities and ignore collaboration among peers. I hope I did not misunderstand Holmberg. To me one of the merits of online classes is students enjoy more freedom to collaborate with peers since they are not so much restricted by time and space compared with traditional classrooms. E-journaling is good. I can see why Danowski thinks that we should synthesize academic into journals—which are usually perceived as self-reflexive. Some people claim that journals are not a good way to enhance critical thinking since they are basically for self- reflection. But if we synthesize academic writing into our journal, this should not be a problem. E-journal provides a venue for students in the same class to express, criticize and learn.

I am interested in how instructors can create “a comfortable learning environment for students” who choose distance learning. In terms of creating a comfortable learning environment, I tend to believe that it is easier to do so in a traditional classroom where teachers can verbally and nonverbally communicate with students more directly. For example, a smile from the instructor, a friendly gesture, and even the eye contacts among participants in the classroom sooth the students down. I am quite curious to know how instructors can effectively control the “mood” of this virtual space.

The virtual peer review article by Lee-Ann is quite helpful in terms of better understanding the pros and cons of peer review. Her discussion about virtual peer review made me think about my online tutoring in the writing center. I can surely see the convenience online tutoring brings both to me and the students. Neither students nor tutors are so strictly controlled by time. Students can get feedback in a different way—tutors need to type to comment, thus making a permanent record possible. This creates the possibility that students can always go back and refer to the notes for their current and future assignments. But I am not so much in favor of online sessions since it is basically one way communication. I know what the students want me to work on but I do not have the chance to know what they think of the comments. Students’ responses help tutors see whether the students are comfortable with the advice or not. Sometimes I see a different problem other than the problem the student writer wants me to address. I do not have the chance to ask whether he will feel comfortable if we shift and work on that. Virtual peer review does give people the chance to comment on each other’s comments. However, since people probably may comment at different time, the discussion may not be as fruitful as it can be because of the busy schedule.