Asynchronous communication in an online environment has valuable potential as a conversational tool especially for students that might otherwise be too shy to speak up in a traditional classroom. However, the challenges are many. As I experience the online environment in my own class, I am frustrated by the lack of depth to the topics. Each discussion question requires students to write a post followed by response to two other student posts. Classmates often post information that is irrelevant, blatantly off topic or simply subject to further inquiry. Â Inquiries are not addressed once students have met the two response requirement. Conversations are therefore prematurely halted. It is especially disheartening when an instructor ends a conversation with a “good boy, Johnny.”
There must be a solution to this problem. Distance learning is here to stay, but it must provide an equally stimulating educational experience. I feel a dissertation topic lies somewhere amidst this frustration.