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Do you remember your first time ever being in an online course? I remember my first time ever was as a doctoral student with Walden University. It was a catastrophe. Every thing that could have happened did and I did not have DSL.
Yes, I read what the system requirements were, but did I understand them? No. I did not know the difference between DSL, Cable or dial-up. All I knew was what I had information already in my head about, which was the monetary differences. Why would I want a service that would add another monthly expense? Well, I soon found out. I needed DSL because I could not get technical assistance on my problem while I was using my telephone. Now, I understood that in order to talk on the phone and get help (the year was 2000 and I did not have a cell phone) I needed DSL the technician told me.
Well, I did get DSL and that helped some. But, what did the instructor mean when he said he saw I had logged on but did not post?? What? What in the world was he speaking- cyber-speak? A new language obviously I had never been exposed to ever in I my lifetime. And, what did he mean by threaded discussions?
Okay! I decided that I would learn this online thing, even if I spent the entire year learning. And I DID. Yes, I spent an entire year, fumbling and bumbling through this new terrain, much the way one would wandering in an unknown forest or wilderness. I learned that my classmates got angry when I posted to a threaded discussion that had occurred weeks ago. What did I know? Better late than not at all, right? Not so. It seemed to infuriate some of my classmates as I responded to a post they no longer had any recollection.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again, I tried to tell myself, encouragingly. .I received my end of the year evaluation from my first year instructor that was anything but encouraging. Basically, his message to me indirectly, was I should quit. However, he did not understand that my first year failure was not due to my inability intellectually to grasp the material. My failure was due to my ineptitude technologically to maneuver the terrain of cyberspace. I was pedaling along on my tricycle while my classmates were speeding down the highway in their Ferrari, Lamborghinis and Corvettes. However, I would not quit. I did not quit. I finished.
Try to remember my first year experience when you encounter students who seem as though they will never catch on to this cyber thing. Be patient. Encourage your students who seem to be totally lost in this new and sometimes overwhelming new culture. Be kind.
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