Once upon a time (perhaps four years ago), teaching and learning online were asynchronous activities, meaning that one did not have to be online at the same time as the teacher and other students to participate effectively in the class. A review of the forums (message boards) for a course would reveal that students and teachers posted items at all times of the day and night. Everyone could work and study at the time that best suited them. For many of us, it was an ideal situation.
For some of us, though, being a self-directed learner was a lot more difficult. The concerns that cropped up in the research focused on “social presence,” or the degree to which people in online interactions feel that others are aware of their existence and the degree to which people felt part of a group. Many researchers claimed that students left the online schools because they felt too isolated and that teachers did not care about them. The online education community realized that the lack of face-to-face communication and synchronous activities affected students’ perceptions of their learning (Caspi & Blau, 2008). It is around this time that online education programs started scheduling classes. One university I attended at that time offered “live lectures”; students were not required to attend these lectures, but the lectures provided students and teachers the opportunity to meet one another and develop relationships. This online school tried to maintain a balance between the needs of students to work on their own schedule and the needs of students to develop relationships with professors and classmates.
Teachers at this time were not teaching mainly; instead, many of them were grading machines. Don’t get me wrong; I also had professors who were dedicated to teaching and participated often in the forums, emailed supplementary materials, and offered conference calls to discuss difficult concepts. The projects they assigned were complex and often required collaboration with other students. Still, there were those professors who allowed us to teach each other and then graded the assessments and papers. The only time we interacted with those professors was when they provided feedback on summative assessments.
When you join the MAT@USC to pursue your degree, you’ll find professors who are dedicated and enjoy establishing relationships with their students. You’ll enjoy attending class every week and be able to work around your schedule because the program offers many choices for each course section. You will become friends with your classmates, see them on a regular basis, and have deep conversations that further your learning. You will feel supported, cared for, and capable as a result. You will perceive that you have a social presence and that your participation in the online community matters. If you want to become a teacher, I urge you to consider the MAT@USC and to join a community that treasures its learners and is proud of its graduates.
Reference
Caspi, A., & Blau, I. (2008). Social presence in online discussion groups: Testing three conceptions and their relations to perceived learning. Social Psychology of Education, 11(3), 323-346.
