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The Question:

What characteristics do you have which are likely to help you be a successful online learner, and what characteristics are you concerned about that may interfere with your success as an online learner? Discuss how you perceive yourself as an online learner in OCE and in ASDO.

The Response:

• Characteristics for successful online learning
• Characteristics that may interfere with successful online learning
• OCE/ASDO Self-Perception
• Thoughts regarding the Community of Online Learners

The California Distance Learning Project (1997) studied shared characteristics of successful distance education students and is summarized on p.8 of our text. I compare as follows:

My UCLA Online Learner Self Assessment score was 83%, and in their opinion am therefore considered to be an excellent candidate.

My NC State University Learning Styles Inventory placed me as balanced in all areas except for the visual vs. verbal category, in which case I came out strongly visual.

The technology skills necessary for online learning are also a strength.

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As a husband, teacher, network administrator, consultant, musician, homeowner, and farmer-of-sorts, my greatest hindrance to online learning is the tendency to be going in too many directions at once. I can do fine at self-directed learning, and have largely taught myself (the hard way) when it comes to technology. However, setting aside time for independent learning is much harder for me than attending a class somewhere during a predetermined time frame. In short, I’m ashamed to say that the tyranny of the urgent at present is the determiner of where my time is spent.

I'm also weak on the place of relationships within the context of online learning. To me, the online learning relationship model is inferior to face-to-face development of learning relationships . See "Thoughts regarding the Community of Online Learners" below.

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These two courses are not going to be a problem for me to do well in as I am highly motivated and have clear, meaningful reasons for taking them. I’m okay with both formats, but I’m not so sure about my success with the learning community aspect of them.

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I believe that online learning will not be able to match the sense of community created by the traditional learning environment for the following reasons:

• Human communication and relationships are far more complex than simply sharing ideas. A computer terminal cannot replace physical cues and the psychological impact of environment.
• Relationships can be stable only when there is truth. People communicating online have strict control over how they present themselves, irregardless of the truth of their character or intents.
• The sense of a learning community on a college campus involves both the psychological impact of the physical campus as well as the sociological impact of the students' shared learning purpose collective consciousness.

I’ll add other thoughts to this topic as time allows.

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