Scenario A) It is the first day of class. You find your classroom and have a seat in the 300-person lecture hall. Your teacher begins by telling the class basic information and subsequently begins a discussion on Freud. You love psychology, have some background information on Freud, and therefore want to partake in this discussion. You raise your hand to share your comments. Apparently 150 other students had your same idea. You patiently keep your hand up as the professor calls on other students to answer the question. He calls on about 20 students then decides to move on to another topic. You were not one of the 20 students who got called on, so you don’t get to share your idea, or comment on the other student’s ideas.
Scenario B) It is the first day of class and your teacher posts all the necessary course documents onto blackboard, welcomes you with a friendly announcement post about the class, and posts your first assignment. The assignment is a discussion on Freud’s stages of development, and whether you believe he had some reason behind his ideas or not. Excited since you have some background knowledge on Freud, you quickly post a thread onto blackboard about your view on his theory. Another student has a contradictory view to your idea and comments on your thread. The two of you continue your discussion as other people begin to post their ideas on it as well. It ends with you learning some different opinions on Freud and you got to know some of your classmate’s names and standpoints.
When we take a class in person, you only get to express yourself to the class if you are outgoing, have a decently loud voice, or get the luck of the draw to get called on. When taking a class online, you have the option to get your voice heard through something like discussion board no matter what. You can reply to other student’s comments and have your own discussion with an unlimited time frame. Whereas in person, it depends on how much time your professor is willing to give you for a debate and whether you get called on to respond. Online, especially in this particular English 215 class, everyone can post a blog that others have the chance to look at and comment on. You can design it in a fashion that expresses yourself, and are able to talk about who you are as a person. You are required to have your voice heard through your public postings. In person, someone who raises their hand a little higher than your own, or is more outgoing, will have their ideas more prominently expressed.
Gergen discusses how technology has negatively impacted our society and how it makes us more impersonal. I disagree with Gergen because in an online class, we are given opportunities to express ourselves and get to know one another in other ways than by just attending a class face to face with other people. With an online class, it may seem less personal than this face to face contact, but it makes a much more convenient class, and we therefore have more time to be creative with it. If online classes were not an option, many students would have to wait to take classes another semester if it doesn’t fit in with their schedule. Students can now easily fit an online class in and work on the class when it is most convenient for them. I think that technology has done great good for our society and has really added to levels of accommodation.
In Charles Cooley’s article titled “Primary Groups”, he discusses his idea of social interaction through these primary groups. He does say that he believes they must be face to face. However, he also states that they require “intimate association and cooperation” (Cooley). In an online class, we associate with one another through discussion board, or the like. Commonly, there are group assignments where we must cooperate with one another to get full points on a project and to get it done correctly. These aspects are still present in an online class, even if it is not as obvious to the eye as it would be in an in person classroom. Overall, taking a class online can be a very personal, creative, and self-expressive class for any student.
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