Early in the COVID move-everything-online time, I apologized to a group of people in a Zoom presentation, suggesting that they were getting a second-rate product compared an in-person interaction. In response, one of the attendees sent me a message that said, paraphrased: “Don’t apologize. I love this. I’m sitting in my living room with no distractions from the other hundred people and it’s just like you’ve come into my home to for a private conversation.” Since then, although I still prefer in-person speaking, I feel much more assured that, from the user end, it probably feels better than I think. There are, for many people, lots of advantages to engaging learning at home.
I thought about that interaction because I just read an excellent article by Karen Powell Sears in Inside Higher Ed, “5 ways online learning benefited some students,” in which she reports on the ways online learning was a real gift for many students. I’m thinking about ways I can improve my in-person classroom environment based on the wisdom she has shared. Please read: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/07/14/five-ways-online-learning-benefited-some-students-opinion?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=06e0e4295f-DNU_2021_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-06e0e4295f-236871646&mc_cid=06e0e4295f&mc_eid=f7abfc8ad2