Learning to forge relationships with professors and other students electronically can be a challenge
There is one topic I am anxious to talk about, and that is the use of electronic communication for adult students.
If you are a distance learning student, then most if not all of your relationships with your professors are based on e-mail and electronic submissions of some type. If you have been doing it for some time, no doubt you’ve experienced a lot of different situations and probably have some interesting stories you could share! If you’re new to the world of online education, then you may have more questions than answers.
Academic communication on the whole is a bit different than most types of interactions we typically experience. The relationship between professor and student can be a warm one, where you build an easy banter back and forth and you feel comfortable presenting ideas or asking questions, and they are prompt and considerate in their replies. Just like in life, not all relationships are that simple. Have you ever had an experience where for whatever reason, you just can’t seem to relate to a person? When every time you say or write something to them that you think sounds one way, they take it another and it just continually gets worse until you can barely communicate at all?
We have all had that experience at one time or another, but when it happens between professor and student, particularly in a distance learning environment, it can be unpleasant. Not only can you end up feeling frustrated, but there is a certain amount of fear mixed in there as well because it’s so difficult to reach out to them personally. The same type of situation can arise with classmates also. We are often required to critique each other’s work as part of our online assignment. It’s one thing to do so when you’re sitting in a classroom: you have a face that goes with the name, you probably have met, maybe even worked on a project together already or become friendly in class. Its another thing entirely to critique the work of someone you have never spoken to and probably have never communicated with until now. Consideration is key here!
Tune in to the next few articles as we explore this ever-interesting topic in greater detail!
