Distance Education in Transition - Master of Distance Education ...

Moderating a Virtual Seminar
Among the negative statements, there are some that help to clarify the issue. Students
deplore the "lack of progression" which is the consequence of a-synchronism,
individualized autonomous learning and network approaches. They miss the "essence" of
the persons involved in the seminar, which cannot be sensed or felt because of the
electronic transmission. They would like to become aware of the "energy" that is present
in learning environments shared by a few or many people. They want to experience "real"
discussions. These remarkable statements are based on deeper insights.
To sum up, we can say that it is interesting to see how quite a number of students manages
to praise and to criticize the virtual seminar at the same time. This means that they sense
the complexity of the new format, and this prevents them from providing clear-cut
answers. The following posting shows clearly how the thinking process comprises
negative and positive aspects as well.
Response Title: 10/23 Dialogue in electronic communication
Author: Susan M Thomas
Date: Monday, 10/23/2000 9:55 PM EDT
Dr. Peters, Thomas, and class,
Is it dialogue when a student poses a question to a professor and receives a response through conference
or an email? Has dialogue taken place when a student makes a comment to another student's post and no
further interaction occurs? To me, such communications seem more characteristic of reciprocal, answering
behavior than of an actual dialogue.
A dialogue has movement; it has impetus – where the participants actively contribute to the progress of
the conversation in the course of asking questions, expressing opinions, reflecting, and evaluating. A
dialogue cannot progress if it is subject to frequent interruptions by new students entering the discussion
with different thoughts. It is this lack of progression and interactivity, as well as the absence of a person's
essence that I feel characterize the asynchronous conference as detached and isolated and not really a
true form of dialogue.
Communication transmitted through electronic media can never replace the genuineness of face-to-face
communication. But, there are approaches that have been brought to light during this course that may be
applied to electronic communication to reduce student isolation and facilitate learning through dialogue.
Holmberg has shown that guided didactic conversations can lead to development of a personal rapport
between teacher and student. On pages 36–37, Peters identifies skills that a student can develop by active
participation in a dialogue. Thomas suggested the possibility of roles for students to stimulate debate,
critical analysis and evaluation in a conference discussion. These approaches can certainly intensify
meaningful, academic dialogue in electronic communications.
If universities intend to use electronic interactions as a substitute for face-to-face communication, they
must be prepared to educate both students and teachers in the practice of academic dialogue and its
importance in teaching and learning in distance education. Regards, Susan Thomas.
Randy Sweeting was also impressed by the complexity of the issue. This student made
it clear that there are no "simple yes and no answers" when comparing the two formats
of the seminar. "Moderation and balance to me are more suitable answers than yes and no.
The freedom of autonomy, the exchange of dialogue and the construction of structure
may vary from person to person. One may be presented as strength, while the other(s)
may be considered a weak area. The idea is to balance."
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