I'm teaching our Fiction Elements Online class this semester and have asked all the students to blog about how they're finding the experience of being an online student, but I thought I should lead off and say something about how I'm finding the experience of teaching online. I've also suggested they may all like to post a picture, because some of our students aren't on campus -- for example, we have offshore students, and sometimes others from remote corners of Australia.
This is my second year of teaching this subject, and I must say I'm really enjoying the online class. It's great to have a mix of both on-campus and off-campus students, and to see everyone's different perspectives.
I love logging in and seeing who has been active on the Discussion Board -- who has said what, and who's responding to whose post, the new directions a particular discussion is taking. Generally, I try to follow up everyone's response to a particular activity, whether it's a writing exercise or a story analysis or a general discussion about an aspect of fiction. When a discussion does take off with the students responding to each other, I'll read all the posts but won't necessarily respond. I will, however, if I feel I have something to add or a question to ask, or if I'm just busting to say something.
It's funny, because I don't get to have that personal contact I have in a face-to-face classroom where I see people each week, but sometimes people will write things that they might not say face to face, and so I still feel like I'm getting to know everyone quite well.
What I'm looking forward to at the moment is our first chat session. I know last year this was a lot of fun -- it's just coordinating it, and trying to get a time to suit everyone that's a problem, but it's well worth the effort as it gives us the chance to all be together at the same time.
Tracey Rolfe
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