Beyond jock and geek: Tips for success in online classrooms

Part of the allure of online classrooms is that anonymity offers you the chance to be yourself in ways that traditional classrooms can't. On campus, no one ever expects a jock to have an insightful comment or for a geek who sits up front not to have all the right answers. The truth is, it happens; students are human, not stereotypes. But in person, they may feel strong-armed into living up to their often undeserved, set-in-stone reputations.

And it's not just stereotypical jocks and geeks. Gender bias can be alive and well in the traditional college classroom, too. Consider these quick facts about gender inequality in the traditional campus classroom, courtesy of Columbia University:

1. Male students speak for longer periods and with more frequency than female students
2. Female students who speak up in class are interrupted more often
3. Instructors are more likely to call on male students than female students

Sometimes those types of social dynamics can make a classroom so uncomfortable that students simply give up. What's the point of raising your hand to ask a question when you feel like the aggressive student in the back is going to make a big deal about it the next time you're thrown together for a group activity? Or worse, yet, what if your instructor huffs at being interrupted? And what about the pointing and staring? There's no doubt: classrooms can be uncomfortable at times.

Online classrooms encourage communication

That's not to say that online classrooms don't create special challenges for instructors, too, or that some of these same biases don't exist, but online classrooms have an advantage because they are still new and evolving. As better technology and online classroom software has emerged, instructors have been able to adapt lessons to incorporate multiple instructional strategies for all types of learners.

The Illinois Online Network created by the University of Illinois points out that in the process of adapting lessons for online classrooms, instructors refocus attention on the instructional design of the course. And this refocusing, in many instances, has led to an emphasis on improved communication and interaction as the course is redesigned for an online environment.

Online education, then, allows instructors to evaluate their teaching closely, remedy inequalities and bias, and deliver high quality instruction for all types of learners. Online instructors, of necessity, pay especially close attention to the communication process, as it's imperative for online classrooms to work. Instructors usually have very clear communications policies because your learning community depends upon it; the professor expects to get an email from you when you have questions! With that kind of commitment to communication and with a safe online environment in which to participate, you have that golden opportunity to be the successful student you've always wanted to be -- free from any negative in-person, classroom dynamics.

Tips for succeeding in online classrooms

To succeed at learning in an online program, you must be comfortable communicating online. Here are some tips that can make your online learning experience everything you expect:

1. Get help with the technology if you need to. Nothing will wreck your confidence and keep you from participating if you're not sure how to use the portal, chat rooms or other online classroom tools.
2. Ask for examples of great online discussions and other class interactions. It can be helpful to see in detail an example of how successful online classrooms operate and how online students treat one another.
3. Give sufficient thought to all your communications. Take your time and choose your words carefully.
4. Treat others with respect.
5. Make a genuine effort with both your instructor and your classmates and be an active and contributing member of your online class.
6. Use common emoticons when appropriate. For online discussions and informal classroom interactions (meaning, not your semester research paper), these additional clues replace physical gestures and reduce the chance that your post could be interpreted as angry. :D

Keep in mind that if you don't want to participate in a learning community or communicate with your instructor or classmates, you might fare better with an independent learning-style course, of which there are many offered online. With the continued evolution of online education and the careful attention of education professionals, you can have a quality education experience that suits your needs as a student -- with absolutely no pointing and no staring.

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