Documentation:Developing Social Space/Identity

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Identity

When is it best for a student to post anonymously? How much personal information should a student reveal in an online course? What does the digital tattoo for your course look like? How do you foster an online environment that encourages, rather than hinders, a learner's ability to project a meaningful online portrait? What is the students' perception of you as the instructor? How does this impact your interaction with them?

Just as every face-to-face cohort develops its own identity and dynamics, each online course will evolve in accordance with it inhabitants. Fostering a vibrant online community requires participants to project an authentic online portrait while developing the skills and confidence required to achieve the course objectives. Even though some activities might require students to adopt roles that may not come naturally to them (e.g. skeptic, summarizer, peer-instructor, researcher, initiator) it is important that learners be able to demonstrate self expression while developing the cognitive skills required to successfully complete the course. This means that not only must the learners engage with the course content, but they must have ample opportunity to engage with each other and with the instructor. Courses that promote socialization and provide opportunities for participants to project themselves socially while interacting with each other will invariably be more successful than courses that focus only on student-content interaction.

Circle question.pngReflection

  • Does the use of external tools in your course respect the institution's privacy policy?
  • Are there enough opportunities for students able to project themselves socially in an authentic manner in your course?
  • How might the use of roles help/hinder the students' mastery of your course material?
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