Face-to-Face vs. Cyberspace: Finding the Middle Ground
Although not as contentious as the conflict in The War of the Worlds,
there has long been a division between distance learning and face-to-face, on-campus
programs. Here, W. Sean Chamberlin explores the middle ground, where the best
elements of distance and face-to-face learning can be merged.
In H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, an army of nefarious
Martians attacks Earth in an attempt to destroy humanity and wrest control of
our planet. All attempts by humans to stop the invaders fail, yet Earth is saved
when the aliens succumb to a fatal microscopic infection.
To some, the invasion of cyber teaching in the landscape of academia incites
an equally repulsive reaction. The invaders who hail online education as the
“end of teaching as we know it” are temporarily driven back with comments
such as “it’s only a fad” or “they said the same thing about
tele-courses.” Proponents may cite benefits or no significant difference,
while naysayers see detriments and high dropout rates.
This war of the worlds between on-campus teaching and online teaching rages
on nearly every campus and fuels debate about the usefulness of cyberspace as
an environment for teaching and learning. Some desire an end to cyber teaching
similar to that which befell Wells’ Martian invaders, while others envision
a world bathed in the peaceful glow of computer monitors from which all knowledge
emanates.
Thankfully, there is a middle ground. Many of us use the Internet to supplement
our campus courses or teach hybrid courses, partially on-campus and partially
online. Some of us teach fully on-campus and fully online courses at the same
time. But all of us who teach in both worlds are double agents, caught in a
struggle to bridge those worlds, and make effective use of both face-to-face
and online environments to ensure successful teaching and learning.
By taking advantage of the pedagogical strengths of on-campus and online teaching,
instructors can offer students the greatest chance to discover their strengths
and weaknesses as learners and the best opportunity to find their path to achieving
success. In my courses, this result has been accomplished by using the same
syllabus and course guidelines for all students, regardless of whether they
are enrolled on-campus or online.
What are the Differences?
It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss the entire range of differences
between face-to-face and online teaching, but let’s examine a few examples
of key areas in which differences are exposed.
The differences are perhaps most obvious in terms of communications. Direct
face-to-face interactions between student and instructor and/or other students
may or may not occur on campus, but communications are virtually impossible
to avoid online.
Clearly, each of these types of communications has its benefits. Although in-person
communication provides opportunities to clarify and restate (and to take advantage
of tone of voice and body language), many students are reluctant to engage in
direct communication with an instructor or their fellow classmates. Online communications
via e-mail, mailing lists, and discussion boards or chat rooms can level the
playing field and remove some of the psychological and social barriers to student-teacher
and student-student interactions.