The MI's in online learning

Monday, July 17, 2006

People smart

Interpersonal intelligence can play an important part in online teaching. For one to one teaching a sense of trust will help both parties to be honest and make the learning a pleasurable experience. Not only this, but if learning should occure through communication with each other, then it is essential to instill this feeling of trust in order to facilitate communication without the benefit of eye to eye contact. A f2f meet would, of course, be ideal beforehand; however, this isn't always possible.

How can people smartness be encouraged online? This is actually quite easy. One can learn from the kids these days, who are MSN and chat-proficient. And there are other tools which can be used for real-time communication. Skype and other voice chat tools allow the receiving party to here intonation and reasonably predict the feelings the other is experiencing - at least while that person is talking. Through use of video chats you can even see each other, making a communicative experience even more personal.

Groups can also bond through simple group devices such as yahoo. In this case the moderator has an important job, ie encouragement of others and frequent input and comment thereof.
Learning with computers is an excellent example of a bonding group of people, most of whom have never met each other outside the group. And yet there is not just an interest of topic, but a true personal interest for the other members.

My experience in this group has further kindled my interest for the possibilities of learning online, and the level of people smartness has been a major factor in keeping people active and interested!



5 Comments:

Blogger testecarla said...

Dear Illya,

I'm glad you are sharing your own views and ideas with us in the "learningwithcomputers" group! Amazing how we can learn from each other without ever meeting f2f!

Beijos,
Carla

5:30 PM  
Blogger Erika Cruvinel said...

Hello Illya
At the school where I teach there are about 130 teachers who I see every day. Can you believe that most of them have no idea about what Carla and I have been doing online? We talk to them about it every day, but they seem to ignore it because they think joining a community of practice is extra work. That's why I feel so comfortable in this group. There are people like you who understand that we are here to improve, to become better teachers and better people! We spend extra hours online reading other people's thoughts and giving one another feedback. We care for people that we might never meet f2f!
Warmly
Erika

5:55 PM  
Blogger Illya said...

Thank you Carla and Erika for your responses! Yes Erika, it is amazing. I think it's often a combination of fear of new technology and laziness und unwillingness to invest the time. I personally have found it very profitable both from the knowledge gained as well as from the emotional standpoint.
As the saying goes - Sharing is caring:-D
LoL
Illya

12:27 PM  
Blogger Nina Lyulkun said...

Carla, Erika and Illya, I do agree with you too. I feel myself here at my Uni as a maverick (in Russian - "white crow"). It's difficult to meet a person who is eager to gain some knowledge in new technologies. Anyway, I am sure, it's a matter of time.
Some years ago, my colleagues laughed at me that I spent much time at pc communicating with people around the world using e-mail. Now, they all are part of it.

Best regards,
nina
Thanks again for taking your time to share your experiences in new technologies and briliant ideas.

8:49 AM  
Blogger Gladys Baya said...

Lovely comment about our community, Illya! It's true interpersonal intelligence plays a very important role in online interaction, in spite of what many people think about computers as despersonalizing tools! :)
Keep posting!
Gladys

12:05 PM  

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