Google+ and other things....

Google+ and other things.... It occurred to me this evening as I was thinking about distance education I felt as though something was missing. I have taken a few classes at this point and while I do enjoy it, I've found I miss the element of camaraderie. I do get to know some of my classmates and recognize them when I sign up for additional classes but it is entirely different than a face to face cohort of a program. Sure webtycho is partly to blame, but are the facilitators or the students to blame? I don't think so. Distance education is still growing and I think we are still learning about how to teach with online education and how to provide the best experience for all parties involved. This is where I think Google+ and other services might come in handy. What I feel is missing are the general conversations, "what did you think about that paper?", "was that test hard?", while we do have those conversations its as if you are in the classroom the whole time. There isn't any one on one time. In the institution I work at they have lots of mentor programs, I don't think this is a bad idea (and I think there is one, I should have taken advantage of that if I remember correctly). But how often do you get to ask your classmate the same things you would in a face to face environment? I think Google+ allows for enough privacy for students but allows them to interact with each other, have a more personal dialogue

maybe I'm crazy?

6/12.