I'm intrigued by the doors opened by the advent of the Internet.
I am in the process of making a new friend, and were it not for Internet, I might never have discovered how funny, bright and interesting she is! Her emails are engaging, lively and rich with salient language. Truly a delight to read, which is kind of interesting, because
I am in the process of making a new friend, and were it not for Internet, I might never have discovered how funny, bright and interesting she is! Her emails are engaging, lively and rich with salient language. Truly a delight to read, which is kind of interesting, because
unlike me, she is a quiet, calm introvert. She doesn't talk much where we met in person, and had we not had the opportunity to communicate online, our friendship would probably never have had the chance to flourish.
Similarly, I have a teacher candidate at the university for whom English is not the first language. Although she is enthusiastic and eager to learn, her frustration while attempting to contribute orally in class is evident and understandable: The pace during our course meetings is intimidating at best. But recently I had opportunity to observe her interactions with her peers during an online class, and was amazed at the depth, breadth and volume of her postings! Truly, the more thoughtful pace of the online class seems to be a fine match for this student, and for the first time, I was able to catch more than just a glimmer of her engagement with and understanding of the course material.
Whereas we extraverts tend to shoot off our "in-process" thoughts in as shallow and unprepared a fashion online as we do in person, the introvert is offered the opportunity to contribute and share ideas in the online forum in a way nearly impossible in person.
I celebrate the mainstream arrival of this new phase of inter-personal communication!
Similarly, I have a teacher candidate at the university for whom English is not the first language. Although she is enthusiastic and eager to learn, her frustration while attempting to contribute orally in class is evident and understandable: The pace during our course meetings is intimidating at best. But recently I had opportunity to observe her interactions with her peers during an online class, and was amazed at the depth, breadth and volume of her postings! Truly, the more thoughtful pace of the online class seems to be a fine match for this student, and for the first time, I was able to catch more than just a glimmer of her engagement with and understanding of the course material.
Whereas we extraverts tend to shoot off our "in-process" thoughts in as shallow and unprepared a fashion online as we do in person, the introvert is offered the opportunity to contribute and share ideas in the online forum in a way nearly impossible in person.
I celebrate the mainstream arrival of this new phase of inter-personal communication!
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