Online vs In Person Relationships

This topic seems to be haunting me.  Friday morning I was listening to the morning radio and the topic for debate was online dating.  The disc jockeys were stating that according to research the majority of men and women who met through an online dating platform were embarrassed to admit it.  This sparked a lively discussion about online dating and whether or not people who "got game" use the internet to find partners.

Later that night, I met up with some friends and the same discussion transpired.  Makes me wonder if they too were listening to the same station that morning.  According to my friends, online dating has become respectable.  It is no longer something to be embarrassed about because it is so mainstream.

So much of our social interaction in this day and age happens online.  Certain people feel liberated online like they are free to be themselves and engage in ways they do not feel comfortable in face-to-face situations.  Online interaction frees us from the generalizations and assumptions that are often made with a first impression.  On the other hand, there are those who are online social retards who struggle to maneuver through the world of status updates, tweets, hashtags and circles.

So where do I stand is the question I keep asking myself.  My answer for right now is that I guess I would be a hybrid citizen who enjoys a nice balance of both worlds. When I tip too much on one side or the other, I feel unbalanced, like something is missing.  I enjoy the conveniences of the online world, but I also love to unplug and enjoy what my physical surroundings have to offer.  Where do you stand?

Thank Goodness for Livestream

The Na Wahine O Ke Kai canoe race is a special time for Molokai residents and paddlers from around the world.  This epic sporting event where wahine (women) cross the Kaiwi channel between Molokai and Oahu in outrigger canoes is held annually and is considered the Super Bowl of paddling.  Each year it is a treacherous feat, but this year the wahine faced especially difficult circumstances at the start.

My family and I arrived at Hale O Lono harbor around sunrise to watch the start of the race.  When we arrived we watched as 8-10 foot swells came rolling into the mouth of the harbor.  Never before have we witnessed such daunting water conditions at the start of this race.  The women who were about to embark on this journey seemed surprisingly calm and collected.  

When they were given the green light to start heading out, the canoes raced to the mouth of the harbor.  With over 70 boats rushing to get to the starting line, the chaos began.  Residents tried to navigate the boat traffic telling paddlers when to rush out and when to hold back to avoid getting caught in the unforgiving sets.  Unfortunately, some of the crews were not as lucky as others and found themselves climbing waves as tall as their canoes.  One can only imagine what was running through their minds in that moment.

As an onlooker I felt hopeless watching canoes get tossed around in the waves as women battled to keep their canoe afloat and their fighting spirit alive.  It takes a tremendous amount of training and funding to get to this race and their preservation was admirable.  One canoe got swamped, but the girls paddled in their boat, bailed it, and rushed out in time to get out of the harbor for the race.  My heroes!  It made me wonder if I would have had the energy to continue.  

It came at great relief that only one boat was damaged and a set a bruised ribs resulted from the mornings events.  The onlookers were obviously shaken up. 

My sister was one of the strong wahine that battled water conditions all day in what turned out to be close to an 8 hour race for her and her novice team.  After such a scary start, we rushed home and turned on our computers and followed the women through the channel by subscribing to the live stream hosted by Ocean Paddler TV.  Thanks to this technology our minds were put at ease knowing that the conditions they faced at the start tapered as they continued their journey across the channel.  

While watching the live feed I was amazed at how many others were tuned in.  At one point there were over 900 people watching the event.  Technology provides accessibility to things that I wouldn't have imagined 10 years ago.  I was sure thankful for the Ocean Paddler TV crew for allowing me to watch many friends reach the finish line safely.  

The Next Generation of Techies

 All this research on how quickly technology is evolving is making my head spin!  I wonder if we will be able to keep up with the techies of tomorrow.  I look at my elders and think....please let it be easier for me to adapt when I hit their age.  By then there should be an app for that, right?

Take a look at this 2.5 year old navigating the iPad with ease.  

My son is the same way at 2.5 years old and so are many of his cousins.  Their ability to navigate technology at such a young age continues to amaze me and their excitement and engagement with these tools is fun to watch. 

Watching this video, I noticed that the young girl seems to have a short attention span.  She plays one game in each app and moves on to the next.  My son likes to flip quickly through them as well.  This lead me to wonder, will the speed of technology create students with shorter attention spans or is this typical for this age group?  What are your thoughts?  

R2D2-Don't Forget Display

Read, reflect, display and do is the basis of the R2D2 model.  The witty acronym is hard to forget and that is a good thing because is an instructional strategy to remember.  Utilizing this model allows the opportunity to offer instruction in a variety of formats that address the different learning styles in any particular class.  Another benefit is the freedom to adjust the parameters of the R2D2 assignment to accommodate students at different learning levels. 

Here is a breakdown of the different stages:

• Read-Present information to the student.
• Example:  Websites, Articles, Videos

• Reflect-Allow the student an opportunity to interpret what you have presented in writing
• Example:  Journal, Blog

•  Display-Students put together a visual representation of the information
• Example:  Graphs, Charts, Images

•  Do-Hands on application of material
• Opportunities for students to test/implement what they have learned

In a hybrid course I instructed last semester, I tried to include all the elements listed above.  However, there were parts of the model that were more heavily emphasized than others. I think the area I neglected the most is providing my students the opportunity to develop displays.  For visual learners, this is an important piece and I should allow them more opportunity to work in their area of expertise. 

Often the reflect and display sectors overlap.  I will try to allow more opportunities for students to build visual representations in their online reflections.  An example of how I did that was rather than having them write about professional attire, I had them search the web for an outfit they would wear to an interview and provide a brief description as to why they chose the particular look.  The students enjoyed this activity which was different from the normal text based response.  I will try to incorporate more activities like these to build upon the display element.

Tips for Succeeding in an Online Class

I've taken about 10 online courses throughout my academic history now and I can honestly say that each one was a completely different experience.  So, when we were asked to suggest tips for succeeding in an online course I knew it would be a tough question to answer. After some deliberation, I've narrowed it down to two primary tips that I think are necessary in any online course.

The first would be to stay organized.  Without a teacher directly in front of you or classmates you "talk story" with on a regular basis, it is a little more challenging to keep track of assignments and deadlines.  Being organized is especially beneficial when you are taking more than one course and you have to juggle the different requirements for each class.  I'm currently using the Google calendar system.  I like that I can see my calendar by month, week or day and that I am able to add events or tasks which I can check off once I've competed them. 

Secondly, I would encourage getting into the habit of going online daily and if possible a few times per day.  Even when I think I've completed all my assignments sometimes I log on to my different course sites and realize I missed something or someone answered a question I posed a few days ago.  Staying connected is crucial to success and I find the more I engage by logging in, the more I learn and benefit from a course. 

As an instructor, I try to stay mindful of what helps me succeed as a student.  Knowing that organization is key, I give my students multiple formats that show course requirements and deadlines.  I post a calendar to our course site, I print a copy for each student in the syllabus and I email it to them.  I know that students organize themselves differently and I want to try and accommodate as many different organization styles as possible to ensure student success. I also encourage the students in the first day of class and in the syllabus to make sure that they log on to their email frequently and check the course site daily.

Instructors need to stay flexible when developing courses and always remain open to student feedback.  I've found that as I spend more time as a student I become a better instructor.