This resource is based on a discussion that took place on 13 and 14 August 2003. It was moderated by Maureen Connors from Relationships Australia.

From Maureen's introduction:

High levels of emotion in the form of anxiety and lack of confidence are recognised as possible barriers to participation in on-line learning, particularly in the early stages access. Salmon (2001) has proposed a 5 stage model to describe the processes involved in teaching and learning. Our Learnscope Project Team last year compared  Salmon’s model of learning with a model of group process developed by Tuckman. In addition to the anxiety of encountering new situations Tuckman’s model provides a framework for understanding the emotional dynamics involved in a group at different stages in it’s life cycle. It seems essential to take the time to support on-line students through these emotional processes. In our discussion we will invite participants to focus on their emotional experiences both as on-line facilitators and trainees. We will explore together an understanding of how emotional issues may be played out online in a learning context; in ways that enhances learning or impede learning. In short we are interested in how to “read between the lines” to identify the core emotional message in trainees communications.

In this activity, participants explored the emotional challenges posed by elearning. It was agreed that studying online can be a daunting prospect for many learners and that emotions in the form of anxiety, a lack of confidence and feelings of isolation are possible barriers to successful online study, particularly in the early stages. The group came up with a number of ideas for managing these emotional difficulties.

Emotional challenges posed by online communication and learning

• People can misinterpret the tone of a message. But, if you try to make the message simple so that it can’t be misinterpreted, it loses its emotional content.
• Learners can feel disconnected.
• There is always one student who interprets a question differently to everyone else - no matter how much consultation and trialling has taken place with the materials.
• Students can worry about not keeping up; not knowing if they have responded correctly and/or appropriately in forums and exercises.
• There can be misunderstandings because of what the reader brings to the exchange – their previous experiences or mood.
• Humour is often misinterpreted. Ironic and mildly sarcastic comments made by facilitators tend to be lost on the students. Unless the facilitator rectifies the confusion quickly, students can gang up against him/her!
• It’s difficult getting some people to be spontaneous in their responses online.
• Perfectionists can get left behind! I read an account about a student who would copy and paste all the messages posted by her facilitator & classmates into a Word document, print it out to read & ponder for a couple of days. By the time she had constructed and proof-read her response and was ready to post it up, the class discussion had already moved on! Then she would panic because she was behind, and it was difficult for her to catch up because she needed to put so much effort into completing each activity!
• If you email the facilitator and they don’t respond you can feel quite alienated
• In today's fast-paced world it’s easy to just forge ahead and forget about how someone is feeling.
• Sometimes there can be a small misinterpretation of text which then develops into something much larger.
• For subjects with open enrolments – i.e. with students starting at any time - it is easy for the learner to feel left out, not part of the group and not wanting to join in for fear of rejection.
• Learners can be self-conscious about putting their ideas in writing and seeing them on the screen in front of them. Seeing comments publicly displayed on a website can make them feel exposed and vulnerable.

Ideas about how to manage the emotional challenges associated with online learning

• Colour and font change can be great assets in conveying meaning and tone online, and students love it.
• E-mail and discussion are predominantly conversational - write as you would speak.
• If a student doesn’t don't post for a while that can be a sign that something is wrong.
• It’s important to build trust in online group discussions so people don’t feel self-conscious making posts.
• Expressions of frustration or lots of questions or an absence of positive comments could alert you to ask a learner some questions. This also helps to get to know the person better, because you could be wrong of course.
• As a routine thing at the beginning of each course predict when there will be 'difficult' times and ask each student how they would want to 'signal' that they are having problems.
• Designate various real world locations where students could meet to discuss topics or study together.
• Use a buddy system. Get students to pair up on activities.
• Use Tuckman's model. It’s the group development process people usually refer to as the "Forming, storming, Norming, Performing, Mourning " model. Http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
• Prompt feedback from facilitator is important. Most students need to know "if they are on track" and no feedback leads to a lack of motivation. Try to provide feedback within 24 or 48 hours of their posting and let them know this is the timeframe.
• Use the old 'reflective' listening technique. Check out that what you’ve “heard” and interpreted is what was meant. (The main problem with this is that in today's fast-paced world it can sometimes seem very time consuming and cumbersome).
• Sometimes it can be useful to be extra sensitive to even seemingly small misinterpretations and take the time to clarify them.
• Try and develop a set of supportive relationships within the group, not just between the facilitator and student but also between peers.
• It is disappointing to post a lengthy response only to be told (usually a day or two later) that it wasn't on the right track. Post shorter answers first and wait to get feedback from the facilitator &/or classmates, before composing the longer response with examples.
• The use of emoticons is really useful to express simple emotions
• Be a little more direct and explicit than when talking to minimise the chance that the intent will be misinterpreted.
• Have a face to face social event if possible
• Use personal profiles with photos
• Have informal, frequent contact with learners
• include lots of non-formal items, such as *grins*.

Contributors
Maureen Connors, Frankie Forsyth, Lyn Fletcher, Kim Edgar, Sally Delaney, Margaret Cupitt, Peggy Chen, Mary Aquino, Jane Anderson