Over the last semester we have all participated in a class with
a very different learning format from that which we are used to.
Whether we signed up for an online class or not, almost all of
the educational content of this class has been presented online.
Independent, online learning, presents a very different learning
experience than the traditional university course. Rather than
seeing and hearing a professor lecture and discussing our
learning in a social, classroom setting we have obtained most of
our information through online textbooks, tutorials and videos
and have discussed it using Facebook, Hootcourse and this blog.
The question is: Is this new form of education that does not
revolve around the face-to-face social experience between a
teacher and a classroom bring the same benefits? Is social
interaction important for learning? Do the social capabilities
of the internet (i.e. Facebook) sufficiently replace in-person
communication? In her article, "The Developing Social Brain:
Implications for Educa