time to reflect

Continuing with Greg Benfield's article. This is also posted in the wiki.

Benfield comments that it can be more satisfying to read a student's posting after they've had time to consider and engage with the learning material, than it is to hear a spontaneous response in a face-to-face tutorial. He recogises that "One of the great advantages of the threaded discussion is the time it allows for reflection, and the possibility for editing/refinement of one’s remarks.". Yet there is clearly a conflict in students because they recognise that the quality of what is produced 'should' be greater than that of spoken word - and this produces anxiety. Students may need the opportunity in the learning environment to explore the learning material and take guesses at what might be happening. Face-to-face comms evidently support spontaneous exploratory statements, whereas some (most? many?) students feel that message board postings are less forgiving of their 'mistakes' - and these mistakes are there for all to see, for perpetuity. This supports the assertion that tutors should reinforce the message that it is OK to make mistakes in the learning environment... and it is better to make your mistakes in public message boards (and be corrected) than alone in private blog and have them consolidated by silence [see: "it's OK to make mistakes"].