F2F or Online: Which Is Better? A Cautionary Tale...

Attending a small group meeting reminded me of the ambiguities of face-to-face communication and how they apply to teaching and learning. The experience reminded me of why it's so irritating when f2f communication or instruction is seen as some sort of gold standard through which other delivery forms such as online can be measured, when in reality different delivery forms have their own strengths and weaknesses.

This evening I sat in a neighbor's living room and participated in a small group discussion with the two candidates running for councilperson in our city's ward, along with the current councilperson who will be the next mayor (since he's running unopposed). As I sat there, I realized that I liked the f2f nature of the exchange; it was fun to watch people's facial expressions for a change, as I really do spend too much time online sometimes. As a social event it was pleasant and enjoyable, but as an information/learning session it was largely a waste of time. I eventually realized that I hadn't learned much more about the candidates than what I already knew from reading about them in the city newspaper. Although I did get to make judgments based on how they presented themselves in person -- whose appearance I liked, whose voice tone was irritating or not, what each communicated through their gestures and body language. And, it was useful to make contact with some of the other people in attendance for future reference.

Does a clear picture emerge from this murky description? For me, it is a clear picture of -- ambiguity. I'm making more informed judgments about the candidates -- or am I making more spurious ones? The meeting communicated information -- but not very much information -- but how would I have known that without attending the meeting? I got Woody Allen credit for showing up, but I didn't do much else than show up.

All of these ambiguities and more hold true for f2f instruction. Teachers and students read visual cues well or badly; being there is essential but the learning experience is a far cry from optimal; there remains something seemingly elemental about meeting someone in person, but that applies within a certain context which is taken for granted but not very well understood.