Interview with Dr. Karen Murphy Dr. Karen Murphy, Associate Professor, developed the first on-line course in the College of Education and is an innovator in the field of educational technology. Dr. Murphy answered questions regarding new technological advances currently being used in the classroom. Because what they are able to do in my class for example, where there is a lot of communication that occurs, they find that they can rely on each other for technical problems, for getting together. This type of opportunity is not really available even when people meet together on campus because of schedules primarily.
Access is important, certainly quality of communication is important, which enhances learning.
The other area that is being explored a lot is the idea of cohesion, social cohesion. Affiliation, building collaborative communities, the affective aspects of learning. They ended up hosting each other overnight during family crises, they ended up talking through other family issues totally unassociated with the class. They were a group and they felt like a group. This is the kind of thing that this whole sense of groupness continues on after the class.