Communication theorists hypothesize that while e-mail may be exchanged and chatrooms utilized, these may be categorized as impersonal forms of communication. It is unlike sharing a cup of coffee, a sandwich, or meeting at the library to discuss issues. Web users crave relationships. As a teacher of communications, I am struck by the need to find a new communication paradigm for online instruction. Students of speech know that communication consists of a speaker, receiver, and most importantly feedback, which may be in the form of nonverbal or verbal clues.
Feedback creates the human relationship.
Students of writing recognize the communication paradigm as not being circular or two-way. It is simply writer and receiver. Writers and readers don't expect feedback. Humanization occurs by simply the consideration of the writers' ideas. It seems to me that what we need to consider in the creation of online instruction is a rethinking of how we communicate and what we expect from the communication.