Front Row/ Back Row

Interesting Topic and after reading several other blogs on the topic I chose to mostly just respond to Davids comments.

I agree that typically in the regular class back row students want to be less involved and unnoticed, while front row students want involvement and interactive learning. I am not sure that this has anything to do with motivation or success, but perhaps more about how they like to learn and how shy they are. For instance a very intelligent person may sit in the back because the subject is easy for him and he just wants to skate on by. While a lower functioning student may sit in the front just to talk with the teacher in hopes they will give them a better grade. I know it happens like that sometimes it is just hard to know how often.

Are all online seats front row? Good question. I suppose in the since that you have and open view and communication pathway to the teacher, then yes. But in the since of being unnoticed if you want to be then you are also a back row student.

I think students get the advantages of both a front and back row student if they want them. The problem is that some people view front row/ back row as simply how much a student wants to interact. If so, then online education has this dynamic. Because online you can be as interactive as you want to be with the teacher and class, only you don't have to pick a seat.

All seats online are equal so there are not "better seats" as David said. Do teachers teach to the front row? Of course. If some students are engaged and interacting with you then you will tend to run with it. Although David said online courses can overcome this with tools, it is still about student motivation and even those tools can't overcome that. Teachers online don't necessarily speak to only the first row, but in blogging, chatting, IMing only some students may interact which gives the same effect as Front row/back row.

I think David had and excellent point about getting students involved. Asking them questions can just be setting them up for failure. But "asking open-ended questions that have many possible answers" can be very effective to get the confidence of the student up and get them interacting more.

Overall I think front row/back row doesn't exist online, but the things you can from them can still be gained by how you interact with online courses.