As an online learner, aiming to be a professional in the field of primary education, I have come to understand the skills and attributes that are vital for my professional success. In all educational (and everyday) contexts, I have realised the importance of understanding and utilising interpersonal communication skills. I had never fully grasped, however, the concept of interpersonal communication skills being applied online up until I commenced online tertiary education. Through our ever changing world, however, evolving and applying these communicative skills online is fast becoming a necessity. I have no doubt that my future career in primary …show more content…
This allows for students, such as myself, to expand upon their knowledge and have a more complex and justified understanding of the world (Pritchard & Woollard, 2013).
Although learning online allows for these interactions to take place, it also tends to be more self-guided than traditional learning. The learner must be responsible for his/her own learning, and the motivation needs to come entirely from the self. For those with that kind of motivation, and for those who already have an understanding of how they learn best, online learning can be highly beneficial. For me, this has definitely been the case, as I find that my own learning style is paced, and my knowledge is consolidated when I have the time to find information or resources that are more relatable to me. Learning online allows me to both pace myself and provides me with the time to contextualise my learning. I have thus gained deeper understandings with materials in a shorter amount of time than I do in traditional …show more content…
It is important to be responsible for our craft in order to maintain reputability as a source (Edutopia, 2013). Likewise, it is important when consuming information that we are able to decipher what is reputable information so that our own understanding is corroborated with fact, rather than opinion. To make this task of deciphering reputable texts easier, Metzger (2007) proposes criteria from which we can follow: accuracy, authority, coverage, objectivity, currency and coverage. By following these guidelines, I am able to ensure that the sources I obtain are accurate, fact rather than opinion and up-to-date and relevant. Ensuring that these standards are met means that I am able to maintain a reputable knowledge base (Metzger,