Week 4 Blog 2: Posers, Social Loafers, and Trust

I, too, am addicted to google reader and am sure that Diigo will be just as valued. But what I really want to write about is Chapter 4 in Connections.



For my first online class I was the poser. I pretended to be interested while really not putting in all the reading and work.Part of it was the structure of the class. We sort of had to try to get the attention of the instructor for approval. This was several years ago and understanding of  best practices has evolved into classes like this one.
Another part of the chapter that struck was social loafing. While I am a practicing social loafer, I didn't know we had a name.Is there a diigo group? A quick Google search lead me to an abstract for a 1913 study by the US Army that found the greater number of people asked to pull some weight on a rope, the less productive the group was. More members more of the group felt they could slack. People felt more connected and engaged in smaller groups. Lots of applications to a classroom or even a faculty setting. I have sat in many large staff meeting and felt disengaged, while our smaller grade level meetings are much more productive. Worthy of more thought...

Interesting Article

Lastly, I come to trust again.

Yes, we could go crazy with lots of Aladin and trust analogies. Who is he really? Jafar as poser. Can you really trust a rug and a monkey? Soaring to exciting places... A whole new world...

Sorry -

Skype and the other ways we communicate in this class really make for a professional and diligent learning community. Posers and slackers have fewer places to hide. I have a feeling of trust here.
I am proud of the school we work in because we try to build those relationships with kids. Teachers who see the potential of advisory really put the effort in to get to know their kids. Even if it doesn't get us out of the SINI bin, at least those kids will have the memory of the teacher who knew them and believed in him/her.