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In the Media-Centered Perspectives chapter from the start of the year, the parasocial relationship theory is defined as a "one-sided relationship where one party know a great deal about the other party, but the other does not...often occur[ing] between celebrities and fans."  Many of us have confessed our parasocial relationships through class, twitter, or this very blog.  I'm guilty myself of referring to comedians Tina Fey and Gilda Radner by their first names.

My girls.

I'd like to take some time to discuss a different angle on the parasocial relationship I've noticed this semester: that between student and teacher.  In one of my classes especially, the first day was kicked off with an announcement that this was a trial semester where we would be combining elements of an online and regularly meeting class to create a sort of hybrid.  Video lectures are posted on the regular days when he did not hold class.  We are expected to post a specific number of intellectual comments on each video.

On the upside of this process: no class!  At least one of the three meeting times per week, I mean.  This is a nine a.m. class too, so I didn't even try to fool myself with a "I'll just get up at the same time and get the lectures done during the regular meeting period." Nope, I slept in and it was great.  And at any point during the day that I had time, I did my substitute work.  This also provides the opportunity to make students participate a clearly defined amount.  I assume this cuts down time deciding participation grades.  The students post three times or they get a bad grade.  Those posts have to have some element of brainpower to them, or they get a bad grade.

On the other hand, there is a big difference between class discussion and commenting on a youtube video.  The classes where we met as a group resulted in some good, meaty discourse.  Online, few people interact with one another, and rarely ask questions.  Sure, if you got your video comments down days ahead of time, someone may mention that they agree, but they're more concerned with getting their six points for the week instead.  There is little interaction between the students, and even less between educator and student...

There are some wild ideas out there about machines taking over the nurturing roles in human society.  Machines build products, package food, distribute cash, even give us our lobsters.  If your interested, just ask Mama Google.  Even where machines aren't replacing humans, they are certainly working with them.  Students are expected to check their emails and certain websites frequently.  Exchanging emails lead to finding times to schedule meetings.  If I didn't have my personal laptop for home, I'd have spent at least another three hours on campus today.

So then, we look at this lecture procedure.  On typical days we go to class and spend an hour receiving the information from the professor, and then discuss that information with him and our classmates.  But on the one or two days a week that we don't have class at the regular time, we are listening to prerecorded lectures from the professor.  We get the knowledge from him in a disconnected form.  This is still in his voice, his teaching style, even with some jokes thrown in.  We consume the media like we would an episode of Friends.  I believe this creates a version of the parasocial relationship.  The students are still listening to him speak for an hour, but our only responses are several typed comments about the topic.  I've yet to see someone make a lighthearted comment about a topic, like they may in a regular small class setting.  Everyone wants to come off smart enough to earn their points and be done.

Since it is a small class, under thirty students, we are expected to speak up on the days we do have class (although, it is a morning class, and I'll admit there are days I play the "just avoid eye contact and hopefully he won't call on me" game).  However, the majority of communication from the students comes from our written assignments.  The two or three academic writing assignments we have for class are the time that the students get to give the professors insight on them.  So, I'm not sure what my professors gather from me by just reading what I have to say for a grade.  Once (not for a college-level course), I compared a Twain villain to Ursula from The Little Mermaid.  I thought it was a very insightful comparison, but Mrs. Gugerty didn't.  "Your tone's just a little too casual for structured writing, don't you think, dear?"

With the use of Blackboard, inQsit, Gradebook, and personal websites all over the place, there is plenty of room to create content that connects you to others.  There is also the potential to alienate yourself.  I don't think there is any harm to using technology in the classroom.  Technology is a giant part of our day.  I do think that this means we still need to take the time and present ourselves as people though, too.  Where's the fun in grading 300 lecture comments with no personality?  As college courses climb further and further into the cloud, it's interesting to see how the relationships between students and educators are changing.