Minding the Body in the Virtual Classroom

Eighty-nine percent of colleges and universities in the United States offer online courses and of those institutions 58% offer fully online degree programs (Parker, Lenhart & Moore, 2011). With the proliferation of online education, special attention must focus on the benefits and challenges experienced by distance learners. At first glance, distance education affords convenience and grants users flexibility which supports overall quality of life. Those in rural areas, individuals who travel for work, or frequently relocate due to military service, etc., now have greater options and opportunities in regards to their education. As a result, virtual classrooms host students from a range of different backgrounds and geographical locations, making for a deeply enriching learning environment.  

Increasingly, there is an expectation to be smart-phone, ipad, or computer accessible 24/7.  Essentially, tethering to technology. “The Internet and cellphones have created a kind of tyranny of connectedness: Even those who don’t have small children or jobs with the State Department, it seems, now need to be accessible at all hours of the day. It’s as if we’re doctors on call” (Kim, 2015).  When one works or attends class via a distance learning, the requirement to connect appears non-stop.  Boundaries blur.  Faculty and students alike may ask the question, “should I respond now”?  While a brief response may appear harmless, providing an immediate response may not be healthy. This attachment to devices and the constant use of technology is associated with higher stress levels for these Americans. Generally, nearly one-fifth of Americans (18 percent) identify the use of technology as a very or somewhat significant source of stress. The most stressful aspect? Americans say technology causes the most stress when it doesn’t work (20 percent) (APA, 2017).  Engaging and modeling effective strategies in the classroom and workplace are essential to developing and creating a healthy balance as distance learning educators.

Online programs present novel challenges to education and learning. Because a virtual setting can evoke a sense of separateness, isolation and stress are not uncommon. While students and faculty are together via video and/or audio, they are not actually together in the same physical space. Separation through flat screens with delays in audio and video mute nonverbal communication. Indeed, participants see, and are seen, solely from the neck up. The ability to read nonverbal communication becomes limited, as are the opportunities to engage on a kinesthetic level with classmates. This creates a disembodied experience of self and other, where shared, mutual experiences are altered. Engaging on a kinesthetic, or movement level, fosters kinesthetic empathy, or the shared, mutual experiences of echoed and synchronous movement with others (Fraenkel, 2009). Engaging in kinesthetic empathy builds trusting relationships and fosters connection to self and others. This creates opportunities for healthy, embodied experiences that promote collaboration and engagement in the classroom.  

Just like auditory and visual learners, kinesthetic learners have a drive to process information in a specific way. For kinesthetic learners, movement is their preference; learning is action-based. In a typical classroom, kinesthetic learners have the use of space to literally get up and move around the room, or to spread out materials they can easily manipulate. Educators can make thoughtful teaching suggestions in the virtual classroom to maximize kinesthetic learning. For example, by encouraging students to take notes by putting pen to paper, educators are attending to the body and the need for movement. From a purely biological perspective, movement discharges energy and tension, which may help ease stress and improve concentration in the classroom. Further, movement increases blood flow, which increases oxygen and aids brain functioning, leading to better learning outcomes (Jensen, 2005).

The authors will facilitate an experiential movement component for participants. Discussion will be based on the aforementioned ideas about technology, learning, and movement. Specific questions offered to the group will include:

1. What do we miss when we are in a virtual classroom?

2. How are we impacted by being tethered to technology?

3. How can we keep the virtual classroom “alive” and creative by incorporating movement?