So that's what you look like.....

Today I met one of my Boone classmates. It was great to see her face. From now on I'll have a new appreciation for her comments and blogs. She and I will be dealing with some of the same students as ASU begins to provide more services for the off-campus programs, especially the new undergraduate full-time, daytime programs. I look forward to finding out more about her project and the impact it will have on the students here and at the other sites. I wonder how many on-campus students will also use her program --- especially since they may be more tech savvy than some of the off-campus students who are still be living at home.

Anyway, just another plus for taking this class. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the group in December. I am enjoying the AET Zone and all the possibilities for doing research and just playing in the commons, but I know the most important part of this educational experience for me is still meeting the members of the class and hopefully getting to know them. I cannot imagine a class that meets totally on-line without some face-to-face interaction. We are all using technology that was used on Star Trek and the Jetsons for our work and in our daily lives. Who knew that a tricorder would become a cell phone with GPS? Only Gene Rodenberry! As long as it is a supplement to our interactions and isn't the replacement, I guess I can live with it. Sometimes it feels like it isn't real when I can't see, hear or touch. Interaction and learning for me includes all of my senses --- again, this may be because of my counseling background, or just my age. I am too easily distracted with all the gadgets.

So for now, I'll enjoy this new world and look forward to adding new voices and human faces to the avatars in December.