Bridging the Gap: Online Teaching and the Disembodied Learning Experience
Susan Miiller, Annette Cohen, Linda Smith

Abstract
We now know much more than before about teaching and learning online. Online teaching shifts to the student as an individual within the learning community. Using Web 2.0 tools takes social presence to another level, communicating to the student that the instructors care about them. As in teaching in a face- to-face classroom, the class develops as a learning community. Students agreed that the collaborative online format facilitated their ability to find innovative and original solutions to creative problem solving challenges. Collaborative features facilitated survival of the solitary lifestyle of the distance learner. Students experienced freedom from face-to-face stress and excelled in the online courses. Online instructors need to continue to research innovative ways to combat the cold nature of text using a variety of tools such as blogs, discussion board “critiques”, virtual chats, virtual office hours, and virtual groups. Support from Teaching and Learning Centers can afford online teachers a variety of innovative tools to enhance the collaborative online approaches in their curriculum.

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