Those of us who have been teaching for a while know full well one of the great allures of our lofty profession – Power and Control. Even the most student-centered of us still knows that for 50 minutes three or four times a week, we rule the tiny domain of the classroom. We set the rules, we control the horizontal, we control the vertical.

Even when we give our lectern over to the students, we watch the clock, we measure the time and constantly fuss over whether we have, on the whole, achieved something today in the classroom. We survey the classroom to see who is attentive and who is obviously bored. We read the divining signs of body language and test the wind for degrees of student engagement. We respond with perhaps a little more excitement or a well-placed question or bit of praise to liven the class up, to keep things moving, to use our time well.

On the web, students rule whatever classroom exists. We still get to set the rules, establish requirements, and stake out the boundaries, but it ends there in many respects. Student might breeze through our web site staying only long enough to make sure they know what is due next, while others may browse and linger exploring the depths. Students may be happy or sad or bored or engaged. They may log on a 4 in the morning or during break from work. And we cannot add that extra energy in our voice or toss out a pop quiz in response to….response to what? That is the point.

In your first forays using the web, especially in completely online courses, be prepared to face a period of withdrawal from the ability to use your voice, your body movement, your command of the moment to control, cajole, or otherwise inspire students. Instead you have to place your trust in the environment you create, in other strategies that can engage as surely as a lively discussion in class.

Most importantly you have to recognize that it is the immediate that becomes replaced by the mediated. In time, you’ll learn to have the same sense of control – benign and enlightened control – over the kind of experience your students have. You’ll learn to read other signs than body language, become sensitive to group dynamics spread across days rather than minutes.

And you’ll realize that learning has ALWAYS occurred inside your students’ heads and that your perceptions of command and control are just that, perceptions. You’ll find that students rule on the web and you can still have an effect to ensure that they do rule wisely, that they are even inspired.