Learning and Communicating Online: A Reflective Essay on Skills

This essay presents a student's self-reflection on the 'Learning and Communicating Online' unit, highlighting the development of crucial skills for a future career as a cognitive psychologist. It emphasizes the importance of online communication skills, differentiating between synchronous and asynchronous methods, and stressing the need for succinct, clear, and accurate communication. The reflection also covers the evolution of the student's understanding of the online environment, particularly regarding the credibility of sources and the hierarchy of evidence. Furthermore, it discusses progress towards unit goals, including enhanced research skills and the effective use of online platforms for learning and communication, concluding with the integration of these skills into academic pursuits and future professional practice. The essay demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of online learning principles and their practical application in the field of psychology.

Running head: SELF-REFLECTION 1
Self- Reflection on Learning and Communicating Online
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

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Self- Reflection on Learning and Communicating Online
Introduction
Modifications in learning has occurred, and learning has become dynamic and diverse,
and enables learners to take more control of their learning and success. According to (Watkins &
Corry, 2013), passive learning is no longer sufficient to forge academic success as engagement
and interaction between students, instructors, peers, and different learning resources is necessary.
While face-to-face learning is the most common type of learning method and is convenient for
instructors to monitor progress and effective in imparting the rudimentary principles, and
concepts it is passive and it may not be convenient for some students. In such cases, online
learning can be the best option as it enables breaking through time and space constraints (Lei,
Wang, Li, & Luo, 2013). Therefore, it is fundamental for online students and instructors to be
able to effectively communicate in a manner that will enhance the learning experience. Further,
the absence of non-verbal language in the online environment necessitates knowledge on how to
learn and communicate online with efficiency. Through reflection the current paper outlines
important soft skills developed after undertaking the unit ‘learning and communicating online.’
Future Work Skill Development
One of the future work skills that I developed through the unit is online communication
skills. I realized that efficient communication is of paramount importance. Further, I learnt that
online communication is of two types, synchronous and asynchronous as supported by (Benson
& Brack, 2010). Synchronous communication involves real time interaction between people and
message are sent and received at one while asynchronous communication entails a slight or
prolonged delay where individuals interacting have to alternate between sending and receiving

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messages (Duck & McMahan, 2012). These include instant messaging, internet telephony, e-
mail, internet relay chat, videoconferencing, and SMS and wireless communications (Hansen,
Schniderman, & Smith, 2011). As (Peling & Burton 2016) outlines psychology is a
communication-based occupation as psychologists require to communicate with clients and other
professionals. I realized that just as traditional communication is important online
communication is similarly significant in psychology.
Essentially, (Evans, 2014) confirmed that there is increased utilization of internet
technology by psychologists. Knowledge on how to learn and communicate online prepared me
for my future career. For instance, I will use the online communication skills to communicate
with succinctness, clarity, coherent organization, and accuracy using both asynchronous and
synchronous communication. I feel that online communication will be more efficient in aiding
the interaction between me as a psychologist in the future and my clients in comparison with
traditional communication modes. Also, I will use online communication to address certain
issues related to waiting times. For instance, some clients have to wait for weeks to see or get
feedback from a mental health professional. I can use certain online modes of communication to
pass certain information to clients when their physical presence does not necessitate for instance
to schedule appointments. I agree with (Boucher, 2010) that the use of internet, email, and social
media can help to improve access to health care when integrated within the context of an
efficient relationship between provider and the patient.
I also gained research skills as further discussed under the section ‘progress towards unit
goals.’ In my future career as a cognitive psychologists I will use the gained research skills to
identify a problem related to mental processes, gather informational resources, critically assess
them for quality, and develop an effective solution. As (O’Dochartaigh, 2012) outlines, the most

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vital research skills entail being able to channel, assess, choose, and restrict information as
opposed to just assembling huge amount of related information. These skills are important
especially in this era where evidence-based practice is the most recommended aspect. As such, in
my future studies and career, the research skills will act as an enabler to evidenced based practice
where my decisions will be based on current evidence obtained through research. The successful
acquisition of the research skills was aided by easy access to a computer coupled with enhanced
computer skills. Since I own a computer it was easy for me to put into practice what I had learnt
through the unit. However, sometimes the lack of internet connection was a challenge and
limited my ability to access information online.
Development of Current Knowledge on Online Environment
My current knowledge of online environment was developed in various ways. Firstly, my
perception of quality of online information changed as I initially thought that all sources
available in the internet are dependable, especially the published resources. I realized that the
publishing venue of a resource determines the credibility of a source. As (Morton, 2014) states, a
hierarchy of credibility exists in relation to digital and print sources with peer reviewed journal
articles and books being more credible than newspaper and magazine articles and online sources.
However, one barrier to putting this knowledge to practice is being unable to clearly distinguish
between the different types of available resources. For instance, it may be difficult to
differentiate between scholarly books and articles and trade books and journal articles or
reviewed official online documents, government resources, and business and non-profit
publications. These resources are ranked separately in the hierarchy of credibility (VerndaMey,
2012).

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Learning about the credibility of sources made me realize that although I have been using
the internet to learn certain things I have never tried to determine how trustworthy the
information was. For instance, sometimes I use the internet to find out an underlying health
condition based on the signs and symptoms I might be experiencing. I realized that in some cases
I use some sources because they support my opinions while disregarding others simply because
they are not consistent with my perspective. Now that I know that there is a hierarchy of
evidence in future my search will target more credible information from peer reviewed resources.
With regard to my future career I will also utilize the learnt skills to ensure high quality and
credible sources of information will aid my practice.
Progress towards Unit Goals
Through the unit I learnt of the importance of online communication in higher education.
I learnt that just as we use social networks in our social lives to interact these platforms are also
essential in higher education as they are used by students and academic staff to disseminate
information. Further, as suggested by (Avram, 2015) social networks are used as a basis for
communication in most academic institutions. For instance, initially I deemed Facebook to be a
platform that helps family and friends to stay connected. However, I realized that in educational
institutions Facebook is used by professors to motivate students and better involve them in the
education process. As supported by (Avram, 2015), I learnt that Facebook is the most utilized
social platform and is deemed as an innovative tool of communication in the academic
institutions and forges collaboration between students and staff.
One of the objective that the unit sought to achieve the ability to explore, utilize, and
assess information online to develop research as well as communication skills. I learnt how to
offer in depth information as well as detailed analysis on a specific topic after a process of

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extensive research. I realized that this process entails formulating a problem statement, retrieving
credible sources, and elucidating the results. Through the unit I realized that competency in
researching does not only involve finding resources but also being able to determine the
credibility and reliability of these resources.
Conclusion
It is essential for online students and instructors to be able to communicate with
effectiveness. Through the unit I developed certain skills of importance in my future career as a
cognitive psychologist, improved my knowledge of online environment, and met the objectives
of the unit. For instance, my online communication skills were improved and I leant that
different online communication tools such as e-mail, instant messaging, internet relay chat, and
videoconferencing can be used in my profession to set appointments or pass information that
does not necessitate physical presence of clients. My current knowledge on online environment
changed as I learnt that the credibility of information available in the internet varies depending
on the publishing venue. With regard to unit goals, I acquired research skills that will not only be
useful in my academics but also will help me to implement evidence-based practice. Further, in
the near future I will use the gained knowledge to effectively communicate online to enhance my
online learning experience in my academic life. Thus, I gained diverse skills and knowledge that
contributed to my personal development.

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References
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