Assistive Technology

Assignment 3

According to the article “The Online Disinhibition Effect: How Technology Has Changed the Way We Communicate” by Schuler, the invisibility aspect of being online gives people the courage to go places and do things that they otherwise wouldn’t. I chose to write about this aspect because it has impacted me the most out of all the others. Academically I have experienced this by taking many online classes throughout the semesters. Normally I’m the type of person to sit quietly and not speak in groups or share my opinions because of how others in the past have made me feel. However online I feel more able to share what I’m thinking because no one knows who I am. Even if someone says something negative it doesn’t feel as real or as hurtful as it would in person. This could make educational environments challenging if someone uses the invisibility to make others feel poorly about themselves. This negativity could be remedied by not fueling the fire and responding cordially even though the invisibility works two ways. I think online disinhibition will get worse over time as more things move to online communication. People will be meeting less in person and it will be much easier to fall into the invisibility of being anonymous online. One way to deal with this in an educational setting is to open many opportunities to share personal things with others in a group and creating a community rather than just a class. If people feel supported, then they will be more likely to branch out and become involved.

Assignment 2 (Prezi)