Studies of online learning have demonstrated that Internet courses can offer many things found in traditional brick and mortar courses and often with more success. However, humor, the one thing that often plays a major role in student satisfaction in off-line courses, is the one thing that has yet to find its place in distance education.
Humor is often cited by students in traditional courses as being a major factor in their enjoyment of a course, and research supports the theory that it also enhances learning. Since humor appears to offer great benefits to the classroom, incorporating it into a distance education course seems to be an important step, but it is one that holds potential danger if not done correctly (James, 2004).
Dangers of Incorporating Humor Incorrectly
In his article, “A Need for Humor in the Online Course”, David James (2004) cautions that humor online takes a more conscious effort, one that is more planned and deliberate than the traditional spontaneous moment one might experience in a face-to-face course. Since there are no verbal cues or facial expressions, the right word said at the right time are vital to success.
The danger, of course, for both faculty and students, is misinterpretation. Many studies have shown that students in an online course tend to interpret instructors as being serious in all posted comments, often more so than the instructor intended. While students may not interpret one another with such severity, there are still problems of misinterpretation and offense being silently endured by others.
Another serious issue, of course, is longevity of comments. While an instructor may realize a joke has gone bad and remove it immediately, a student’s comment to another may not get noticed by the instructor (or there may be a course policy against removing postings) and a soured attempt at humor is left hanging for all to see until the course concludes.
Tips for Online Students Adding Humor
While humor does not need to be avoided completely, students should always take time to think about an attempt to be humorous before posting. They should consider doing the following before hitting “submit”:
- Decide if the humor would be understood by the entire class or if it is better sent as an email to a smaller group of students.
- Have a friend or relative read the comment.
- Check to ensure the comment is nothing of a sexual nature that might make classmates uncomfortable.
- Include a clue that the comment is intended to be taken humorously (by included LOL or a smiley face).
- Avoid any potshots at any member of the class (remember that these comments may seem funny in the heat of the moment, but when left sitting in the class forum even for a day (let alone for 6-10 weeks) may become a sore spot.
Tips for Online Instructors
Instructors should follow all of the above guidelines with one addendum: they should never forget that as the main point of power in the classroom, their words are seen through a far more serious lens.
Tips for Correcting Humor Gone Bad in the Online Classroom
Mistakes are bound to happen, but there is no need for them to damage the online classroom community. If one makes an effort at humor and things go awry, communication is the key. If a student is offended by a comment in the class, the most productive step is for that person to talk to the instructor.
Instructors should facilitate the process by talking to both parties. Without escalating the issue any more than need be, both the creator of the comment and the person offended should engage in a productive discussion to eliminate the problem.
All members of an online classroom community should feel free to attempt humor, but in turn, all should be alert if problems do arise. To provide the best learning situation possible, an online course should be a comfortable place for all.
To learn more:
James, D. "A need for humor in online courses." College Teaching. (2004 ). Vol 52, no. 3, pgs. 93-94.
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