The Illusion of Engagement: When Digital Participation Isn’t Real
It’s easy to assume that students are “engaged” when they’re active on discussion forums, logging in to the LMS, and commenting on blogs. But being active and being engaged aren’t always the same thing.
This week, I kept wondering: Am I actually learning from these online interactions, or just performing what I think good students should do? I’m not proud to admit this, but sometimes I reply to peers not because I’m deeply moved by their ideas, but because the syllabus says I have to. I’ve seen other students do the same: short, formulaic replies that barely engage with the original post.
This performative aspect of digital learning makes me question what engagement really looks like. It’s not about how many posts you write, but what kind of thinking those posts represent. Yet, the system we operate in tends to reward frequency over depth. The irony is that even though we have all these “Web 2.0” tools that promise collaboration and creativity, the structure around them often suppresses both.
As an international student, I feel this even more intensely. I’m constantly translating my ideas linguistically and culturally into a format that “fits” the academic norms here. And sometimes, it feels like I’m just mimicking what others are doing to keep up, rather than finding my own voice in the process.
Maybe true engagement means stepping back to question the systems we participate in, not just checking the participation box.
You’re so right that just posting or replying doesn’t always mean we’re truly thinking or connecting. I’ve found myself writing responses that check the box sometimes, especially when time is tight or the prompt feels routine! I agree that the structure of our assignments can sometimes suppress creativity instead of encouraging it. It’s a bit ironic that the tools we’re using were designed for open collaboration, but the way we’re expected to use them can feel limiting or even performative.
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