Saturday, November 5, 2016

Are Virtual Schools Taking Over the World?


          According to the Michigan Merit Curriculum, the definition of Virtual Schooling or Online Schooling is “it is a structural learning activity that utilizes technology with Intranet/Internet-based tools and resources as the delivery method for instruction, research, assessment, and communication.” There has been a rapid growth in interest to the online learning verse the learning in a classroom. In the year 2013-2014 there were 25 out of the 50 states that have state operating systems, which includes Michigan. The top reason that the states make online learning available is because students are provided opportunities to recover course credit. The downside is that not all people have internet capabilities at home. In a recent study in October 2010, it stated that 68% of households had access to internet and over 77% had a computer. There are various types of online learning delivery formats. One of them being teacher-led. This model is just like the role of a traditional classroom teacher. For example, this online teacher provides direction, content, and feedback through some online resources such as Blackboard. Another format is the blended-instruction. This format involves communication like in a classroom but it links it to the power of internet based resources and tools. The last one I will mention is the self-paced format. This one involves no teacher interaction. The teacher places work online to for their students to complete and they give a grade without feedback.

          When thinking about what grades this virtual schooling fits best with would be college. This would be very challenging in an Elementary or Middle school classroom because their technology skills and reading skills are not up to the point needed to learn new content. This would be doable for a high school/college because their literacy skills and technological understand should be efficient to get through a lesson online. Thus, since I want to teach Elementary school this trend doesn’t affect me because I can’t see a first grader listening to a computer talking to them about a new concept. Plus, they would never know how to work their way around a site such as Blackboard.

          My personal feelings about this virtual learning is negative. I love the physical interaction a classroom brings. You can’t receive that connection with your students if you were on a computer. This is especially in the lower grades, having the students know you’re always there for them and can SEE how much you care for them means the world to them. Therefore, I will always be for the physical classroom "ruling" this world.

Work Cited:
Michigan Merit Curriculum
Fun-Facts

9 comments:

  1. I agree with you that it would be very challenging to have virtual school in an elementary classroom! I think that it is especially vital for students to build relationships with their peers and their teachers at this age to lay a foundation for later in life. Without the practice that you get in elementary school, I feel you will not be as successful. In elementary school students also do not have the technology skills on their own for a student to attend virtual school independently. If parents begin to help students with the technology issue, you may begin to wonder what else they are helping their student to accomplish.
    I have always enjoyed self-paced, online classes. I am a very independent worker and as an adult I find I enjoy learning from an online format more than in a classroom as their is more flexibility. Was it a poor experience that made you dislike them? Or is it just because you feel you benefit from being present in the classroom? I am curious as this is not the case for me.

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    1. I applaud the people that love online classes. I have always had a hard time with them. I love that face to face type of lesson because I am a more visual learning rather than a textual (if that's the right word for it) type of learner. Therefore, these types of classrooms become very hard for me to learn or get anything out of.

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  2. Do you all think it's a matter of maturity, ability, or those 'soft skills' that lead to success and interest in online courses? For example, my research in online and blended learning showed that certain surveys of 'soft skills' could predict whether or not a student passed or failed an online course. By 'soft skills', I mean things like organization, technology beliefs, intellectual risk-taking (i.e., taking chances with guessing and asking questions while not caring about being wrong or being ridiculed), and beliefs about ability (growth vs. fixed mindset).

    If so, do we blanket say, "you're too young for online learning," or do we allow for some students to do it and others to not.

    The funny thing is that a lot of pre-service teachers talk about not wanting to teach online, which I totally understand. Yet, a lot of older teachers look to it as a semi-retirement plan.

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    1. I definitely agree with you on someone's opinion of virtual schooling comes down to if you are a "soft skill" type of person. I know I have the hardest time with risk-taking in regards to an assignment. I have always been a people pleaser (which I'm trying to work on still). Therefore, this letting go of not being wrong or making a mistake and being ridiculed for it has always been tough for me. I hate disappointing people. Even growing up I wasn't the smartest kid in class; therefore, I would never want to voice my opinion because students would shoot it down within seconds(I know harsh but that's my elementary school for you).

      In regards to the blanket saying part, I don't think it's a debate about having them because I know some people really learn from that type of experience. I think its about knowing a child and seeing if their mental capability can handle those types of classrooms.

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  3. I could never see online classes taking over for the elementary or middle school grades. Now I know that they are extremely beneficial when a child cannot go to school for health reasons or because they are on vacation. With these exceptions I believe that teachers should record their lessons as they are teaching them to the class so that the student has a sense of interaction and realism.
    I also think that some online classes are downright ridiculous. In high school my schedule wouldn't allow me to take choir and P.E. at the same time so I took an online gym class. That's right, you read correctly. And it was the easiest thing I have ever done. I didn't have to swim or basically do anything and I had got the chance to make it all up. The homework was a joke, but it made me happy because I hated gym. Beneficial? No way!

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    1. I'm glad you agree! As for the video taping lesson, I think that would be a great idea. However, call me old fashion but there's something about that face to face connection when describing a topic that they would still miss. I personally think learning thrives off of that mentally (but that could just be me).

      That P.E. is exactly the reason why I also don't like the idea of virtual schooling because they tend to be known as the "slacker" way out. This may be because you can look anything up online now if you don't know. Therefore, learning is not beneficial (which you stated with your P.E. class).

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  4. I agree that the prospect of relying on online schooling is a scary one especially for children. It makes me think of the scene in Star Wars episode II when the new clones are trained on computers where their learning is literally downloading information to them. Is that all that school is about? Downloading information to kids? I hope not.

    Video to reference:
    https://youtu.be/3dovd1clLJ4

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    1. I've never seen Star Wars but that clip is definitely some peoples views on online learning. I think that computers can be controlling to some people. I didn't think like that while writing this blog though. However, it's an interesting way of looking at virtual schooling.

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  5. Kourtney,

    I completely agree that I much prefer face-to-face interactions rather than strictly online interactions with students and professors. I am however quite grateful for the freedom that virtual learning has given me in my studies, especially as I type this in Spain. I have completed several classes over the summer at an accelerated pace which I would not have been able to do in a regular lecture structure. Virtual learning has given me the freedom to finish classes while still working at a summer camp were I work 24 hours a day. Virtual learning has allowed me to graduate in four and a half years instead of five or six. I think our future students can also use virtual learning to enable them to finish school that would otherwise not be possible.

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