Recently, I featured a story about how the Miami-Dade County Public School System put over 7,000 students into virtual and online classes for core academic courses. The reason so many students were put into these classes was to fulfill a Florida state quota that limited class size (by class, meaning a traditional classroom with a teacher rather than a facilitator in a computer lab). Many students and parents did not approve of the move, and I discussed some of the downsides of virtual classrooms. While I discussed the positives of using virtual classrooms for programs such as credit recovery, I mainly emphasized the negatives of such a program.
It just so happens that Lisa Nielsen, who I have recently had the pleasure of getting into a friendly debate over medication and ADHD (see here and here) has also written about this story. She features several of the positives of classrooms via the computer. Nielsen discusses them further in depth at Huffington Post, but I think it is important to highlight those positives to give balance to this topic. She goes into more detail with each one in her post, but I will list what they are here:
1) Students can sleep in
2) Students can pursue their passion
3) Students can learn without distraction from their classmates
4) Students can learn at their own pace
5) No competition to share thoughts and ideas
6) More interesting class choices
7) Learn when the schedule meets the needs
8) Learning is possible despite health issues that get in the way in a traditional classroom
9) Easy communication with teacher
10) Easy communication with other students
It should be said that what Nielsen discusses is different than what is featured in the New York Times story on two counts. First, this list primarily focuses on virtual learning outside of a school building, whereas the Times article primarily focuses on classes in a large computer lab with many of the features of a traditional school (same hours, surrounded by peers, etc). Secondly, and more importantly, Miami never gave many students a choice is putting them in virtual classrooms. As Nielsen discusses, there are many great benefits to this type of learning, and it is important to promotes those benefits. However, parents and students should be given a choice in this matter (and I am not one who normally falls down on the side of what many consider to be "school choice" these days).
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing my post. Your insights are spot on in this post and your other around this issue. I did btw also write about the Florida school here (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/01/at-this-school-when-it-comes-to-class.html)
The ten reasons I shared about students who like learning online featured students who took online classes the way they were meant to be. Anytime/Anywhere/Anyone who chooses them.
The idea of having students come together at the same time, in the same place to take a class, defeats the point of a class being offered online.
What I recommend instead would be learning centers where students could go so they are in a safe place with computer and internet access. Additionally, students should be given some support upfront in how to succeed with online classes.
I do think that students should learn how to take classes online as I believe this will become increasingly popular as the preferred method of delivery...however, done right, these online classes breakdown place-based instruction and students can be connected globally with others who share their interest.
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