1. Identify and briefly discuss at least 5 pros and 5 cons of having virtual schools.
2. Discuss some of the key skills teachers need to have to be successful when teaching a virtual school.
3. Think 2-3 years from now and discuss how virtual schools and online courses might impact your teaching.
1. Some of the PROS of using a virtual school would be:
a) Students would be able to access class information at any time, and would be able to work around their busy schedules.
b) Students and parents can be more involved together in the students learning. Parents would be able to have more control over what the student is doing and would also be able to see what they are learning each day.
c) It would allow them to learn at their own pace. If they catch on quickly with different subjects, they would be able to move on to more difficult subjects and topics, rather than be sitting in a class waiting for slower students to catch up.
d) With computers, teachers may be able to be more creative in using games and fun activities that promote learning.
e) Students who are home schooled would be able to follow an organized learning plan and would be able to access the information on their own, knowing all of what they would have planned for the day in advance.
CONS:
a) Students will be exposed to using the computer for long periods of time everyday, which may affect their eyesight.
b) Students would not be able to tap into all types of learning, like the Kinesthetic learner.
c) Some children do not learn well by just reading and completing worksheets. There have been studies that completing worksheets and assignments all day long does not do as much for students as other learning programs can provide.
d) The teacher has no way of knowing if the student is actually learning. They may not get a subject or question, but may be able to have a parent complete it or a sibling finish an assignment. Students also may be able to complete an assignment, however that does not mean they understand. Without the personal communication between a teacher and the student, it would be hard to show the evidence.
e) Students would lose out on the social interactions that can be gained at school. Many young children form the majority of their friendships in school. Without this social outlet, students may not be able to socialize well in social situations in their future.
2. To teach in a virtual school, teachers would need to have excellent computer skills, as well as be comfortable on the computer for many hours of the day. They would need to be able to put their lessons in Internet friendly formats, and would have to make sure they are clear enough that no verbal explanation would be necessary. They would also have to be able to teach without necessarily gaining a personal relationship with their students, which may make it harder to discover what help they need.
3. Virtual schools could impact my future teaching by making classroom sizes in public schools smaller, allowing more personal attention to be given to those students. It may also give me the opportunity to complete programs that are primarily online based, rather than pen and paper assignments. It would be difficult to make sure students are learning from a distance though. As a teacher, I think observing students during learning is an important part of assessing their learning. Without this component, it would be more difficult to do this. I would personally miss the face to face interactions with students.
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This blog has been set up for me to update my classroom reflections for my Teaching and Learning class at WSU.
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4 comments:
I didn't think about how the virtual schools would make real classrooms have small teacher to student ratios. That is a good point. I definately think that that would benefit those students who need the face to face interaction with teachers. In a way, having a virtual school benefits all types of learners, those who learn better on their own and those who need tons of interaction.
I really liked your views on virtual schooling. It is a little different from the way I thought about it. However, i really liked the way you interperted it. I didnt even think about the risk of the student not even being the one to complete the assignment. It does make sense a teacher has no clue whether or not it is the actual student completing the assignment.
Good job!
I really like the idea that you have an opportunity to be creative as a teacher with interavtive games online. I didn't think of that.
It's funny, because I just read Katrina's post and our views were quite different. I agreed with what she had to say, but didn't think of it on my own. Yours, on the other hand, was quite parallel to what I wrote. I definitely agree with what you had to say, and I too would miss the personal interaction with students! The one thing I didn't think of was the damage done to students' eyes from using computers so constantly. That led me to think about their bodies...sitting that long can't be good! Who's to say they'll actually get up and go play outside? Free time may mean a computer game... oh goodness.
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