There is a small section of How Technology is Changing School that mentioned how someday students will be able to pick their teachers from online. “Want a teacher from the Philippians, the United Kingdom, or Israel? They will be available in online teacher or mentor portals as well as preselected and approved by local school districts or state departments. Some will be displayed on a screen as students walk into school; students might consult this individual during a study hall period or review session.”
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| Image Credit: http://www.iwcc.edu/online/ |
My first real observation of distance learning was when I went with my family to a historical attraction while in Minnesota. Split Rock Lighthouse has a very interesting story, and was the perfect spot for middle school distance learning students to meet up for a field trip. These students all ‘knew’ the teacher, but this was the first time they were going to see her face to face. This was also the first time they would introduce themselves to their ‘classmates.’ I was able to derive that these students were homeschool students, but were associated with a private school that had an online component. These children seemed to be like any other kids, but seemed to stay more with their families instead of interacting with other students to complete assignments. Does the digital interaction somehow limit the human social interaction?
I do have some questions about the how online or distance learning would work in a school setting. The article mentioned about students meeting with teachers during study halls. What about time changes? Language barriers?
Anne Marie, we will be Skyping with a teacher from CA in late March. He teaches AP History both in a traditional high school and online. Tonight I read this blog post from one of his online students:
ReplyDeletehttp://osgapusgov.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/a-world-of-wonder/
It will be interesting to Skype with the teacher to learn more about how he organizes the course when it is taught online. It looks as though the students come from all over the country. Will keep you posted as I learn more.
Yesterday, I read another one of his student's blog posts, and she included a VoiceThread that she created online. This could be done with other students in other locations. That is the beauty of online tools like VoiceThread that allow students to collaborate online even if they are in different locations.
I share the same concern regarding losing the social interaction! I agree that online learning is really beneficial; however, there simply are some things we learn by interacting face to face with others. Although having online access to lessons, being able to explore academic technological resources and connecting and sharing with others is worthy aspect of incorporating technology into education, there is still the great potential to lose other necessary components of learning. Collaboration and interpersonal skills will still be needed in the real world and most real workplace environments.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think the digital interaction limits social interaction. And what about creating a safe community of learners?! I doubt those homeschoolers felt as much a part of a community as traditionally schooled students.
ReplyDeleteI agree that communicating digitally does eliminate some of the elements of speaking directly to someone face to face, rather than face to computer screen. It's nice to connect to people and their perspectives, but I do place value in a genuine conversation where eye contact, facial expressions and body language can be read. Felicia has a strong point, interpersonal skills and working with others in order to problem solve is definitely real world learning at it's best.
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