E-learning is just a fascinating subject in my opinion. Whenever I begin to hear about the possibility of e-learning I was skeptical about how it would work. For example, I could not imagine how a teacher would be able to provide individual, differentiated instruction in a virtual classroom. After years of reading about it, I became an e-learning student. My initial hesitations soon fell aside and I fell in love with the concept. I can easily see how learning can be differentiated and I also see that the focus in this environment remains on the content and instruction. The classroom management tasks that many teachers find consume much of their time are not necessary. For example, taking students to the bathroom or lunch...making sure students are seated in a good learning spot (i.e. away from a distracting friend, where they can view the teacher, etc.) The focus is truly on teaching.
Accessibility is the largest advantage of e-learning. The ability for students in rural settings to participate in high quality programs, previously unavailable is an example. E-learning can act as a bridge to accessibility for these students. In my local school, students are using e-learning to take college courses while attending high school. The barriers of transportation have been pushed aside by the ability to video conference and participate in a class that is occurring on a college campus. Before e-learning, this was not possible.
I believe the next big thing in education is the use of e-learning.
I agree with Egbert that e-learning needs to be process oriented versus content oriented. A student could simply read a book to get content; however, the interaction with the teacher and student (the process of learning) is essential in any educational environment. Teaching is all about interactions and relationships that occur between a teacher and a student-whether it is a virtual classroom or a bricks and mortar classroom.
Loved reading your reflection of the chapter. I, too, am pumped about e-learning. It's going to play a HUGE role in the future of education. It's important to know its advantages and disadvantages. Like you said, it cuts out classroom management and is a very convenient option for learning. But one big disadvantage that I've seen first-hand is that it takes a lot of self-motivation and time-management skills to do well in e-learning. I love e-learning, it works well for me, but I know many people that just can't motivate themselves to get online and check assignments daily.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Laura. I'm excited about eLearning. It's funny that you talked about classroom management. I've decided that after teaching online, I would not want to go back into a classroom to deal with that aspect. Often times I find myself talking to my computer like there was someone there! :)
ReplyDeleteCarla, I can read your enthusiasm for eLearning! Yes, eLearning is actually more beneficial in providing individualized instruction since you can readily have one-to-one interaction without any interruption and even provide differentiated feedback provide tailored to individual students. I also think it is so cool that high school students can take college courses without any burden of traveling!
ReplyDeleteExcellent points about e-learning! I share your enthusiasm about online learning, and many of the advantages that e-learning has.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how this evolves to be a component of education, and if it becomes a larger portion of the overall education process, or just a portion that satisfies specific needs on a more isolated basis. I was speaking with our superintendent at a football game not too long ago, and he talked about how a high school is such a large part of the community. I think that aspect of education is not to be overlooked. The friends we make, the relationships that are created and how we learn to interact with each other. Sometimes, my classroom management, though unpleasant, has helped my students grow tremendously as people. Where will e-learning take us? Only time will tell.