virtual schools

www.edutopia.org/online-learning-video

The Virtual Classroom: Online Learning

In this video and connecting article, it shows how virtual schools make available a world of new courses that can broaden students thinking and also open up new doors educationally for students who otherwise wouldn't be able to. Students from rural areas like in West Virginia, didn't have access to a Spanish teacher, but through virtual classrooms online, they now have a teacher who teaches them and a total of 21 Spanish classes a day. Even an Olympic hopeful skater, who doesn't have time for classes during the usual high school day, has access to online courses that she can take when her skating practice is over for the day. Even teachers benefit from it as they can grade papers anywhere by using a laptop and Internet connection. But at the same time, it was said that it's not good for students to do all there classes online, as the interaction with otter kids socially is key in developing the rest of their learning skills. This video is almost five years old, so you can imagine how much more useful the Internet is for online classrooms and schools. This video was made to educate people on how virtual schools and classes can benefit not all kids, just some. All of the statistics in this video are all off due to the year it was made and the increase of technology, i.e text messaging and social networking. I personally like the idea of online classes and virtual schools. But at the same time I think kids need to interact with other kids in a social environment, to build their learning skills that can't be learned online.

Wood, Christina. "Highschool.com." Published in April 2005: Mr. Miller Goes to War http://www.edutopia.org/high-school-dot-com

Online Teachers Bring New Energy and Expertise to the Traditional Classroom

In this article, they explain how traditional teachers are making the switch to, also being an virtual intsructer. The face-to-face teachers where sick of getting only two or three responses in a classroom, when they ask a question. So with the virtual school and classrooms, the students have to respond to blogs, discussions, or contribute some way in order to pass the course. This makes the teachers even learn in this process, as they find new ways to get there directions clarified correctly virtually. The article also pointed out that face-to-face classrooms where a wasting alot of time, and that the virtual classrooms where more effecient. By educating everyone on this topic of virtual schools, it brings online learning to a heightened professionalism.

Even being written a few years ago (2007), this article shows the growth from then to now. As online learning has gone even further into education and is an easier way of life for some people, who dont have the time, or schedule to sit in a classroom. I think as educators we have to find new and effective ways to get through to whomever where teaching. Because thats who its for anyways, the students. If a teacher never changed his/her stragedy over the years, majority of the kids wouldn't relate any of the information learned to the time their in. I also agree that alot of face-to-face teaching is a waste of time, but if you get the students involved it makes for a much better learning invoirment. Making things easier and fun, the students would naturally be interested in the activities brought to them in the classroom.

Snyder, Tamar. "Virtually Real: Distance-Learning Educators Go the Distance When They Go Offline." Published in September 2007: What's Next http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2007-online-teachers-classroom