Personally I do not think we are ready for virtual school yet. The main withdrawal resources. Resources to supply students soft and hardware, resources for teacher and administrator training, resources in the home environment. Another withdrawal teachers and parents acceptance to virtual schooling. With my current position I work in six schools and not all of my colleagues are welcomed to technology. Those teachers argue that their teaching skill have been successful, so why do they need to change. Other do not want to learn new tricks, because they are that close to retirement. Granted, with virtual technology a teacher role's change, but the teachers still play an important role.
To support the change that teaching is taking my school district has gone Google, nonetheless they have not share with elementary teachers how they are fulfilling the virtual learning requirement. When I asked a few of the administrators they mentioned that the topic has touch their meeting, but not entirely.
Scenario 1
You're a rural district with only a few hundred students total. A child wants to take courses like calculus, but they cannot feasibly be offered by your high school.
Scenario 2
Jumping to a virtual class only because a parent had a bad experience with a teacher will not make sense. I will first like to know more details and pull up student's standardize test scores. I will even go as far as asking the mom to try leaving her second son with Mr. Siko for a month or two.
Scenario 3
I would like to spend more time with the student before jumping to the conclusion that cyberschool was what made him be so successful. In the mean time I will look for funding to adopt a similar program or the program in my school. Some of those funding can be a grant or grants.
Scenario 4
I am a teacher whose district is embracing online learning. It is attracting many students from other districts, and this generates extra revenue (students = $$). I am asked to be a 'facilitator' for these students, who are not required to attend during the school day. I am not given extra release time for this.
Scenario 5
If I ever have a student who cannot attend refula school hours I would record all my lesson and assist him with learning about new tech tools. To engage him in group projects I will have students wok with him virtually
Rosio, I agree with that fact that we are not ready to handle virtually schooling overall. I believe that it helps, but will be successful as you have mentioned if there were more resources and learning processes in place to handle this form of teaching and learning. I believe virtual schooling is incorporated and accepted depending on a district and states needs as well.
ReplyDeleteBased on Michigan laws requiring the incorporation of virtually schooling, I do believe this is a good pilot start for what the future learning is going be about. As you mentioned, we are not completed ready to handle the transition completely with the limitations, lack of knowledge and resistance of teachers and administrators who I believe are key to making virtual learning happen.
LaCema, I like how you said pilot because we are on a huge learning jump. I include myself because as much as I try to integrate technology I have my with drawls, but I don't let that get to me. Teaching will keep changing and I rather "hop on the train" then get left behind.
DeleteYou are totally correct Rosio. Technologies and online education is growing rapidly. It seems that it is not a trend, nor is it going away. As educator, weather you are in the teaching capacity or not, we need to stay in the loop with our understanding virtual communications overall. We are in a millennial world right now and as everything grows, we need to move the times.
DeleteRosio, I am with you and Womack on the virtual schooling in our local schools. I can only imagine the resistances to technology with the more older teachers. If they are not willing to learn a new way of doing things, they certainly not going to be willing to teach it.
ReplyDeleteRosio, I am with you and Womack on the virtual schooling in our local schools. I can only imagine the resistances to technology with the more older teachers. If they are not willing to learn a new way of doing things, they certainly not going to be willing to teach it.
ReplyDeleteBriggette, I try my best not to judge and perhaps I sounded to harsh. They are very good teachers, they just don't want to leave their comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteRosio:
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the teachers and/or students that do not wish to leave their comfort zone, it helps to limit the reach of modern technologies into their space. It is generally good pedagogy to use technology to make pre-existing lessons more efficient and/or engaging than to create new lessons flaunting technology for technology's sake. As a computers teacher in five schools in five cities daily, all of whom were Catholic schools in Conservative cities, I worked with the academic teachers to meet ISTE standards and to facilitate cross-curricular lessons.