Final Blog Post - Virtual Schooling and 21f

The video taught me a great deal about virtual schooling in regard to Michigan and made me think about how other states are prepared or not for virtual schooling. I didn’t realize Michigan had put that much effort into virtual schooling. I think it’s wonderful that the governor has made it a priority for Michigan. You asked about the benefits and pitfalls of virtual schooling; first let me say that the benefits far outweigh the problems that may occur. One major advantage of virtual schooling is convenience. Online learning allows students to work at their own pace and not have to be restricted by time as with traditional schooling. The fact that students can learn and take classes from anywhere around the world from the convenience of their own homes is a major advantage. Another major advantage is the flexibility of online learning; students are not only allowed to learn in an environment that they feel comfortable with i.e. at home or in the library but they avoid problems such as bullying and violence that many traditional schools are dealing with now. One other advantage we have to consider is that virtual learning can be geared toward the learner and they can obtain special help as needed, especially for those special need and “problem” children. Another aspect of the flexibility is that students and parents can have a choice in learning and teaching methods, as mentioned in the scenarios. Some of the disadvantages are that in order to do online learning students must have time management skills, self-discipline and adequate knowledge of and access to technology. Also school districts and educators must be equipped to have these changes across the board.

Regarding the scenarios and whether schools are equipped to handle these cases; I would say if we looked at schools collectively, whether nationally on even on the state level the answer would be no. That’s not to say that on some level individual schools, teachers, students or districts cannot handle these scenarios and do so rapidly. However rapidly is relative, I don’t think that some of these cases would be able to be resolved by next fall. But again that depends on the scenario, for example if you look at the scenario with the child with leukemia I believe there are programs in place already that would allow him/her to graduate on time. Or if you look at the scenario of the child in a rural district that wants to take calculus, I think that there are things in place for that to happen as well. Another example that can be resolved in somewhat of a simple way is the scenario of the parents who don’t want Mr. Siko teaching their youngest son because their first son hated him; this would be as simple to allowing the child to take a virtual class. I don’t think it can or should be prevented. Parents should have a say on how their children are taught and by whom, whether it seems logical or not. Of course this should be done within certain parameters in order to keep some type of structure in the school district, but it definitely should be permitted.

In regard to the scenario where the child came from a cyber-school and his scores are subpar, this is something that cannot be controlled and isn’t exclusive to cyber schools, it would be the same if a child came from another state, there is no way to control this and therefor isn’t a factor for virtual learning. The last scenario regarding the teacher who is asked to be a facilitator for online teachers with no additional time; this would pose a problem, as many teachers barely have time for the students that they currently have. I think schools should implement a virtual facilitator per district as to not place additional burdens on individual teachers. This is a scenario that I believe schools are not currently equipped to handle and will not be able to in the immediate future.

I don’t teach at a k-12 school so I do not know how they are handling it, however at the college where I teach, they have a department that focuses solely on virtual schooling, which I believe needs to happen in the K-12 school environment.