It’s 7:20 am, the bell just rang and kids are scrambling in the door. “Ms. Lutsic can I have another bellwork sheet? I can’t find where I put it.” Kyle never knows where his bellwork sheet is, this is the 3rd copy you’ve given him this week. You’ve made it past bellwork and you begin the usual routine, notes to introduce the lesson and then individual practice. Students are dozing off and trying to sneak their phones and you start to wonder if there is a better way. Students are so attached to their phones, how can I make them that interested in a lesson? It’s time for individual practice. Students begin practicing the standard of the day. You walk over to Susan, like you do every day, and give her extra help because she still struggles with her multiplication tables, even though she is in a 9th-grade math class. By the time you get done helping Susan, Ali has already completed the assignment and there is still 15 minutes left of class. You really thought this lesson was a good fit for all your students, but how can it possibly be a good fit when your students are all at different levels. Alex walks in after being absent for 5 days and asks for his missing work. This is the second time this semester he has had a week-long absence due to medical issues. How can you catch him up so he can do the missing work if he has been absent for all the lessons? Do you even still have the worksheets from that long ago? The bell rings and it’s time for second hour.
In our math classes, we face this chaos everyday, sometimes even multiple times a day. What if I told you that there was a way to make your life easier? What if I told you that the issues you face constantly, didn’t have to be issues anymore? Online learning, often referred to as distance education, has been popular at the college level for many years. Recently it has begun to be used in the K-12 levels, too. School districts are offering online classes to combat some of the issues we face in the traditional classroom. Unfortunately, many teachers are often resistant to the use of technology or teaching online. Many might argue that online classes do not offer the same learning experience as face-to-face learning because that is not how they were taught. However, as educators, we must recognize that we weren’t exposed to technology growing up the same way that the current generation was. These factors impact the way they learn, so teachers must learn to adjust to this as well. Online education offers these experiences and opportunities for students to learn in a way that is unique to their generation. In addition to unique learning needs as a whole generation, many of our students also have individual needs that teachers struggle to meet in the traditional classroom. However, online education is becoming the answer to those problems, as well. These opportunities reach students who need more one-to-one help, students who need to be challenged more, students with frequent absences, and students with unique learning needs. Online education offers different learning strategies for students who learn at a slower pace or need more one-to-one help. In the traditional math classroom, differentiation is still available but it is not always used because it is time consuming for the teacher. But with the strategies that online education offers, differentiation can be available in every lesson! Finally, online education can help our students who are advancing more than the “average” student. These kids are sometimes held back because the school can’t offer a class for 1-3 students. I’m referring to the senior who is ready to take Calc 3 when the school only offers up to Calc 1. Should this student be stopped from progressing because there aren’t enough students at this level to have a full class? Online education can be used for these unique students who are ready to move on. In addition to that advancing student, what about the student who “should be” in Algebra 1 but doesn’t have the necessary middle school skills to be successful in Algebra 1. Should this student be forced in this class because they don’t have another option? Online education can offer a class for this individual student or offer extra support to help reteach the skills he or she is missing. Online education can be the answer that our department has desperately been searching for!
The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness of the influence that online education can make in our students' education. Throughout this series, I hope I challenge your beliefs in education. Are you really doing what is best for this generation or are we simply assuming that because it worked in the past then it must be good enough for this generation? Humans are programmed to resist change, however, if we do not make a conscious effort to make education better, with research that fully supports and promotes online education for our students, then we are failing as educators.
In our math classes, we face this chaos everyday, sometimes even multiple times a day. What if I told you that there was a way to make your life easier? What if I told you that the issues you face constantly, didn’t have to be issues anymore? Online learning, often referred to as distance education, has been popular at the college level for many years. Recently it has begun to be used in the K-12 levels, too. School districts are offering online classes to combat some of the issues we face in the traditional classroom. Unfortunately, many teachers are often resistant to the use of technology or teaching online. Many might argue that online classes do not offer the same learning experience as face-to-face learning because that is not how they were taught. However, as educators, we must recognize that we weren’t exposed to technology growing up the same way that the current generation was. These factors impact the way they learn, so teachers must learn to adjust to this as well. Online education offers these experiences and opportunities for students to learn in a way that is unique to their generation. In addition to unique learning needs as a whole generation, many of our students also have individual needs that teachers struggle to meet in the traditional classroom. However, online education is becoming the answer to those problems, as well. These opportunities reach students who need more one-to-one help, students who need to be challenged more, students with frequent absences, and students with unique learning needs. Online education offers different learning strategies for students who learn at a slower pace or need more one-to-one help. In the traditional math classroom, differentiation is still available but it is not always used because it is time consuming for the teacher. But with the strategies that online education offers, differentiation can be available in every lesson! Finally, online education can help our students who are advancing more than the “average” student. These kids are sometimes held back because the school can’t offer a class for 1-3 students. I’m referring to the senior who is ready to take Calc 3 when the school only offers up to Calc 1. Should this student be stopped from progressing because there aren’t enough students at this level to have a full class? Online education can be used for these unique students who are ready to move on. In addition to that advancing student, what about the student who “should be” in Algebra 1 but doesn’t have the necessary middle school skills to be successful in Algebra 1. Should this student be forced in this class because they don’t have another option? Online education can offer a class for this individual student or offer extra support to help reteach the skills he or she is missing. Online education can be the answer that our department has desperately been searching for!
The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness of the influence that online education can make in our students' education. Throughout this series, I hope I challenge your beliefs in education. Are you really doing what is best for this generation or are we simply assuming that because it worked in the past then it must be good enough for this generation? Humans are programmed to resist change, however, if we do not make a conscious effort to make education better, with research that fully supports and promotes online education for our students, then we are failing as educators.
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