About Me
Hi! My name is Melinda Sloan. I am a student in the In-Step Social Studies program. In-Step is a Masters program that meets only during the summer months and leads to an MA in Teaching of Social Studies. During the rest of the year, I teach AP US Government (12th grade) and World History II (10th grade) in a suburban school in Yorktown, VA. However, all of this is changing literally as I write! Due to my husband's work, I will be relocating to Houston, TX, where I am not yet sure what I'll be teaching. I have my BA in History from Rice University and have been teaching for nine years.
My informal observations of our school district's efforts at online schooling sparked my interest in this course. Currently, my division uses online schooling as a means of credit recovery for struggling students and enrichment for high-achieving students. My AP students who have taken some of these online courses have reported very mixed feelings about them; the school division reports remarkable success. This has made me curious about what makes such programs succeed or fail, particularly from the student's perspective.
I have taken one online course as part of my studies at TC. While I very much liked the format and idea of taking an online course, it was not a very pleasant experience. The professor often openly ridiculed and mocked students in the course. Perhaps these comments would not have stung so much if said face-to-face; but, in writing, they were harsh. It certainly was a powerful lesson in the importance of choosing one's words careful when they are the only impression one will make.
4 comments:
Hi Melinda. Thanks for your post. I identified with your informal observations of online schooling within your own district as they mirror some of my own. As librarian, I have supervised some independent study AP students in the past three school years, and have observed some of the advantages as well as the drawbacks and frustrations my students have directly and indirectly communicated about their experiences. I have taken two online courses myself and though the first course was less than satisfying for some key reasons, the second surpassed my expectations and convinced me of the learning potential for the online delivery system when done well.
I am creating an online course for high school students as my graduate project and would be curious to hear more about your own students' impressions to help guide my thinking and planning in effective course creation. What are some of the things they liked about the online courses they took, and some of the things they didn't like or found difficult or discouraging?
Melinda,
I had the same impression - that in a K-12 setting, online classes are only used for credit recovery or for very high achieving students. It gets me to think of how the average students could be challenged by having these opportunities to take a class online. I am also very interested in what aspects of an online course make it successful or not.
Your point about your past professor's comments is well taken - I've had the same experience. It's difficult sometimes to fully understand someone's point of view when they are not aware of how their words may be interpreted online.
Tricia, I'm glad (?) to hear that it's not just me observing these issues with their students. To answer your question, my students have most liked simply having the option to take courses that appeal to their interests or goals that aren't offered at our school. The biggest complaints have included teachers not properly aligning the classes with AP curriculum established by the College Board, not providing them with meaningful feedback, and not engaging them in meaningful work. Many students have felt as though their online class was tantamount to an independent study.
Hsaksa, I think my experience is a powerful lesson for students as well. They often aren't aware of how their words are received, particularly through online communications. Given the sheer volume of online communication they will participate in their lifetimes, I think this is an incredibly important skill for students to learn and that this points to one major strength of online schooling.
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