Meretricious Online Courses

Meretricious Online Courses

By Patrick Rita

Sentry Staff Reporter

Close teacher-student relationships are starting to become a thing of the past.  In an attempt to keep up with the times, many online classes are now offered to students. However, students are finding that some things cannot be replaced, like the traditional teacher-student relationships that have served as a foundation of learning for years.  For security purposes, there will always be a teacher in every online learning classroom, but in these new classes, the teacher plays less of a role in actually teaching the students.  With a computer in hand, students are required to learn on their own.

Junior Valeria Quintana, who is enrolled in online Economics and Personal Finance taught by Donald Bierschbach, is not a fan of the new direction of learning.

“I do not really like online learning that much because I like communicating with a teacher.  With online learning, you are on your own,” said Quintana.

Although Quintana’s class is taught online, Bierschbach is always present in case a student needs extra assistance with tricky concepts.  However, this raises the question: if a teacher is needed anyways, what is the point of making students sit in front of a laptop every day for 45 minutes?

Like Quintana, Principal Dr. Raymond Pasi, who has both taken and taught online courses, is also not a huge fan of online learning.

“My preference is having a live teacher in front of live students.  I understand that with the right motivation, online courses can be just as effective.  [Online learning] is helpful and practical at times when you do not have enough students to offer a full course… so I see the benefit but it is just not my preference,” said Pasi.

Although the class is virtual, some aspects of Quintana’s course still resemble those of a traditional classroom setting.  Before the students delve into a new chapter, their teacher facilitates discussions amongst the class.  These new online classes may be useful in the sense that they are paperless and efficient, but it is still evident that a real teacher is irreplaceable.

“Personally, I do not feel like I am learning as much online.  I much prefer to learn one-on-one with a teacher,” said Quintana.

One suggestion Quintana had for her online course is that “the online chapters need to do a better job of explaining what they mean.  It is very general, there is not much detail or explanations on how to do things.”

Maybe there needs to be an online class on how to take an online class.

It might be unfair to label these new courses as “online courses”  because there still is a teacher present.  However, these courses differ from the traditional class in that the teacher plays a different role. The bulk of the information presented to the students comes from online modules, not from a lecture or from notetaking.

Social studies teacher Paige Hamrick teaches her Economics and Personal Finance Class online and admitted that while there are flaws to the online class, the teacher still plays an important role.

“To teach a class online, you have to figure out how to make it interesting without actually being able to talk to the kids.  You have to try and anticipate where students might struggle, knowing that they are going to have to do a lot of it individually.  I also like to try and balance what I would want to do online and make it more interactive,” said Hamrick.

On top of this struggle on how to design an online class, Hamrick also takes the time to record her lectures to post online for her students.

“I think there is some validity to saying that [teachers have a reduced role] because it is harder to form a connection with a student when they are watching you on a screen or reading from a screen.  I do think sometimes when there is a totally online day, I definitely get a little bored because why I like coming to work is because I get to talk to kids and I miss that with the online perspective,” said Hamrick.

Hamrick also admitted that there are aspects of the online class that take away opportunities from the students.  From her observations, students enrolled in online classes are less likely to approach her with a question.  However, in her other classes, where there are lots of discussions, students benefit from other students asking questions that they may have had but were too shy or hesitant to ask.

Pasi agreed that education requires a human element, and because of this, online learning will never overtake the role of a teacher.

“Education is largely about relationships and it is much easier to build a relationship when you are in the same room with somebody than having them type something to you, so I do not see online learning taking over traditional education,” said Pasi

Something the computers cannot replicate are the ideas that teachers present that are outside the curriculum.  From the personal anecdotes that each teacher loves to share to the life lessons learned in the classroom, there are some things that technology has not found a way to replace just yet.  For now, those precious jewels of knowledge lie in the hands of those who have always been the most effective at transmitting information: the teachers.

 

Featured Image by Spencer Croft/SENTRY

 

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