My current school district really likes and encourages "blended learning" and I have toyed with the idea for some time. What has held me back is my time teaching for an online charter school that was part of a for-profit company. This was such an unsatisfying way to teach, I have never felt less like a teacher than when I did this.
Over 7 years ago I spent two years teaching for an online charter K-12 school that was part of a for-profit company. This was my first job after staying home to raise my twins. They were 4 1/2 when I went back to work full time. I thought this would be a good way to move back into the classroom, no lesson planning, no curriculum to design, and possibly some work flexibility. I was right, and wrong in many ways.
The curriculum was built into the LMS (learning management system). Students progressed through it at their own pace and set their own attendance hours.
I got to know some amazing students and families from all over the state of Idaho. Students who spent a lot of time traveling for horse shows, club sports, theater groups, a gymnast group, and students who traveled with their parents who were over the road truckers. I would host "live lessons" using Adobe Connect and I could have students from the far corners of the state. They could chat and ask questions of me and each other. It was fun and a social time for some students.
As teachers we were also given the job of traveling to the main areas of the state to proctor the various standardized tests to our students. These were great opportunities to meet families that I'd only communicated via email or phone calls. I also met some of the most reclusive families who's children rarely if ever spoke to other adults. Surprisingly more of these families lived in or near the largest urban part of the state.
(my "classroom" aka cubicle)
My workload was very different from a standard face-to-face job. I "taught" 8-10 science subjects to approximately 400+ students. I was the science department for the high school. As an online teacher the FTE (full time equivalency) was calculated much differently. Honestly, I have no idea how it was figured, it's possible there was no calculation as the school took everyone.
Here were and are my main concerns: number of subjects and students, motivating students, online cheating, science labs, and at risk students.
Students and Subjects
How effective can you be with that many students working at their own pace in that many subjects? Students would call in for help in biology, for example, the pacing might say they should be in chapter 8 and I would have students who were way past that goal and students who hadn't even started the course. It was a scramble to figure out where the student was and how to help them.
Call Center and Cheating
It was how I imagined working for a large call center would be like. Instead of calling adults to pay some bill or upgrade their cable I would call students who hadn't started working to get working. Super effective way to motivate students-NOT! Students took tests and quizzes that were timed and once submitted they could not re-do. Many of the questions ended up posted online with answers (from the curriculum) and students figured out how to work around the time and saving constraints.
"Hi, this is Mrs. Hoadley, can I help
motivate you to learn?"
Science Labs
As a science teacher who loves doing labs, online learning was rough. Students had a variety of virtual labs (some better than others), and received some science stuff to do experiments with as part of their curriculum. These were pretty simple labs, using stuff found at home. Again, not terrible but not what a chemistry student or AP science student should be doing for lab experience.
At Risk Students
Commonly heard from parents:
- how their child wasn't getting the attention they needed
- that they were really behind on graduation credits and needed an easier way to graduate
- teachers wouldn't accommodate child as they felt they should
- parents work a lot, don't have time to get child to school, easy way to fix this
- they've tried x number of schools and they just don't know how to teach their child
- graduate faster and easier
Common theme was: easier, faster, not getting what student needed. There were some cases of students who really were not getting the 1-1 help they needed and with parents eager to work with their child and be their "learning coach" this was a good option. I had students who worked full time to help support their family, learning at their own convenience allowed them to work more.
BUT, here's the reality, bottom line: Students who are independent and self motivated learners do well in online school just like brick and mortar schools. Students who have parent support and involvement do well in both environments as well. On the flip side, students who are not motivated, self directed learners struggle even more online. Students who are behind in graduation credits will struggle. There is no magic button that makes school easy. The same skills a student needs to be a successful online learner are the same ones needed to be successful period.
If you think accommodating IEP's is rough in a traditional classroom, imagine doing it online. The parent or grandparent becomes the para-pro, the 1-1 aide. Teachers can adapt some things but the curriculum is meant to be used directly out of the box. No assembly or changing required or available. When parents realize their new role in their students' education it's a shocker. Again, I saw families who could make this work for their child, it just required an active role by the parents.
The heartbreaking thing was to have struggling students enroll in our school, struggle, get even more behind and parents become frustrated and pull them from the school. For some students this online high school was their last chance to figure things out and get caught up on credits. Where did these students go? Some went back to brick and mortar, some went to another online school, and some went on to be "homeschooled" by their family. I'm not bashing homeschooling, I have known families that do it and have done it very well. And I have known families that there is no "schooling" in their homeschooling.
Don't get me wrong, online learning works for some families and it's great to have that option. I completely reject the notion that online learning and/or charter schools are the answer for fixing education.
My first masters degree was mostly all online and my thesis was started during this time of teaching, focused on online learning: designing learning experiences, how students learn, how to engage, and how to increase learning and engagement online. My research reinforced that this model of online learning was not an effective model and reinforced my own experiences with my online students. Online learning can be great, if implemented with some understanding of how students can learn online.
I would hope it would be entertaining and informative. Maybe something like a cross between "Bridget Jones Diary" and the "Nanny Diaries". Two books I have read more than once and enjoyed immensely.
2) That first job, sure I'll teach _____!
