I love a lot about online school, the ability for students to learn in a safe, comfortable environment. The level of engagement required to interact with ideas is high when the classes are run well. My online students surprisingly spent much less time on pretests, post tests, progress monitoring tests, and nonsense like "deconstructing the standards" Additionally I spent much less time in "data analysis" meetings where we look at the tests and then color code student scores, which then print to post on a wall. (Seriously, I have a couple of advanced degrees and I do that) We do look at the scores in order to discuss the things we will teach in between testing, but I don't see much benefit this brings to the students.
I am now forced to admit that this is the result of the new digital divide. The online school where I was teaching is highly interactive, encouraging flexibility and creative problem solving. My online students had at least one person who can stay at home for at least some of the school day to encourage/help/feed a teenager. That is a luxury to which most families cannot aspire. The in-person school where I now teach is heavily focused on discipline and monitoring behavior, students are encouraged to obey and to master basic literacy and numeracy. Most of the students have loving, but overwhelmed families.
I love a lot about online school, the ability for students to learn in a safe, comfortable environment. The level of engagement required to interact with ideas is high when the classes are run well. My online students surprisingly spent much less time on pretests, post tests, progress monitoring tests, and nonsense like "deconstructing the standards" Additionally I spent much less time in "data analysis" meetings where we look at the tests and then color code student scores, which then print to post on a wall. (Seriously, I have a couple of advanced degrees and I do that) We do look at the scores in order to discuss the things we will teach in between testing, but I don't see much benefit this brings to the students.
I am now forced to admit that this is the result of the new digital divide. The online school where I was teaching is highly interactive, encouraging flexibility and creative problem solving. My online students had at least one person who can stay at home for at least some of the school day to encourage/help/feed a teenager. That is a luxury to which most families cannot aspire. The in-person school where I now teach is heavily focused on discipline and monitoring behavior, students are encouraged to obey and to master basic literacy and numeracy. Most of the students have loving, but overwhelmed families.