For my e-portfolio, I think that using Wix as my website-building platform will allow for the greatest flexibility in building the best site for my needs.  In only five minutes, I was able to set up my own Wix account and begin adding some pages and design templates to my site. Also, when I first created the account, Wix asked if I was a first-time website creator, and the resources that the site provided me have eased the learning curve and made those initial steps very easy to understand.  The primary purpose of my website will be for showing recruiters and professors/faculty members my work and interests. I hope to be able to use this portfolio in job applications and as a central medium for contact from recruiters. I have found that on many applications, either for internships or research positions, there is often an option to submit a website of your own. I feel that in addition to my resume, having an e-portfolio that can highlight some of my extracurriculars and non-STEM related work (many of our RCL assignments)  will highlight my versatility in the workplace as a mechanical engineer. 

In reflecting on the work I have done this year, I have realized that many of the topics I explored in the RCL assignments were not particularly related to my major field of interest, but that I still thoroughly enjoyed writing and researching them. Therefore, I am hoping to make this website widespread in terms of content to include work from this class in addition to some of the projects I have completed in my major coursework. The tabs I am currently planning on using are Home/All About Me, RCL Work, Projects, Blog, and Resume. Some of the artifacts I want to include are my Engineering Design Final Project, My Issue Brief, my civic issue blogs about education, a research paper I wrote in high school about planning a manned mission to Mars, and my history of a public controversy piece. These artifacts are obviously subject to change as I continue to create my site and see what works best. 

For my advocacy project, my idea is to continue my research on ensuring technological equity in our education system in the wake of COVID-19. Capacity building and educating our school board officials during these upcoming months is the best way to create equitable solutions for the upcoming fall and spring semester. I think the audience I would want to advocate towards would either be public school district officials or administrators. Therefore, I believe that the best modes of delivery will likely be an infographic that can easily be distributed to administrators and faculty members or a 1-3 minute speech for public school officials to hear regarding possible next steps. Currently, I am leaning towards an infographic because it is very easy to follow and refer back to, which would adhere to the needs of public school officials.  I am hoping to use the approaches I was able to come up with in my issue brief and manufacture them to better be received by an audience of public school officials and hopefully instigate change that can be seen as soon as in the upcoming months. 

I do believe that “Photographer as Witness: A Portrait of Domestic Violence” is a piece of advocacy due to its inherent nature to inform others and create change towards a given issue. Ultimately, I think it achieves this goal of advocacy in the way in which it depicts the harsh realities of domestic violence and the ways in which it can impact others outside of the relationship (children, her ex-husband in this case). However, I do think this piece comes close to dangerously close to poor ethics, and there certainly are some aspects of the work that could be seen as problematic. For example, Maggie’s children are heavily pictured and even quoted in the portraits, and it is questionable if they were able to properly consent to that documentation. They are so young that being involved with an intense piece of artwork might not be something they truly want, and it is unlikely that this type of thing was explicitly explained to them. However, the photographer did speak with and receive consent from Maggie to document the relationship, which ultimately involves the children. In that case, it is ethical in the manner in which it represents Maggie’s personal experience; it does not overstate or lie about any aspect of what she was going through.

 

** Disclaimer: I have not included endnotes or works cited in this version. I just put the source in parentheses after the sentences in which the source was referenced.

Introduction:

Online schooling has taken the world by storm since the introduction of the internet and the development of new technologies that have allowed for the creation of digital academic resources.  With the very recent announcement from Governor Tom Wolf that Pennsylvania public schools will be closing indefinitely in hopes to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers, students, and families have worked to adapt to a new digital normal for education to the best of their abilities. (NBC Philadelphia) ¹ However, the transition has had its ups and downs, and students and teachers are still working to better these changes each day. While online education has many benefits for students that have the resources and learning abilities that are suitable for an online environment, many others have struggled to access the material the same way in which they were able to in the traditional classroom. Many college students are more expected to have computers of their own and have been able to adapt much more smoothly to this abrupt shift in educational strategy. On the other hand, primary and secondary schools educate a much wider demographic of students, and technological access to internet connection and personal computers is much less expected at the K-12 level. Rather than rushing into coaching their teachers and creating online material at the fastest rate possible, school districts need to put equity at the forefront of their plans in the wake of school closures. Research shows that students with “lower levels of prior achievement” and of lower socioeconomic status face greater difficulty in adapting to online coursework. ¹ Policymakers at the state level must make efforts in the upcoming months on ways to improve this process for public schools and address the gaps in access to the proper technology for students in families . in the aftermath of COVID-19’s impact.

According to Dr. Rivers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Policy, coronavirus vaccines may not be available for 12-18 months. (Brookings)  Looking into the future, schools not only need to be concerned with continuing education through the duration of this school year but also into the fall. During the summer months, school districts in Pennsylvania and around the country will need to be strategic and thoughtful about adjusting their educational material and delivery to accommodate all of their students equitably.¹ Many schools already struggle to provide equitable educational experiences to their students in their traditional brick and mortar environments.

Socioeconomic Affordability and Access to Technology

Perhaps the most obvious source of inequity in this distance learning environment is due to the disparities in access to internet and technology remotely. Lower income families tend to have few levels of technology adoption in their homes and are one of the largest targets for inequity if schools fail to provide the necessary devices to their student populations. (Pew Research Center)

Internet access is also a necessity for students to connect and communicate with their respective schools and teachers during this remote period.  Access is definitely part of the problem, but access is not the same thing as equity. As schools work to not only address the transition to distance learning now, they also must think about long term changes and plans for the upcoming school year and even years beyond. This virus has highlighted weaknesses in the strength of our educational systems, and schools must be proactive this summer in creating plans and programs to ensure. Schools are attempting different measures to eliminate this technology barrier, but the answer is not necessarily crystal clear.

• Los Angeles schools are working to provide both high-tech and low-tech answers to reach all students with opportunities to continue learning. (USA Today).

• “Kentucky’s largest district, Jefferson County Public Schools, is specifically not moving to online learning because of equity concerns.” (USA Today). The immense size of the district, standing at 98,000 students makes it hardly feasible to provide enough digital devices or ensure internet access for the students that are less advantaged. The school hopes to be able to make up for the lost time when students are able to return to school.

• Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan have already enacted distribution plans to provide learning devices and Wi-Fi Hotspots to all students within the district. (USA Today).

Each one of these plans hopes to eliminate the technological barriers that could create inequities in a completely remote learning environment. Though there are positives and negatives to each approach, it is evident that schools are trying to work at the quickest rate possible to distribute materials and resume learning immediately. If digital equity is truly the goal, serious time and energy will need to be put in school districts to create information packets to accommodate these devices in the case that students and families of different backgrounds can assimilate to the new learning medium smoothly.

The California Department of Education has released a continuum graphic to illustrate a feasible progression of distance learning options for families, depending on their access to resources.

To tackle this technological gap, school districts will have to work to communicate thoroughly with their families to create options that provide equal learning opportunities, regardless of the resources each family has at their disposal. There must be high-tech and low-tech accommodations for advantaged and disadvantaged families during this time and during any remote learning periods that could ensue in the coming school year and beyond.

Individual Education Plans and Learning Disabilities

Transitioning to an online platform poses a difficulty for all public school students, but even more so to the population of students in our country who have learning disabilities and individual education plans. A very large portion of our public school population has some form of learning disability. The graphic below depicts a bit of the breakdown when it comes to how many students face these challenges on a daily basis in their schooling (Understood.org).

Online learning is only powerful if it can be equally accessed and interpreted by its entire student population. (USA Today). Schools and state governments will have to determine, what is considered equitable access for students with disabilities? Once we are able to return to school, how can schools prepare to provide material for their students with learning disabilities and accommodations? By law, Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, public schools must offer educational accommodations for students with disabilities. (Wenatchee World). This cannot change during the online learning period, and school districts must recognize these changes require extra effort in the interim to ensure these students and their families are supported.

Some school districts have already taken certain measures to communicate with students and families concerning their IEP status. In New York, teachers will set up individual education plan meetings remotely with families to determine what is best for each student, rather than attempt to create a comprehensive plan to meet all needs. (USA Today). In creating as many equitable situations as possible, schools must take this interim period to investigate student needs on a case by case basis. The California Department of Education released a statement declaring their dedication to compensating students who face these limitations once school returns. However, this allows students without these limitations to get steps ahead in their learning process. Though an arduous process, working on an individual basis will be well worth the effort in the fall or further in the future in the case that a remote learning period must ensue again.

Millions of children already don’t get the support they need in general classrooms for their disabilities. When transitioning to an online platform, it will be even more difficult to provide them with the necessary resources and accommodations for them to be successful remotely. Through this distance learning period and throughout the summer months, school districts must communicate and strategize manners of communication and flexibility in order to properly deliver an educational experience of equal quality and presentation to its populations that face learning disabilities and accommodations.

Home Environment

Another issue concerning equity arises from a completely new environment in which education is taking place. Attending a physical classroom allowed for oversight and aid from an instructor who is trained to teach students of a certain age group. For many students, their home environment is drastically different than what they may experience in the classroom. The greatest issue comes with students in the younger range of the K-12 gap. Many students have parents who work full-time jobs that are refusing to cease. Not only does this bring up the issue of childcare and safety, but also a lack of supervision and expectation when it comes to completing and scheduling time to dedicate to schoolwork. Luckily, many companies are transitioning to allow parents to work from home, or even requiring them to do so. (New York Times). However, this puts a lot of the “educating” responsibility in the hands of the parents, whether it is intentional or not. In some ways, a parent will have to add an additional duty to their to-do list in addition to their full-time job and parenting role as they are.

Some students may be called upon to help take care of other siblings in their household or perform other chores and duties to help overcome some crises that may have arisen in the family. (Center for American Progress) To combat this, school districts must work to create technologically dynamic and flexible course material that can be accessed in a variety of ways and at different times during the day that may not align with a previously “normal” school schedule. While they may have technological access to school material, their home may not be fit for a school-like atmosphere, and communications between families and schools will be imperative in ensuring equal opportunity for learning in those cases.

There is additional stress that comes with grappling with life during a global pandemic. According to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, personal worries among parents and families range a multitude of subjects. This added stress overrides worries about distance learning and can make it difficult for a parent to be there for their child as they adjust to a new normal. Public school districts will need to be absolutely flexible in their evaluation techniques and recognize that each family is handling these stressors in different ways. The statistics are listed below:

Conclusion:

Unfortunately, there is not list of solutions to turn to with this issue because equity is always a partially answered problem. Addressing the needs of each and every student and family is hardly feasible, especially in this rapidly changing time. Communication and careful consideration of each family on a case by case basis is the only manner in which schools can equitably continue to provide distance learning to their communities without compromising fair practices.

In the next school year, public school districts will have faced one of the most difficult trying times in recent memory. With the spread of the coronavirus, public officials will have to make quick decisions with impacts on thousands of families and their children, while relying on recent and incomplete information (Center for American Progress). It will be difficult to accommodate the needs of everyone and create an equitable educational experience immediately. Therefore, capacity building and proper logistical planning must take place during the end of this school year and the summer before the next school year to continue offering critical services and educational experiences to families remotely.  In order to better prepare their students for potential outbreaks that could arise again when everyone returns to school, online learning must be addressed in regard to the inequities it can unintentionally create for the wide demographic of students in the K-12 public education system. Strong communication must take place between students, families, school board officials, and even third-party organizations to provide a feasible, at-home educational experience that creates an equal opportunity to learn and grow for each and every student in an online environment.

 

Online schooling has taken the world by storm since the introduction of the internet and the development of new technologies that have allowed for the creation of digital academic resources.  With the very recent announcement from Governor Tom Wolf that Pennsylvania public schools will be closing indefinitely in hopes to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers, students, and families have worked to adapt to a new digital normal for education to the best of their abilities. However, the transition has had its ups and downs, and students and teachers are still working to better these changes each day. While online education has many benefits for students that have the resources and learning abilities that are suitable for an online environment, many others have struggled to access the material the same way in which they were able to in the traditional classroom. Many college students are more expected to have computers of their own and have been able to adapt much more smoothly to this abrupt shift in educational strategy. On the other hand, primary and secondary schools educate a much wider demographic of students, and technological access to an internet connection and personal computers is much less expected at the K-12 level. Rather than rushing into coaching their teachers and creating online material at the fastest rate possible, school districts need to put equity at the forefront of their plans in the wake of school closures. Research shows that students with “lower levels of prior achievement” and of lower socioeconomic status face greater difficulty in adapting to online coursework. Before pushing out online material, school districts must first ensure that the new material that is being presented to students is fair and provides the same opportunity for learning across every demographic and socioeconomic background.  Policymakers at the Pennsylvania state level must make efforts and educate themselves on ways to improve this process for public schools and address the gaps in access to the proper technology for students in families during this transition period.

My questions for my fellow bloggers:

• Do you think that me discussing surveys and laptop distribution that has already taken place in some districts is too late of a topic to bring up? It has not been put into place everywhere across the country, and I think I could talk about different ways in which districts can make this distribution accessible in the best manner possible.
• I plan to dive into technology’s impact on students with disabilities, unique home environments, and socioeconomic boundaries that limit access to technology/internet. Are these too narrow, and should I investigate  more outside of technology and more into equity as a whole (childcare, meals, etc.). I think it is too broad, but I am not opposed to it.

It has been close to a month since our deliberation, “Setting the Standard for Standardized Testing”, and I must say, I am still a bit disappointed about how the discussion turned out. Though I know our group delegated work properly in preparation and we felt united towards a common goal during the lead-up, I felt like our execution was quite lackluster and we could have had a better outcome than what we had. However, not all was lost. I do think there are some positives that came out of our discussion and certainly some lessons to be learned about how to successfully deliberate in the future. Among our discussions within each approach, one common theme emerged, and that was the importance of student choice. Ensuring equity in the application process was definitely a shared opinion of participants, and finding a way to create that opportunity for all students was a vital component in the discussions concerning how the SAT and standardized testing could be improved in the future.

The other deliberation that I attended as a participant was called, “To Stan or Not to Stan: How to Make Justice Possible for Cults of Personality”. It took place at Fraser Commons and had a large number of participants arrive, resulting in a unique way of deliberating. Rather than discussing the approaches as a large group, we were divided among tables to talk about each approach with a smaller group of 4-8 other students. Not only did it feel more intimate and honest, but also more productive as participants were eager to speak up and contribute to the conversation on a smaller scale. This deliberation was much more successful at “adequately distributing speaking opportunities”, as opposed to ours which felt hindered by the location, moderation, and acoustics of the room. Moderators from the “To Stan or Not to Stan” deliberation rotated to each small group every 20 minutes, and ultimately, by the end of the discussion, their Team Summary showed how each group was able to form a different opinion and take on the issue independently. It was a very unique way to go about the deliberation and had we had more participants at our own event, I think it would have been an effective way of moderating and facilitating deeper conversations. 

Many of Gastil’s Deliberative Criteria were either attempted or present in our deliberation and the other one that I attended. One of the things that I felt we did with the utmost care was “respect other participants”. Students politely allowed others to speak, and I felt our moderators were able to smoothly rotate the conversation to different participants within each approach. No student was interrupted or made fun of as a result of their beliefs or contribution to the subject. I felt this was also reflected in the “To Stan or Not to Stan Deliberation”, perhaps to an even greater extent due to the smaller conversation groups. One of the elements our deliberation sought to highlight was the importance of “considering other ideas and experiences”. Each and every person that held personal stakes in the SAT conversation brought a different idea to the table, which helped widen our discussion around equity and equality throughout the college application process. In the deliberation I attended, many people had limited experience with their own emotions and feelings towards stan and cancel culture, and sometimes it felt as if we were discussing occurrences we were only aware of because of the media. Though I feel like we were able to dive into a variety of opinions in both, those experiences felt much more intimate and personal in the standardized testing conversation. 

From the very beginning, I began to recognize the “key values” our deliberation was going to highlight, and those were of fairness and equity. Almost every negative aspect of the SAT is a result of inequitable evaluation and a poor reflection of a person’s capabilities. Therefore, upon reflection after the deliberation, the key takeaways were all in a similar realm of idea, regardless of the approach. Finding the fairest and equitable solution is of the utmost importance when tackling the issues with the SAT. Additionally, in both deliberations, I felt that both groups were able to sufficiently “create a solid information base” at the beginning for background information. While ours mostly consisted of providing statistics concerning the issue and numbers that represent inequities across state and regional lines, the other deliberation had to focus more on anecdotes and stories from the media to set the scene for many participants who were less familiar with the topic. It was interesting to see how different issues require different foundations for conversation; one being much more technical information and the other being much more informal and anecdotal! 

I believe the most effective, yet also difficult, aspect of our deliberation was introducing and then weighing the pros and cons of the issue. The participants were very eager to discuss the cons immediately, despite the way in which the introductory questions were framed to talk about the benefits of a certain approach. However, I think in trying to moderate towards discussing the pros, the group as a whole was able to see the issue from a newer perspective and understand that potentially, some form of standardized testing is necessary, despite their original opinions. Being able to weigh the pros and cons was an essential step in coming together as a group and ultimately changing the opinions of many participants by the end of the deliberation. 

Overall, I was not expecting the outcome that we came to in our deliberation. Essentially, many participants agreed that SATs were actually a necessary evil, and that it is difficult to avoid them completely. I wish we had had more time to delve into potential solution paths when we came to this realization. However, I still learned a lot from the experience and now know what is needed to have a successful deliberation in the future. 

For my issue brief, I was originally planning on discussing the shortcomings of online education and the need to distance ourselves from the idea when it is not absolutely necessary. However, upon reflecting on the events of this past week, I have realized that online learning in some fashion is a part of our future and can be used in a positive manner to connect different types of students to a learning environment depending on their particular situation. The reasons that online learning has the opposition that it does today is that not enough time has been put into the effort to ensure that the content and quality of a course is equitable for all students involved. As a result, I have switched the direction of my issue towards addressing the ways in which our institutions can work to deliver online education equitably across demographics and learning styles. Though this is an issue that has been present since the introduction of online instruction, the current issues stemming from the sudden shift to online learning platforms as a result of COVID-19 provides strong exigence and motivation for a much-needed discussion in this issue brief.

To keep the issue more consolidated I am going to focus on discussing the issue in the context of public universities. I think the best audience with which to approach this issue would be the state government of Pennsylvania. These officials have the power to instruct and provide information to their public universities and colleges in order to educate them on the use of technology in a learning environment. Through the proposed policy instrument of capacity building, they could create programs for university officials to pass on to their faculty and staff to educate them on technology within the context of college-level coursework. I hope that by not dictating the issue towards individual colleges, and rather speaking to the entire state of Pennsylvania, public universities will all have an equitable approach to online instruction that does not differ depending on the university you attend.

Conveniently, I have been focusing my civic issue blogs on the changing impacts of technology on our education system, particularly in the rising popularity of online and distance learning in exchange for traditional learning environments. This issue has ironically come to light massively in the past week as many universities and K-12 education systems have abruptly switched to transition to online learning as a result of the social distancing measures needed to combat COVID-19. I believe this issue topic will have significant policy discussion in the upcoming months as schools not only attempt to address the impacts of distance learning but also reflect on its successes and failures long after COVID-19 has left its mark. Issues that can result from online learning frequently impact low-income and marginalized groups the most, including those with special needs. In my issue brief, I hope to address some of the benefits and disadvantages that distance learning can and will have on the educational experience. Additionally, I hope to tie it into the impacts it is having on educational systems right now, and attempt to propose a policy that could ensure that distance learning in the future is properly set up ahead of time to accommodate learning and provide alternatives for unique circumstances, likely on a smaller scale than COVID-19.

The cause of the COVID-19 issue is inadvertent as a result of misguided analysis and improper preparation for the scale at which the disease could spread across our country. However, looking at a more enclosed level concerning the issues of online and distance learning on its own, the cause is also likely an inadvertent cause that has been perpetuated by a misunderstanding and overcompensation of using technology in the classroom and straying too far from traditional forms of education. Online and distance learning was never intended to replace the classroom setting, but as a result of the influx of technological devices, software, and services, from what meets the eye, an in-classroom experience can almost be completely transformed into an online platform. This has caused many of the issues in the quality of degrees that online students are receiving, the dependence many teachers have on putting the majority of their class’ content on a digital website, and lack of engaging classroom activities that students are being provided in their coursework. 

The most likely policy instrument that could be implemented to improve online/distance learning options for the future would likely be a capacity builder to educate school boards and districts on ways to properly implement distance learning techniques to ensure equity for all students. A policy could be put in place to make the online portion a complement to learning, rather than a replacement to face-to-face interaction. The goal of the policy would likely be to make sure every teacher and every grade level has online learning technology and content set up ahead of time for unique scenarios that could disrupt usual school routines. I have always felt for students that are homebound or with certain disabilities that cannot attend school normally for an extended period of time. There tends to be a lack of distance learning resources on hand in a school district to keep them up to speed with the classroom content. The policy could make sure that all students and teachers are able to transition to an online platform with high-quality engagement and equal opportunity technological resources at any given time. We are seeing today that without policy already in place, the quick transition to online learning that many universities and public schools are going to has had its difficulties.

There is something to be said for games in the classroom. They can be fun, engaging, increase student participation, and provide great practice opportunities. Many high school and middle school students today are almost expected to have their cell phones or designated technological devices on hand at all times during the school day in anticipation of a technologically driven game included within a lesson plan.  However, in today’s highly digital age, education is being transformed to accommodate a new wave of technological games and activities intended to further engage students. Though often we assume that technological changes in education are associated only with learning and lecture outside of the classroom, they have also taken a new medium in the form of gamification and the use of video game design in learning environments. Ultimately, the goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement by interesting students with game-like learning activities that motivate them to perform well. 

According to Karl M. Kapp, a professor at Bloomsburg University and author of “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction”, gamification is defined as an “emergent approach to instruction which facilitates learning and encourages motivation through the use of game elements, mechanics and game-based thinking”.   The essential idea is to incorporate fun, game-based concepts into instructional material within the classroom. In theory, introducing games into the classroom should be no problem and only engage students further by putting them more in control of their own learning and investment in their education. However, it is in the implementation of gamification where the value and impacts that games could have on the classroom begin to be more difficult to distinguish. Where is the line that separates games from being engaging and productive to distracting and uninteresting?

Photo from: https://insights.samsung.com/2016/07/19/does-gamification-education-really-improve-learning/

Many studies support the benefits gamification can have on a student’s learning process and educational retention. Some of the games used today, such as Kahoot and Quizlet Live, provide instant feedback to student responses. Rather than evaluating retention in a single exam session, gamification allows for progress to be made gradually in a question-answer medium with immediate feedback for the student. This allows them to take that feedback and make changes in the next level or activity within the game setting, and it promotes steady studying techniques. Furthermore, gamification allows for a more personalized learning experience. Students can work through the game activities at their own pace and with their own preferences. Putting learning at a more informal medium puts students more at ease with their learning and encourages them to practice potential real-life situations, depending on the game. 

On the other hand, not everything can or needs to be “gamified” for kids. Not all teachers are equipped to integrate gaming elements, which results in ineffective games that fail to help students meet learning objectives. Additionally, gamification creates greater extrinsic motivation for students. Making play mandatory can facilitate rule-based experiences that can still feel like traditional schools. Digital gaming emphasizes only rewarding mastery and high scoring, and if schools aim to reinforce the effort that students put in the process of learning, gamification does not allow them to see failure as an opportunity. In the case that gamification becomes a part of the classroom, careful measures must be made to ensure that the activities allow for multiple attempts and a gateway to further learning opportunities. Instructors should also never take the all or none approach when implementing gamification techniques, and they should intersperse real engagement within the daily agenda. 

Motivators like badges, medals, and stickers can demotivate students that are not naturally competitive and can end up being less impactful learning techniques in the long run. Gamification can have a negative effect on student engagement when used to replace student-teacher engagement. Finding the happy medium between creating intrinsically motivated games in addition to incorporating in-person engagement has been proven to be the most successful implementation of technological gamification into the classroom atmosphere. 

Putting games in the classroom has its benefits and consequences. Just like many other technological innovations in the world of education, moderation is key in creating the most positive results for students and teachers. In the comments below, let me know which games you have played in the classroom, and how you felt they impacted your learning.

One recent phenomenon in the digitization of education is the implementation of blended learning and flipped classroom experiences. Blended learning is a way of teaching that combines online resources with in-person instruction, with the hopes of creating a more personalized learning environment. Rather than a completely online experience or a completely traditional, in-person lecture experience, blended learning adds the two together in a way that adheres to the needs of a variety of students within the classroom. With blended learning, teachers make most of their content available to students outside of the classroom, through PowerPoint presentations, audio podcasts, or instructive videos. 

Photo from: https://www.odysseyware.com/blog/7-ways-implement-blended-learning-model

A more involved type of blended learning, known more colloquially as the “flipped classroom” allows Essentially, students could get all of the lecture material at home at whichever pace they choose, and then the class period is utilized for completing work assignments such as “discussions, project-based or problem-based assignments, or laboratory exercises”. This essentially “flips” what students do at home with what students experience in the classroom. 

Online content allows students who are familiar with the material can move through it at their own pace. Others can pause, re-watch, or reread the content to the level in which they need it most. Then, in the flipped classroom model, the work assignments are completed in class, where a teacher is available to help in the application process of the material. There are many benefits to this method when it comes to science and neurology behind learning. A common experience of many students, including myself, is being able to understand a concept or method in class, but being unable to replicate or remember the knowledge when they get home. Research has shown that students learn best through active work, rather than passive listening. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, students might feel as if they are engaged when passively learning in lectures when actually tested on the material, they actually performed better and retained more information when instructed through active learning strategies. This data can be represented by the bar graph below that was published by Harvard University in the sharing of their findings. 

Data from: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/study-shows-that-students-learn-more-when-taking-part-in-classrooms-that-employ-active-learning-strategies/

In the flipped classroom environment, active learning strategies are implemented after the content has been introduced in a passive manner through online distribution. Doing work assignments during class time means that teachers are present and ready to help during the period when students need them the most. Additionally, group projects can be better facilitated through the blended learning environment due to the class time being devoted to active learning activities. Moving group work into the classroom allows for easier logistics and better oversight for the instructor. 

The major difference blended learning has with completely online learning is that it does not seek to eliminate the traditional face-to-face experience of a classroom setting. Blended classrooms hope to optimize face-to-face interactions because the teacher is no longer a passive lecturer, but now a more active and accessible guide during classroom settings. The intent is to put the focus and control in the hands of the student, not the teacher. 

Blended learning, like any new teaching phenomenon, has its own challenges. Blended learning, like online coursework, depends on affordable technologies and the assumption that each student has access to the necessary materials. Additionally, these technologies must be reliable and easy-to-use on both ends: for the instructors and the students. For some students, there is a learning curve for getting used to the blended classroom experience and properly budgeting time to take in the content prior to the class meeting period. Furthermore, it is much harder to hold students accountable for consuming the material and being in charge of their own learning. In order to make sure their students buy into this new learning style, teachers must “design learning and accountability systems to create a culture of student ownership, investing students in their own learning”. For this reason, it is more difficult to implement blended learning techniques into lower school levels. Many instructors solve this issue by providing incentives during the class period such as or tracking learning through the platforms in which it is delivered.

In order for blended learning to be successful, emphasis must be placed on enhancing the student-teacher interaction, rather than letting it be free through the delivery of content digitally.  Blended learning can have major success rates, but it can also result in massive failure. This is due to the fact that it requires 100% engagement from both parties: the teachers and the students. In order for it to be properly implemented, special care must be taken in the development of the curriculum, the delivery of content, the incentives for participation, and the classroom exercises that move students from passive to active learning. Who knows how big blended learning will grow as technology continues to develop and change in our education system!

 

 

Digitization is transforming almost every industry around the world. New technology allows more traditional approaches to become modernized and adaptable to our rapidly developing society. One industry that has felt many of these impacts is our educational system, ranging from public schools to universities and colleges.

Online schooling has taken the world by storm since the introduction of the internet and the development of new technologies that have allowed for the creation of digital academic resources. In fact, in just the past ten years, almost 30% of Americans in school currently take at least one online class (also referred to as “distance education”), and almost 15% of Americans are enrolled in entirely online degree plans at a wide range of colleges and universities. Rather than be a secondary option for many, online coursework is almost unavoidable when completing an education past high school. Even some high schoolers opt for online coursework and choose to not attend traditional schooling for a variety of personal reasons as well. It seems almost too good to be true. Most online coursework allows students to work entirely at their own pace and in whichever manner they choose. The educational experience is completely personalizable. However, how beneficial is this approach in preparing students for the workforce and life beyond school, which is usually the ultimate goal of education?

As online education continues to grow across the country and world, research is only just beginning on the possible impacts of distance learning. The most obvious target for completely online courses and degree programs are for students in remote locations that do not have access to universities. 

This essentially “opens up higher education” to people who cannot afford traditional college courses or are unable to relocate for school. In terms of equity and inclusion, online schooling is making large strides in providing opportunities to a wide variety of students. Additionally, for adults opting to return back to school at an older age, perhaps due to personal concerns or decisions made in early adulthood, online schooling is a feasible option for adults with a full work schedule or a family of their own. Online education is, without a doubt, flexible and convenient for many types of people. The issue arises in making it the new norm and ridding the system of the more traditional classroom experiences that often create organic and memorable moments.

Online courses are notorious for requiring discipline. Often without scheduled class times and flexible submission periods, it requires a highly motivated student to keep up with the coursework and be successful. Unfortunately, as online learning was originally intended to reach larger groups of people, it is still failing to meet the needs of one critical group: less proficient students. These students need the personal attention of a teacher and the organization of a classroom environment to help them through the course. For school districts that often provide remedial online coursework to students who have failed a class, the student often does even more poorly the second time around without the personal care to push them through the difficulties along the way. Below and at the university level, online education cannot be the solution for less proficient students that ultimately will need a structured, more intimate experience to be successful.

In order to bridge this gap, the success of an online educational program is highly dependent on the effort put into the student-interactivity. Not only does this provide the benefits of personal feedback and engages the student further into the course, but it also increases student fulfillment, according to a report from George Mason University. Regardless of what an exam score can show or a statistic can provide, the relationships that are frequently formed between students and instructors are pivotal to the educational experience and provide opportunities that cannot be found on an online PowerPoint slide.

What measures are being taken to find a healthy balance? Rather than only provide courses digitally, many schools and universities are implementing blended educational experiences, which combine traditional classroom environments with online coursework. Next week, I hope to investigate the research behind “flipped classrooms” and online/in-person hybrid classrooms, and the issues those present in the learning process.