I believe there are two teachers who are doing a blended course this year at our high school. Neither are math courses. I know there have been math courses taught via television for some time. Students were able to take AP classes that were not offered in their own building by watching a televised course from a different school. The kids would have to call with questions. Those were the days... Now we can do much more with video conferencing. I would love to eventually be able to teach an upper level math course as a blended class. I know it will be required soon enough for kids to take core classes that have an on-line piece so I'll try and get ahead of the game. I would enjoy the freedom that teaching for two less hours would give, but I think the students would benifit the most from having the freedom to learn at their own desk/home. I would hope that students would devote the hour that they are not meeting with me to my class. Sometimes kids these days are so busy during the evening hours, that they do not have the time to devote to their homework. By doing a blended class, they would have time built in to their day to work on my class. Now, the real question is would they? I know from personel experience in college how difficult it is to self-pace and set resonable deadlines. This would be a great way for students to learn about deadlines and the "real world" work skills.
I am very interested to see how far the e-textbooks progress. We have most of our courses that are textbook based, but include an on-line support site, but we still have a few courses that do not have the web support. Unfortunately, my class if one of them without any web support. I will be looking for a new textbook during this upcoming summer to implement during the 2012 - 2013 school year. I am interested to see if it is even necessary for districts to buy textbooks in as large of quantities as they have or will we need only a classroom set of books with students having their own on-line book to access at home. What about in the classroom, do we even need a set of books? Or will we all have some sort of screen for each student? Should be interesting...
Navigating the Land of Online Learning from the student perspective: As a student I first need to have access to the internet. I would need to find out if I am required to have my own computer and own internet service or if the school will provide me with any of this. I like the idea of taking a blended course so that I can work on my school work when it's convienent for me. I work late and sometimes I need to sleep-in. Having the option to work on the class later in the day is great. I also like that I am able to take Chinese even though my school didn't offer it. My teachers don't always know how much of a visual learner I am and by using the internet, I can search out extra resources from the list my teacher provides. I am excited to work at my own pace and yet be responsible for meeting the deadlines that my teacher provides. I know this is how the "real world" works. I am a bit concerned about how I will be able to get help while I'm taking this class. Is there a set time that I can meet on-line with my teacher or am I suppose to meet with them face-to-face? I'm also very concerned about tech support. If my computer isn't working, will someone be able to help me? I think overall this class will be a great experience and I am excited to try it.
As a student taking an on-line course, I am getting to experience a lot of these same emotions. Luckily, I haven't had too many problems and so I've been able to progress through the class fairly well. It is tough when the unexpected happens though. Sometimes the time you thought you had gets eaten up with "life!".
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