Obstacles Limit Online Classrooms
John Welsh,
Minneapolis Pioneer Press,
Sept 23, 2002
This article looks at some of the difficulties surrounding the use of online classrooms. But it misses the most significant problem. Look at this story from the article: Most of the students send instant text messages to Franke saying they understand. But a red line appears on one student's name. He's raising his hand electronically. Franke clicks on the boy's name, giving him a chance to speak to his teacher and classmates.'I know you just went over this,' said the youth. 'But I would like it explained one more time.'" Sounds great, right? But now what is the rest of the class doing? Do the people who already understood sit twiddling their thumbs online while the instructor explains it one more time? No, of course not. They're probably gaming somewhere. Or chatting via IM. A good model for learning? Hardly.CRLF
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