On Tuesday, November 9th, we discussed Distributed Learning and the pros and cons of online learning for students. We all agreed that online learning can be effective in different contexts/subjects, and that their effectiveness is heavily influenced by whether they are offered synchronously, asynchronously, or a bit of both.

I had a broad spectrum of experiences with online learning last year. For most of my Biology classes, it made little difference whether it was online or in-person; while I may have learned slightly more in person, we were only ever tested on the material from the slides, and so I was testing just as well whether I copied the slides virtually or in person (and did more work with them on my own time). In fact, I was thrilled by the Biology classes that were made asynchronous. I was maybe getting fewer opportunities to apply/extend my learning, but those were sparse to begin with, and now I could take down notes when I wanted, at the pace I wanted, often saving a half hour or more from being synchronous and having to wait for advancement of the slide.

When it came to my English courses, online learning cratered the effectiveness of my education. Suddenly discussion was incredibly awkward, difficult to facilitate (let alone smoothly), and it felt much more difficult to connect with professors for specific feedback/advice on writing assignments. None of my English classes were asynchronous–thank god–as discussion of the texts we read was pretty well the sole source of genuine insight into the values and messages of what we read.

So, there’s a time and place for online learning, and for synchronous vs. asynchronous learning. But I believe that, in nearly every case, there is teaching that we need to do before online learning can be used effectively. While kids are more intuitive and experienced technology users than we are in many ways, that does not mean they can just pick up new/existing platforms and utilize them to greatest effect. They still need guidance as to how to extract maximum value from the content in whatever form it’s presented, and I want to make a deliberate effort to prepare them and scaffold their learning experience online as much as–or more than–I do in the classroom. The lessons we want to teach can almost never be moved online, 1:1, and seamlessly offer a better learning experience. It takes preparation and some thought, but it’s worth it if we can use that technology to provide a better and more comprehensive learning experience.

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash