Education Week: States, Districts Move to Require Virtual Classes - 2 views
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Chris Dede on 19 Oct 11Is the online experience important enough to warrant this?
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Erin Sisk on 20 Oct 11This strikes me as a case where technology is being implemented without enough thought as to how the technology actually furthers the learning goals. "Having an online learning experience" doesn't seem to me like a good enough reason to require students to take a course online, especially for students who do not have easy access to the internet. While I think it's important for students to get experience with an online learning platform, I hope that they are learning more than just how to use the technology -- what is more important is that they learn how to be part of a collaborative Community of Inquiry (I am borrowing the phrase Community of Inquiry from Garrison's "E-learning in the 21st Century"). This requires them to think and write critically and collaborate effectively with their peers.