So there I was, having lunch, when my colleague Donna walked in and casually asked "Oh... are the rats still over there behind you?"
"Rats?" I inquired, in between bites of chili.
"Yeah... We had the dissected rats sitting there behind you for a few days. Looks like they've been moved."
"Oh." I replied, not breaking stride with my chili. It was a very good chili.
This conversation might have been the least disgusting (to a history teacher, or something) had in that room that week, because although I teach primarily Physics and Geosystems, I tend to eat lunch in the science workroom that is shared by mostly Biology teachers, and we don't tend to have weak stomachs. They're numbed by experience... I'm just naturally nonchalant about such things, I guess. The potential for gallows humor is a lot of fun.
I am reminded of the "dirty rats" this week as I read the downsides of distance learning, which as Dr. Borup notes, is not all "cotton candy, sunshine, and rainbows". Ironically, I had made a similar observation in a reflection piece for EDIT 764 just last week, and I was immediately struck by the fact that sunshine in fact DOES have some pretty significant downsides , so it's actually a better comparison than one might first suspect, especially if we start reflecting on use vs. abuse. The same goes for cotton candy, for that matter. And, if you think rainbows are nothing but positivity, ask the guy on the left what he thinks about THAT (there are some excellent Irish banks that would allow him to diversify out of pots of gold, but traditions die hard I guess).
I have come to value highly my lunch with a side of inappropriate for eating conversation, and it was in that context that I was especially struck by the reports of teachers that they felt disconnected from their colleagues (Hawkins, Graham, Barber 2012). Sure, they talk about not being able to compare methods or results with colleagues (at least easily), something FCPS does very explicitly through Professional Learning Communities. I meet once a week with the other Geosystems teachers to do those sorts of things: planning, comparing results, discussing approaches. And yet, I think some of the most valuable time outside the classroom at school is spent at lunch... decompressing, forming relationships, complaining about having to meet once a week in the aforementioned PLCs, etc. It gives me a connection to the school at large, and also another informal way to discuss what is loftily termed "best practices" (Is it best practice to use buzzwords like "best practices"? Someone should do a study). Along with the general social benefits (not to be underestimated), there has been more than one case where I've shared a strategy to deal with a problem behavior, or helped interpret IEP accomodations, or gotten an idea for an engaging review activity, while still in a relaxed, informal setting, with no timekeeper or meeting norms. I think it would be very tough to lose that, and I'm not sure that not having to shower before teaching is sufficient compensation (and I'm sure my wife would think it isn't), though it might be nice to spend more time with my dogs.
So again, I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not interested in teaching fully online, though I am buying into the blended learning model. I feel like it alleviates many of the other concerns raised in the readings. For example, in the Borup and Stevens 2016 article, teachers reported that they felt like they could not make connections with the students due to lack of face to face time. That's not a problem in the blended learning model... the students work for me online, but I am there to interact with them and this allows me to make connections. At the same time, I also get some of the benefits of being able to interact one on one which is enhanced by the online portion... students can get more and more timely feedback, and other communication tools can make this even easier. Just on Thursday night, I used Remind to send a text to my students to remind them to complete the study guide before the test the next day, Friday. This study guide was on Google Classroom. A student texted me back with a question about one of the tasks, and used a picture to clarify. I explained it while pointing her to a slide show and video I had posted on that particular topic, and she finished it.
It seems like the best of both worlds, and though the Virtual Schools Case Study done in 2017 indicates that while there is a dearth of research in general, it's particularly sparse for blended learning schools, I did find it encouraging that they noted that there was an 80% pass rate for these programs in Michigan, which is much higher than many reports on the fully online distance learning schools. It seems pretty consistent that distance learning schools are significantly underperforming brick and mortar schools, particularly in graduation rates, and to be fair even the blended learning programs seem to be falling behind in what studies they have. I have to wonder if that is because the studies also indicate that a large majority of these programs are for-profit. I look at the scandals and problems that seem to arise in private prisons, and perhaps more relevant, private for-profit colleges, and I have to think that there might be some similar issues.
Of course, the above example did also involve me interrupting dinner to answer that question, so I could also definitely see the danger of not maintaining a good work life balance, as raised by the teachers quoted in Borup and Stevens 2016. I don't think that will ever be an issue for me, though, not least because my students do NOT at all match the description in the paragraphs quoted from Valentine in 2002. They are not, as a rule, self-motivated. They require structure and clarity, not ambiguity. They are not autonomous, and my students with autism especially are hardly flexible (neither, for that matter, is their teacher). I have mentioned this before, but they do not work for a grade. They work for me. I do not think that a fully online model would be very successful with them for all the reasons above but most of all because I think it would be hard to develop the relationship necessary to motivate them to work without seeing them face to face every other day. Still, as I noted, this means the work home balance will probably not be an issue even with the online piece, because many of them simply do not do work at home, or on their own. They need to be in class, with me guiding and prodding.
I have included this latest research on my ever more riveting popplet, which you can access by following this link. It will change your life. *
*Offer not valid in all states, Void where prohibited. Any life changes are solely the responsibility of the reader and not the author of this blog, Google, George Mason University, or the State of Virginia. You can sue Dr. Borup if you want... he designed the course.
"Rats?" I inquired, in between bites of chili.
"Yeah... We had the dissected rats sitting there behind you for a few days. Looks like they've been moved."
"Oh." I replied, not breaking stride with my chili. It was a very good chili.
This conversation might have been the least disgusting (to a history teacher, or something) had in that room that week, because although I teach primarily Physics and Geosystems, I tend to eat lunch in the science workroom that is shared by mostly Biology teachers, and we don't tend to have weak stomachs. They're numbed by experience... I'm just naturally nonchalant about such things, I guess. The potential for gallows humor is a lot of fun.
 |
| Leprechaun by Luna Sea source |
I am reminded of the "dirty rats" this week as I read the downsides of distance learning, which as Dr. Borup notes, is not all "cotton candy, sunshine, and rainbows". Ironically, I had made a similar observation in a reflection piece for EDIT 764 just last week, and I was immediately struck by the fact that sunshine in fact DOES have some pretty significant downsides , so it's actually a better comparison than one might first suspect, especially if we start reflecting on use vs. abuse. The same goes for cotton candy, for that matter. And, if you think rainbows are nothing but positivity, ask the guy on the left what he thinks about THAT (there are some excellent Irish banks that would allow him to diversify out of pots of gold, but traditions die hard I guess).
 |
| An Online Teacher Enjoys Some of the Perks With Her Dog Kraka by Martin Eskil Winge, 1862 Source |
So again, I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not interested in teaching fully online, though I am buying into the blended learning model. I feel like it alleviates many of the other concerns raised in the readings. For example, in the Borup and Stevens 2016 article, teachers reported that they felt like they could not make connections with the students due to lack of face to face time. That's not a problem in the blended learning model... the students work for me online, but I am there to interact with them and this allows me to make connections. At the same time, I also get some of the benefits of being able to interact one on one which is enhanced by the online portion... students can get more and more timely feedback, and other communication tools can make this even easier. Just on Thursday night, I used Remind to send a text to my students to remind them to complete the study guide before the test the next day, Friday. This study guide was on Google Classroom. A student texted me back with a question about one of the tasks, and used a picture to clarify. I explained it while pointing her to a slide show and video I had posted on that particular topic, and she finished it.
It seems like the best of both worlds, and though the Virtual Schools Case Study done in 2017 indicates that while there is a dearth of research in general, it's particularly sparse for blended learning schools, I did find it encouraging that they noted that there was an 80% pass rate for these programs in Michigan, which is much higher than many reports on the fully online distance learning schools. It seems pretty consistent that distance learning schools are significantly underperforming brick and mortar schools, particularly in graduation rates, and to be fair even the blended learning programs seem to be falling behind in what studies they have. I have to wonder if that is because the studies also indicate that a large majority of these programs are for-profit. I look at the scandals and problems that seem to arise in private prisons, and perhaps more relevant, private for-profit colleges, and I have to think that there might be some similar issues.
Of course, the above example did also involve me interrupting dinner to answer that question, so I could also definitely see the danger of not maintaining a good work life balance, as raised by the teachers quoted in Borup and Stevens 2016. I don't think that will ever be an issue for me, though, not least because my students do NOT at all match the description in the paragraphs quoted from Valentine in 2002. They are not, as a rule, self-motivated. They require structure and clarity, not ambiguity. They are not autonomous, and my students with autism especially are hardly flexible (neither, for that matter, is their teacher). I have mentioned this before, but they do not work for a grade. They work for me. I do not think that a fully online model would be very successful with them for all the reasons above but most of all because I think it would be hard to develop the relationship necessary to motivate them to work without seeing them face to face every other day. Still, as I noted, this means the work home balance will probably not be an issue even with the online piece, because many of them simply do not do work at home, or on their own. They need to be in class, with me guiding and prodding.
I have included this latest research on my ever more riveting popplet, which you can access by following this link. It will change your life. *
*Offer not valid in all states, Void where prohibited. Any life changes are solely the responsibility of the reader and not the author of this blog, Google, George Mason University, or the State of Virginia. You can sue Dr. Borup if you want... he designed the course.
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