Week 12 Discussion

1) Who is responsible to pay for students attending virtual high schools?
I would say that the students should have to pay for their online schooling. As was said in the screencast, "Technology is a right, not a privilege" and so if the student would rather "attend" an online school, it should be his/her reponsibility to pay for it.

2) Should all public schools have a virtual high school component?
It seems to me that online classes take a lot of planning, effort, and I am assuming money to make them both interesting and effective, and I don't believe that some schools could afford to make something like that, especially here in Montana. I feel though that if a school can afford it, and has a capable staff able to create and maintain it, that an online high school would be an effective alternative.

3) How should parents be notified of the opportunity for online courses?
The awareness of online high schools should be readily available for anyone interested, so maybe a mailer, or perhaps informational handouts in high traffic areas, such as grocery stores and post offices.

4) Should teachers receive a degree in teaching online courses before being allowed to teach an online course?
I don't think a teacher should necessarily need a degree in it, but they need to have a good amount of experience and knowledge about it. Problems are going to arise in any classroom, and the teacher needs to be prepared to handle anything that can come up. Also, without having a designated classroom to have to go to, some students might find it hard to commit to online classes, and end up becoming lax in their commitment. In that case, the teacher also needs to make sure they know how to keep an online course interesting and engaging, making the students want to come back often and learn.

Week 10 Discussion

1. As a teacher, what must you do to prepare your class for podcasting?
I think for one, a class must have the means to access the podcast, in one way or another. It just wouldn't be fair to have most of the students able to access the information, while two or three have no way to get to the podcast. Also, the teacher needs to know how to effectively utilize the tools available. I think it would be all to easy for teachers to ramble and to get off topic, losing their listeners' attention and interest.

2. What are the potential detrimental effects on education for podcasting use? What
are the potential benefits?
Face-to-face interaction is a very important aspect of communication, and by moving more towards a podcast oriented class, I think a lot of opportunites would be wasted, just because there would be no back and forth discussion between the class and the teacher. I also think it causes people to get lazy. I know with these screencasts, I wait until Sundy night, usually, and just barely manage to scrape out a response and watch the screencast, whereas with a class, I have to be ready by that specific time every time. However, it is very convenient to be able to catch a lecture online, especially if there were no way to make it to class for some reason, whether it be illness, or an emergency of some sort requiring a student to be out of town for awhile.

3. If a teacher uses podcasts, what are the students’ obligations for the class?
The students should be expected to listen to the podcasts, and perhaps post a discussion of sorts on a forum online, with either the rest of the class, or the teacher, or both, because social interaction is a part of the learning process, in my opinion. Also, the students would be expected to show what they've learned through testing and homework assignments.

4. Should there be options for class attendance?
I think no, but a lot of people would disagree with me, I think. I believe a lot can be and is lost when students don't attend class. I had a class where all the lectures were online and attendance was optional, so of course I never went. I think I would have learned a lot more though if I had attended class and got all the interaction with the teacher and the rest of the students.

Vocaroo Podcast