Extend the conversation on technology and the future 21st students.

I was watching House on Monday, and the patient on that episode would Blog all the time.  She could not make her own decisions in her life without consenting to her Blog.  I have mentioned about Virtual Schools and Distance Education.  All of which are done on computers, through a network.  There is NO physical classroom, and in most all cases the student is never visually seen.  The questions that I ask about these forms of schooling are how are the student's personalities going to develop and change?  Is interaction really available for them?  What will happen?  I can play both ways these questions, and become the "Devil's advocate".

The Bad:

• Students can be seen as having issues being able to communicate to one another face-to-face.
• There is no way to see the body language of the students and the teachers.
• The students will get fat and lazy.
• The teachers will lose their jobs!
• Technology costs so much $$

Devil's Advocate:

• Since time is changing so is the way we are all communicating.  You can now call a hotline to dump your lover, or text them, or just change your Facebook and other social networking sites from married/in a relationship to single status.  What is seen as rude now, might seem as an okay way in years to come.  We show our feelings in our posts and in our IMs, we show the most important feeling, empathy, this way. 
• Studens will get fat, is a not a good reason of why Virtual Edcation is bad, first off many schools are canceling there physical education (PE) program due to FUNDING.  There could be a more productive way for students to be phyically fit, by for example using a Wii fit.  The students get together online and exercise or play sports.  Also, schools are not really as nutrious as they should be, not yet at least!
• The teachers still need to teach the Virtual and Distance Ed classes.  They will have to become more tech savvy, and just do not have to go into work!
• Operation costs are expenseive for school.  Paper is a HUGE $$ waste.  It will save schools $$.

I say this......"We do not know if something will fail or work unless we try it. We cannot just assume it will fail or work.  There has to be strategic planning involved!  We can only come up with the IFs and COULDs, but cannot establish the what WILL happen unless it is done.  I support Virtual Education, just as long as the people are trained correctly and the technology is available.  Virtual Education and Distance Learning is a visual learning playground, where communication thrives.  It can be transformed into something productive and educating, or could go the total opposite. What an adventure!

Distance Learning

Distance learning is siliar to Virtual Schools. Distance learning is very popular today. The future of distance learning is only being imagined, and these imaginations are soon to become a reality.

What the video on the 25th Annual Conference on Distance Education:
http://mediasite.ics.uwex.edu/mediasite5/Viewer/?peid=5cbabdf417c14080ab11e8424a046f7a

Virtual Schools

What is a "Virtual School"? 

Virtual schools are a growing technology in which students can be in school, just not physically in the classroom.  It is growing huge popularity. 

Educators can take part in this form of school.  Teachers can teach physically in class, and then teach on-line at the same time or at different time periods.  

Students benefit from the flexiblity of taking classes virtually.  If a student is disabled, on a vacation, or moved they can be part of the school that they attend.  

The most popular Virtual HIGH School: http://www.govhs.org/    Take a peek to learn about Virutal High Schools and what it can do for educators and students.

Schools are also using many types of technology to implement virtual schools.  Few of these technologies are BlackBoard, or Second Life. 


There are many positives, as well as negative affects to this type of schooling. It depends on the person and if it is the right type of environment for him/her. 

Technology...hmmmmm.......

I was at my parent's house this past weekend and I was working on their computer.  My parents and I were talking about technology and how much it has changed recently.  They could not believe how much technology has changed in just these past 5 years.  They actually did not know about a lot of new technology that has been created.  It is a interesting, and I never actually considered that many people do not know just how fast technology is growing.  We do not watch the news on TV to learn about new technologies, unless it affects us in a devastating way.  Even if not devastating, most technologies will affect us somehow.  Whether people want to learn about it or not, technology is changing and I believe it is getting better.  Better doesn't necessarily mean that new technologies are not going to cause any harm or be problematic; I just think that we are figuring out ways to TRY to make things better. Just another sign thatthe world is changing, and we are not in the 20th century anymore.