Cheating vs Collaborating in Online Learning Environments
Say what you like about technology use in the classroom, the biggest difference for me is that it changes the way I teach, and the way my students learn.
That may seem easier for me to say, since I’m a mostly-live online teacher. But I’ve joyfully discovered that there are plenty of benefits that affect educators in face to face or asynchronous education as well.
One big plus of utilizing online tools is the ease of organizing course material. Here is a photo of a student locker at a private school in Paramus, NJ. Sadly, this was not the only one: there were rows and rows of these disaster areas.
The division head who showed me around the school waved it all off with a smile. “Yes, they always look like this.” How can students keep track of their belongings and assignments when this is what their lockers look like? Are students taught organizational skills or given time to organize and leaf through old material?
A huge benefit of using a Learning Management System (LMS) is never receiving the excuse: “I lost my classwork/homework.” It’s true that students find other excuses – “I didn’t see that question posted” and “I didn’t understand what to do” are popular. However, most of my students get the hang of and appreciate the benefits of using an LMS.
