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.