Comparing online learning to Traditional Brick and mortar learning

I am in a unique position as far as education is concerned......I have taught in both a traditional classroom at both middle school and high school level, as well as teaching online at both levels.  Therefore, I think I am in a good position to speak on the matter of both teaching in both venues and my perspectives on student learning in both venues.

First, I will discuss my perspectives on teaching in both venues.  I began my career in education in the early 90's evidently teaching in a classroom first in middle school, then later at the high school level for roughly 14 years.  Then I went into administration and realized that was not for me, therefore, I went into teach online for roughly 5-6 years (at both levels HS & MS) and now back to teaching in a classroom for the last two years.  Teaching online I felt had many luxuries that we do not have while teaching in a classroom.  First your schedule is much more flexible and you are able to teach from the comforts of your own home.  Therefore, such things as using the restroom when you want was definitely nice, as was being able to walk the dog during the day and make yourself lunch or a snack from the comforts of your own home.  Second, teaching online gave me the flexibility to set class elluminate sessions or class time when direct teaching is taking place via online.  For example, here is a possibly weekly schedule for an online teacher (each online organization may have different requirements though for the number of hours teaching online);

Class	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
7th Grade Social Studies	9-10			12-1 Make up session
8th Grade Social Studies	11-12				10-11 Make up session
10th Grade English		11-12
Psychology			10-11

So, with the reduced number of classroom hours, more time could be spent planning for class, grading, and mastering the technologies at hand.  The schedule does not compare to my current schedule of teaching 1st period everyday, then 2nd period prep, and then teaching 3rd through 7th period, with a lunch break between 3rd and 4th periods.  The last advantage I have really noticed as an educator, especially with the current weather situation, is that we were able to conduct school at any time.

I think in order to really address some of the advantages and disadvantages of online learning the following table was created while writing my dissertation on "Secondary Teachers Perceptions of Online Learning," conducted in the state of Washington:

Advantages of Online Learning	Challenges of Online Learning
Students are able to move or progress at their own pace and can resubmit and modify assignments	Fewer interactions with others and difficulty developing higher level cognitive skills without the interaction
Flexibility of school day and/or schedule	Issues staying focused or need to be self-motivated and the need for attentive learning coaches to help student stay on task (lower accountability)
Ideal for students that are highly motivated and enjoy having control and accomplishing academic feats independently (that get timely feedback, more learning opportunities with recorded live sessions available at any time, good prep for college, and more engaging to some students)	Lack of teamwork, group collaboration, or group learning (or hands-on activities)
Technology becomes more important and this is a way for students to become more tech savvy and more engaged in the curriculum	Getting timely help, feedback, or immediate communication from an instructor
Ideal for student who do not do well in a traditional classroom	Potential socio-economic issues with getting proper technology/internet access and technical issues
Ability to accommodate students with various backgrounds and struggles with a traditional classroom (professional athletes, those with health issues, bullying victims, teen mothers, those with anxiety, those in rural areas, can individualize curriculum, and the right coaching online students can develop as individual learners)	Need for attentive learning coaches to help the student stay on task (overall lack of structure)

 Hence, as an educator online learning is ideal for the self-motivated student that may for some reason not thrive in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting.  In addition, it surely accommodates those students with.  Next, I also felt that many of these students were forced to become more tech saavy, especially in our world now that is becoming much more reliant on technology.  Lastly, one of the most apparent advantage of teaching online is the virtual absence of the classroom management piece that a teacher in a classroom experiences on a daily basis.  This also reduces the amount of stress an online teacher feels, when they have the convenience to take a students shat privileges away if a student is disruptive in an online classroom. 

From the Perspective of A Classroom Teacher

Just looking at this picture it reminds me that this is why I did get into teaching, the face-to-face relationships that are so crucial in teaching, and that was absent when teaching online.  I think the quality of the face-to-face interaction, looking into students' eyes, watching the body language, and just the overall ability to pick up on if learning is taking places is much more apparent in the presence of one's students.  In addition, more and more classrooms are able to incorporate the technology piece in the classroom necessary to give students different modes of learning that enriches their educational experience.  In a week it is not uncommon for us to read a novel together, then use our ipads to research a topic or complete a reading comprehension or phonics exercise.  In addition, we could watch a film or youtube video on the Lewis & Clark expedition.  Overall, I just think when a class is together so much more can be accomplished when relationships are being built and a teacher has the freedom to use different learning modalities geared at improving student learning.  

As a classroom teacher though one has to wonder or ask yourself, "Don't you miss that freedom experienced as an online educator and more down time to set one's schedule?"  My answer to that is "Sure," however, the relationships I have built returning to the classroom are far richer than those that I developed in the online world.  This includes not just working with the kids, but having the ability to team-teach with my teaching partner that I team-teach with now.  This has been a truly energizing part of teaching experience is sharing this journey with someone who is on the same page with me!  So, although I deal with the classroom management piece again, it has been a smooth transition and also refreshing to work with a Principal that I truly respect and like working for!

Class

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

7^th Grade Social Studies

9-10

12-1 Make up session

8^th Grade Social Studies

11-12

10-11 Make up session

10^th Grade English

11-12

Psychology

10-11

Advantages of Online Learning

Challenges of Online Learning

Students are able to move or progress at their own pace and can resubmit and modify assignments

Fewer interactions with others and difficulty developing higher level cognitive skills without the interaction

Flexibility of school day and/or schedule

Issues staying focused or need to be self-motivated and the need for attentive learning coaches to help student stay on task (lower accountability)

Ideal for students that are highly motivated and enjoy having control and accomplishing academic feats independently (that get timely feedback, more learning opportunities with recorded live sessions available at any time, good prep for college, and more engaging to some students)

Lack of teamwork, group collaboration, or group learning (or hands-on activities)

Technology becomes more important and this is a way for students to become more tech savvy and more engaged in the curriculum

Getting timely help, feedback, or immediate communication from an instructor

Ideal for student who do not do well in a traditional classroom

Potential socio-economic issues with getting proper technology/internet access and technical issues

Ability to accommodate students with various backgrounds and struggles with a traditional classroom (professional athletes, those with health issues, bullying victims, teen mothers, those with anxiety, those in rural areas, can individualize curriculum, and the right coaching online students can develop as individual learners)

Need for attentive learning coaches to help the student stay on task (overall lack of structure)