Ed Tech Research
Ed Tech Research
When I start to think about March 2020 and the beginning of the pandemic and shifting to online learning its insane to think that were already at almost the end of 2021. In a nutshell I feel like I blinked and got here while at the same time I felt like it also took soooooo long to get here. This week I focused on researching the effects that technology has had on students because of the pandemic and remote learning. I came across some really interesting research and infographics from Project Tomorrow. I became really interested in perspectives on remote learning and using technology in the classroom effectively for students.
When I started looking at this infograph provided by Project Tomorrow I have to say I was kind of surprised that only 17% of students preferred a fully online virtual learning experience, now before you start asking why would I be surprised, i’ll tell you. The reason I was so surprised by 17% was because as much as I have heard students complain about school, this including my own niece and nephew, and how they always want to be home, and how much they wish they could do school at home, I would have expected that learning online would have been preferred and scaled much higher than the 17%. With that said, I am actually happy to see that 65%, the majority in this case, preferred in person learning. I know learning at home is so hard, its a place where we would rest and have fun, its was never meant to be doubled as a place where parents become teachers and students roll out of bed in their pajamas and sign on into class to learn.
When looking into technology and learning at home I was actually quite shocked when I came across this infograph.
Jillian, the research you found is incredibly shocking yet not. I too have heard students wish they were at home (pre-pandemic/remote learning), but now that students are back at school (post-remote learning) I hear how much they love being at school. I do believe a lot of students love for in-person learning has to do with the relationships and the social aspect of school; the connections with teachers and friends makes an incredible difference. Humans like many other animals need social interaction and without it life is in simple terms a bit sad. Now, I do think that this need for social interaction also correlates to the increased level of communication between teachers and students in virtual learning. Additionally, since students are unable to ask questions while they are working on their own in virtual learning, they would need an alternate way to communicate their questions and concerns to the teacher. Overall, I think your research findings are fantastic and I am glad to know that students are happier to be in school than at home.
ReplyDeleteHey Jillian! I also find that strange that only 17 % of students prefer virtual learning to in person. Maybe because the age range was 6th through 12th grade. I would be interested in learning what higher education students prefer. I know that I prefer a virtual learning model when it comes to my grad school classes over a 6 hour zoom call. I'm sure you can attest to that as well (lol). I have to agree that I would also prefer emailing with students and professors over other forms of communication. Email seems less direct and there is more of a relaxed response time. I hope future generations of students still have time for good ole email.
ReplyDeleteIf there was anything good that came out of the pandemic its that education (and educators) were exposed to teaching in new ways. Here's hoping a few years from now we'll be able to incorporate more choice for students to meet their preferred learning styles and locations!
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