The “Modern” Classroom. If You Were To Ask A Group Of People

Online classes are best for people who feel they can produce better work in an isolated environment with no instructor or classmates directly in front of them. This also benefits more for people with full time jobs or other commitments that would prevent them from going to the classroom. Now the downside to this is that you have more temptation to be distracted from doing your work. Since you do practically all your assignments online, it's real easy to go right onto social media sites such as Facebook and see what everyone else is doing. If you plan on doing an online based program, you have to have a lot of self-control and will power to keep from going onto other sites not related to your

Cathy Davidson is an English and humanities professor at Duke University. She has published over twenty books, many dealing with technology and education. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” she argues that the way the United States teaches students is not preparing them for the skills needed for success in the twenty-first century. To illustrate her point, Professor Davidson presents the historical development of the educational system in the U.S. She differentiates “high standards” from “standardization” and stresses the need for education to offer rigor, relevance, and relationship (201).

There are no facts supporting the statement that “you cannot learn as much online as in a classroom”. Everyone has their own needs for learning some people do better online in the privacy of their home where there are not any distractions, and some people need have face to face interaction in order to learn. Some people who are in online classes may learn more than those who are in a classroom. No matter what you choose the learning part is up to you and how committed you are to furthering your education.

Teaching in the modern age has not adopted any of these techniques which leads to ill-suited high school graduates without the proper preparation for the in-demand jobs. For the educational system to change, it must teach the necessary skills needed for students to succeed in the real world. However, since the modern-day learning system still just stresses skills required for “middle management and factory jobs,” there is not much new in the modern age of schooling because it just borrows on old techniques and reuses them at a time in which they have become obsolete (60). Thus, although technology seems to rebrand the learning protocols of America, it serves as an element that both facilitates learning and a façade that takes away from the true reform needed to overhaul the anachronistic system.

With all the publicity over online courses, great professors alike have been determined to find out whether online courses are just as effective as face-to-face classes. There have been some controversies over the situation; therefore, several studies have been made. One study by Adam Driscoll, Karl Jicha, Andrea Hunt, Lisa Tichavsky, and Greatchen Thompson shows that given the appropriate pedagogy or instruction, online courses is just as an effective teaching format as face-to-face classes (Driscoll, Jicha, Hunt, Tichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). The study showed that when comparing online courses against face-to-face courses, the midterm scores for both teaching platforms are the same. Given that the GPA of the students is taken into consideration, the test grades do not improve or become worse when the class is taken online. The same study showed that when comparing online courses to face-to-face courses, the student satisfaction does not increase or decrease when

“New Class(room) War” effectively illustrates the point that suppressing technology in the classroom to limit disruption as opposed to supporting it is a battle the teachers know they are going to lose. (Freedman par. 17) This is inevitable because new technologies for entertainment, learning, and communication are constantly being developed; this provides an infinite number of ways to deviate from classwork electronically that nobody had access to as little as twenty years ago. This detriment to society that is disguised as a miracle has teachers referring to the array of modern media devices as today’s equivalent of “pigtail-pulling, spitball-lobbing, and notebook-doodling.” that took place in the classrooms of the pre-computer era. (Freedman par.6)

It is always important to look at something from a different perspective, and these courses can do just that. Students who use this knowledge can become more efficient and accurate with their work which is always a plus in today's fast paced world.

Technology has dramatically influenced our modern day culture in several ways; we now operate completely different compared to the past. In fact, it can be shown in many tasks that we very rarely complete a simple operation without the use of technology. For example, washing dishes, heating food, doing our homework, and even communication are all examples of how technology has evolved simple tasks. Even furthermore, technology has changed the way education has been taught and received in American classrooms. However, technology was not always so highly advanced in American schools. In fact, a classroom in the 1950’s had little to no technology; one would find blackboards, chalk, handouts, and quite possibly a film-strip projector. However, even the “advancement” of a film-strip projector required much work, due to the fact that many teachers were obligated to travel great distances to retrieve a film-strip for the projector (Cuban, Larry). On the contrary, things have significantly changed in the 21st century American classroom. In truth, it is extremely common to see laptops, televisions, and other cutting-edge technology in a significant amount of today’s public schools. Although the evolution of technology within the classroom has created several conflicting ideas and opinions, technology is actually continuing to increase in classrooms every day and does not seem to decrease any time soon. Unsurprisingly, technology has drastically changed the way American classrooms

Online classes and the traditional classroom setting both offer many of the same advantages. They both provide the student with the same course content so there is no loss of curriculum between the two. Both demand the same time investment for learning, studying, taking exams, completing papers, and so on. Although it seems easy to think that with doing all of your school work online there isn’t any personal interaction with professors and peers, however, that is a common misconception. Online classes, like traditional ones, require a degree of contact with your peers and professors. It may not be as personal interaction as raising your hand and being called on, but you can e-mail your professor at any time and there are discussion boards and forums available for fellow students to communicate and help each other out.

There are others, like myself, who feel that online learning is better. The supporters of this back their claim by stating that online classes can be more beneficial for teachers and students. For example, fewer distractions in a classroom like other students disrupting class. Students can come into class late after the teacher has already started class and cause a disruption or talk during the class. With online classes the student can control their environment. Also, a teacher can provide in writing just the basic information a student needs for an assignment. This way there is less of a chance for the student to get confused on the assignment when the topic

In order for students to be able to take college courses online, they need some type of way to organize themselves and push themselves finish their work since their teachers really can’t (Bird). In a physical classroom, teachers are able to move around and be able to answers questions right then and there, but with online schooling students would have to wait a while to get a response from their teachers if they have questions (“Key”). The dropout rate for online schooling in very high, mostly because students don’t know how to prioritize their school schedule and don’t know how to be self motivated (Bejarano). Learning independently is very challenging, and students may become discouraged when they have to face challenges with learning online by themselves (Bejarano). Online learning would not be a good option for students that can’t self motivate and can’t focus

The positive of online classes is being able to access the class in any free time. Most online classes though, require work to be turned in on certain days and times. Which makes it harder for students to remember when assignments need to be done. The pleasure of the instructor reading/lecturing the textbook material out loud won’t be there. It

Technology is changing every aspect in our lives, even the way we learn. Online classes are a rapidly growing trend it today’s society. Online classes are a cost-effective substitute for traditional courses and more convenient for many, so more schools and universities are offering this option. Due to the increase in online course enrollment, people are questioning if students truly learn something from online classes because it’s not a traditional learning environment. Online classes are just, if not more, effective as traditional classes because grades have increased and online discussions provide students with the chance to interact through networking while earning a degree for less than what it would cost to enroll at the same university.

Time for a face to face class is very difficult if a person works 40 hours a week but an online course can put an ease on the time restriction because the person does the work at their own pace and time. It is also easier to sign up for an online class than a class at a college. Message boards are in use if the students need to leave a question or a comment about the subject their on. They also save time by not traveling to the college and trying to find a parking space.

(“Online Classes”). Due to the increase of young adults taking online courses, researchers have been able to collect data to compare the grades of online learners to the grades of those learning in the classroom. According to the article published by the University of the Potomac, 90% of students will successfully reach higher achievements beyond what traditional in-class students will attain (“Online Classes”).