Salas-Morera,
L., Arauzo-Azofra, A., & García-Hernández, L. (2012). Analysis of Online Quizzes as a Teaching and Assessment Tool. Journal
Of Technology And Science Education, 2(1), 39-45.
Snow
days are seen by students, and some teachers, as a nice one-or-more-day break
from school in the middle of winter. So many times snow days have interrupted
unit plans or school activities and they in turn need to be made up at the end
of the school year. In this day and age, this ‘problem’ might soon no longer be
an issue.
I
recently read an article titled, “Snow Days Turn into E-Learning Days for Some
Schools,” by Lorenzo Salas-Morera, Antonio Arauzo-Azofr, and Laura
García-Hernández. The article begins by addressing the pressure put forth by
schools to keep the momentum of education moving forward even when students
cannot attend school due to inclement weather. The article gave specific
examples of school districts in Ohio needing to close due to snow and cold
weather for multiple days at a time. Of the 614 regular school districts in
Ohio, 95 had already submitted school plans for what they call “e-learning”
days.
E-Learning
days allow teachers to post notes, assignments, homework, and even tests online
for students to complete when they cannot be present at school. Many teachers
have even chosen to post videos
of themselves teaching in order to continue the education.
The article discussed many positive benefits
to e-learning. One such benefit is that e-learning days are counted as school days,
and students will not need to make up a day at the end of the year when the
weather is nicer and students start to lose focus with summer approaching. Another
positive is that teachers are able to still interact with students on
e-learning days, whether that is through assignments, instructional videos,
notes and more. The article also talks about how lessons need to be designed so
that students can independently complete their assignments and do not need to
seek additional help from parents. With e-learning, as long as students have
access to the Internet, they will be able to access their assignments from any
device.
Another benefit discussed in the article was
that Advanced Placement teachers are able to stay on-track with e-learning
days. AP teachers often worry with many snow days in the forecast because they
need to keep on-track prior to AP exams. E-learning would greatly benefit the
teachers that need to prepare their students for set test dates.
Students will learn how to access online
material easily so they not only have access to content during snow days, but
also if a student is absent or ill. This will help students to stay on-track so
they do not need to make up a great deal of missing work when they return to
school. With e-learning, students have the ability to email teachers with
questions and see their grades in a location other than just in the gradebook.
Students also have the ability to use these online resources to interact with
classmates as well as collaborate with their teachers prior to completing and
submitting an assignment.
One last benefit that the article discussed,
which I thought was very interesting, was that one school mentioned the vast
amount of money the district is saving by not having to make up the snow days
in May. School buses do not need to pick up students on additional days,
maintenance and janitorial staff do not need to be in the building during the
day, heating and cooling costs are lower, and even the small things like soap,
toilet paper, paper towels, etc. are not being used in the amounts of a normal
school day.
Although there were many benefits to having e-learning
school days when the weather causes the building to be closed, there were a few
negatives as well. One potential downside to e-learning is if there is a power
outage due to bad weather. This would limit student access to the resources and
lessons posted by teachers, and the content would need to be covered again, potentially
during the following school day. Another downside to online learning during
poor weather is if the students do not have Internet access at home.
My personal
recommendation would be that if schools are considering online learning days,
or e-learning, in order to eliminate snow days, then they should first discuss
this idea with their employees to get an overall idea of how teachers feel
about this change. If the change will take place in a school or district,
having teachers take time out of the beginning of the school year to explain
the protocol to students would be a must. The article did not talk about
e-learning days lasting the length of a class period or entire school day, but
that would be another important aspect to consider and discuss.
There
are vast amounts of benefits to e-learning, however there are a few negative
aspects that I have personally thought of, especially when introducing this
idea to teachers for the first time. Teachers already do a lot of work
throughout the school year, and having to develop an online lesson for a
potential snow day could be a drawback for teachers. In order for e-learning
days to be fully beneficial, there needs to be a large teacher buy-in and
support system from the district.
Overall,
I believe that eliminating snow days and using online or e-learning days can be
a very favorable tool that schools implement. There are many benefits and a few
negatives, but technology is advancing and can be a large factor in increasing
education outside the classroom. Personally, I enjoy a snow day every
once-in-a-while, and I make the most of a break in the middle of winter. However,
in the long run, e-learning might soon be the way to go!
I do agree that having to spend more time creating another lesson is probably not in the best interest for many teachers. However, if technology is already integrated into the classroom, then there shouldn't be much of a need to create a brand new lesson but merely adjust a current one. I'm nowhere near that stage for myself, but I like the idea that one day I will be.
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