Virtual Schooling
The idea of virtual schooling is to help students get access to classes they might not have in their current school systems. A part of virtual schooling is online learning, with online learning students have better access to the curriculum and can learn at their own pace. The virtual experience can range from self pacing to being teacher lead. I am interested in this topic because I have a student who left traditional schooling for virtual schooling. I think this could potentially hurt special education, a part of special education is having more specialized learning, to help students who need modifications and accommodations. How will virtual school be able to reach all kids who need those modifications? How can virtual schooling cater to all kids? I am skeptical of virtual schooling, I think it will hurt young peoples' social skills. We cannot learn to be social if we do not interact with people one on one. Students want a chance at moving quickly through their courses or need to move at a slower pace would benefit from this but I think overall it would hurt students who potentially need modifications to their learning.
Mobile Devices
Students now are living in a world full of technology, it seems almost rare to come across a student who does not have a cell phone. Teachers are now trying to take hold of mobile devices and use them as a part of everyday learning. This is also changing the way teachers teacher their lessons, now teachers are trying to ensure the technology is being used for classroom activities and not for social media or texting. Right now I am in a High School and I see mobile devices as a distraction more than a tool for learning. I think teachers will need to make a shift to be more aware of technology and learn new ways to teach if they want to use technology in the classroom. On this debate I am in between, I think it is exciting if teachers can find affective ways to use mobile devices. However so far I have seen it being a problem in classrooms. I also think it would help students to get away from their mobile devices for a while, we cannot be plugged in all the time. We need to make sure students are still interacting with each other.
