Virtual Learning at Gow By: Rafael P.
The Gow School’s Virtual Learning program lets students and teachers use online learning to teach and learn. Luke M. has been using the Virtual Learning since the beginning of the school year. I interviewed him to find out how the program worked for him. Luke prepares himself for class by making sure his laptop is charged and he checks up on his connection to the network. He also makes sure that he has all his class materials so he is prepared to do whatever the teacher assigns the classes to do, even online. Luke claims that focusing during online classes isn't that difficult because he tries to remove all distractions and his mother checks up on him from time to time to keep him focused. The advantages in virtual learning are that students can spend time with family, and students can even eat their own food from home. Virtual learning doesn't seem that bad because it's as if they are in class, just not physically. The only difference is that it's just online. Of the challenges, Luke mentioned that lag was a big deal, and it was hard for him to hear
what the teacher is saying when the lag cuts the audio off sometimes. The lack of in-person teaching is also a challenge with Virtual Learning since it’s very different because students aren’t learning in the class. Luke said that whenever he pretends to be physically at Gow, it helps him focus more on school. Luke is given motivation by his teachers and parents for online school to focus and the teachers get him involved in school. The next person I interviewed was Mr. Poblocki. He mentioned several challenges they faced when developing the virtual learning program. Rafael: How did you figure out a plan for virtual students? Mr. Poblocki: Determining the final plan for virtual students took a lot of patience and a lot of work. We experimented with multiple different platforms before settling for the system that we have now. The main drivers for selecting a plan was technology that was easy to use for the Continued on page 13 10
