Should Educators Continue Some Form of Online Learning

     The Spring 2020 semester started and I'm sure many educators thought that it was going to be another regular semester. Oh they could not have been more wrong. As we all know from experience, COVID-19 hit the world by storm and flipped most lives upside down. Educators were not immune to this struggle at all. Teachers all over frantically figured out how to work ZOOM and post lectures and online content so their students could receive the education they need. That semester could not have gone worse for most teachers.

    While this time of struggle was not enjoyable for many, it did bring out some creative and innovative ways to get students to learn away from the school classroom setting. During this time teachers were able to figure out how to record lectures so students could see what was taught even if they weren't in class. On top of that, ZOOM allowed for students to attend live class and have real life/time experiences with their teachers while learning. These kinds of innovations allowed for many classes to progress educationally during the difficult times.

    As a student, I enjoyed having all of these online resources to go to. Although I attended every single class (alright maybe not, but let's say I did), I found myself forgetting specific things my professor said about a topic. Before Spring 2020, I would have been freaked out because I would have to go to classmates or the teacher themselves to get the information. With the increase of use of technology and online resources, I was able to just find the lecture and get the information from there. I think from a student point of view, online learning and resources can allow for enhanced learning outside of the classroom.

    As a future educator, I can't help but feel bad for most teachers during this time. Teaching by itself is a job that requires lot of hours and focus to ensure students are getting proper education and a good learning environment. Teachers during this time not only had to fulfill these duties, but also pump out online content and record lectures to make sure students could learn. This essentially doubles the job of the teacher, so the question has to be asked: should educators continue with some form of online learning for their students? An obvious answer to the problem would be to pay teachers more so they feel the extra work and hours are well worth it, but unfortunately this will probably not happen for the foreseeable future. I think that it would be very beneficial for all kinds of students to have recorded classes to go back to when they miss class. While this might encourage more kids purposefully skipping class, I think it would be helpful for students to still receive the lesson rather than no learning at all.

    Overall, COVID has produced various types of new classrooms that allow for students to learn. These new types of classrooms utilize technology to produce education outside of the classroom. I hope that in the future more teachers can utilize these technologies to enhance their classroom and the overall learning experience for their students.