Usually when classes are cancelled due to inclement weather the college students take advantage of the extra time for studying, homework, Netflix, or laundry. These snow days, however, will soon be a thing of the past. As I will soon be a teacher and no longer a student this may be in my favor.
Dr. Smirnova set up an online classroom through EClass where all of us students could log on. We could type to each other, use microphones to talk, there was a video feature, and we could see the slide show she had prepared. From the comfort of our own homes we could learn about lesson planning and collaborate with each other. This type of virtual classroom eliminates lost time.
As a student paying for my own tuition, I appreciate not losing class time. At $3,000 a class, with only 30 meeting, I pay $100 for every class. I would much rather lose free time on a snow day than pay $100 for a class I didn't attend.
The beauty of this carries over to many different situations. A teacher can go anywhere for professional development, family reasons, class trips, study abroad, etc. and not worry because the classroom can be anywhere there is a computer. This virtual classroom also comes in handy if the class is centered around individual work. Students can be working independently but the teacher and their colleagues are online and available as a resource for collaboration or help.
The next step for this virtual classroom, for me anyway, is that I would love to learn how to set one up, what sites I could use it on, how to create lessons for it, and how to invite students. My interest has been peeked.
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