ONLINE LEARNING Are you ready for it?

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I, for one, am far from ready to use online courses for my learning. Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy about all the communication and learning opportunities the courses have given us. But for me those opportunities should not be used to replace classroom activities. In other words, they are only tools to help me learn what has already been offered in the classroom. I love the classroom. I love having classmates. There are sixty students in my class right now, and I think it is great. I even love having classmates who are better than me. And,let's not forget the smell of ink on paper, the sound of chalk on a blackboard, the hardness of a wooden bench or the heat inside the classroom in early September. I love it all. But most of all, i love having a teacher- a " real live " teacher. I get excited when i am in the classroom with a good teacher. I learn in a way that has been proven to work. I am given insight ont only into a certain subject, but aslo into the world. A good teacher pushes me to succeed. A good teacher rewards me with praise when i have done well and stays positive and give me hope when i am down. I don't believe that a teacher using a virtual classroom can reach out to me in the same way. A teacher communicating through the Internet cannot share the same type of relationship a classroom teacher and students share. I guess that i am lucky to have had access to so many excellent classroom teachers. I will never forget the kindness and commitment that those teachers have shown me. Their examples make it hard for me to accept a way of learning that doesn't include them. You can call me "OLD-FASHIONED", but as long as there is a classroom, that's where i will be learning.