Technology and Physical Illness

Not long ago I spent about a week completely immobilized by what has now been diagnosed at the flu. During this time, getting out of bed was a hassle, let alone going to class and functioning as a normal human being. For this reason, I missed an entire week of classes, but luckily missed not fieldwork time due to remedial HSPA testing. Keep in mind, as well, that my classes only meet once a week, anywhere from two to four hours at a time. This is a significant amount of information to miss simply because of a physical illness. In the past, this might have spelled the end of a semester for students. Actually, I had this once before when I was in community college, and I was forced to drop my courses because I was already over the limit of absences and had fallen too far behind. However, thanks to the wonders of the internet, email, BlackBoard, and the Stockton goPortal, I was able to stay caught up on my assignments, with no real downtime. Additionally, I really didn't have to get out of bed, or if I did, it was a short hobble to my computer with all my blankets, tissues, medications, etc.

This is a fairly accurate representation of how I felt...

This is something that has become increasingly relevant in educational buildings everywhere. Scientists have recognized "sick building syndrome" and the effects that it has on the students' health. This is especially pertinent in low-income areas where students may not have the necessary medical attention readily available to them either due to financial hardship, lack of insurance, lack of parental assistance, or any combination of the above. To prevent these students from coming in sick in the first place, most schools have made it so that the students are able to keep up with their work online. Gone are the days in which teachers sent home huge folders of work to be done for the week that a student would potentially be absent. Instead, students and parents can download the homework, work on it together if the so choose, and submit it without leaving their home. This can further be enhanced with the ideas of the flipped classroom, in which students learn outside of the classroom and perform in the classroom, and technology such as WIMBA or Skype that allow the instructor to communicate and educate the student outside of the classroom.

These were not even dreams when I entered school...

While face-to-face is still undeniably important, the idea of having the information readily available so that students do not fall far behind is a relief for parents and teachers alike. The students will still lose valuable time in the classroom that cannot be accounted for in posted assignments, but at least they will not become discouraged because they are behind on the learning or missing too much work. This will also sort of the grading process for the instructor so that they will not be forced to deal with intermittent waves of work flowing in. I can see this potentially becoming mandatory in all, as it is already in some, schools and ultimately further expediting the learning process. I hope to make great use of this in my future classrooms.

Not how we do it, but basically how it works...