Discussion completed!

On Wednesday and Thursday, May 22-23, a discussion was held between myself and several classmates on the issue of Distance Education in High School.  As leader of the discussion, it was my goal to focus in on the positive and negative impacts of such courses for students at this level.  From the discussion, we were able to highlight several key advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages identified:
- it allows students the opportunity to compelte courses that are not offered at their school
- it can allow students to develop independence for their learning, a skill which will be required when attending post secondary
- it exposes students to various technologies that are widely used in post-secondary education
- it allows students the opportunity to complete courses that are of interest to them
- offers students who are not able to attend the regular school setting for whatever reason an opportunity to complete courses in another way

Disadvantages identified:
- students often times miss out on the social aspects of schooling that are very important in their education
- if students do not have the necessary skills such as self-discipline, they may not be as successful in these courses
- if the internet or equipment is not functioning properly, students are missing out on valuable class time
- students who have identified exceptionalities will need additional supports to complete the courses successfully which can sometimes be a challenge in small, rural schools with limited resources allocated

Overall, the discussion went well with class members contributing great thoughts, ideas and opinions.  One of the problems that I had with the discussion however was the fact that I was looking at this from the perspective of Newfoundland schools (CDLI) while others in the group were more familiar with the Nova Scotia Virtual School which, as I have learned from thsi discussion, is quite different.  Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.