The Connected Teacher by Lottie L. Joiner

January 2002

http://coursesites.blackboard.com/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_53356_1&frame=top&m=20021405101445

The Connected Teacher is an article in connection to SLM 521. The author discusses the issue of current training expectations of teachers and using online courses to meet these expectations. She explains in the article that teachers are still being trained in the same fashion as many years ago but it is the amount of training which has changed. In order to accommodate the increase of expectation, online courses have been set up and have been an acceptable means to reach the expectations. The author gave many examples of successful schools that have set up online courses. The article ended by discussing whether online courses are actually meeting the learning needs of educators but this question has not been measured.

Online courses are a definite must to have in modern education systems today. As expectations have changed and are more demanding, there has to be flexibility to meet these expectations. I can personally say that it is much easier to participate in an online course because it is done on your time. Whether it may be midnight or 6 am in the morning, I am able to learn in the comfort of my home at my own time. Online courses still provide the opportunities to interact with other classmates, along with the instructor.

As far as whether online course provide the proper instruction that educators need to provide instruction in the classroom, I support the idea of a study. I feel quite certain that the results would be positive.