THE CLASSROOM AND THE COMPUTER SCREEN Online Education

The Classroom and unavailable only a few years ago,
the Computer Screen elementary teachers through doctoral
educators at all levels—from
supervisors—are casting off the brick-
and-mortar settings that have framed
Christopher Schlect
their interactions with students for
centuries. What are we to make of it
NEW SAINT ANDREWS
all? Are there advantages to online
COLLEGE
education? 2 Drawbacks? Are some
has adopted this paper as the
college’s official statement on pedagogy and forms of online education superior to
distance learning. It expresses principles that others?
guide the college’s own teaching practices and
Those who promote online learning
partnership arrangements. We invite others
point to the internet’s uncanny ability
to consider these principles as they navigate
to overcome the limitations of time and
their own way through ever-changing
marketplace of
education today.
Are there advantages to
online education?
In our brave new
Drawbacks? Are some forms
world of screens of online education superior
and keyboards, to others?
distance. They rightly
note that today’s
teachers and students
need not be in the
same town, region, or
even in the same
teachers are finding novel ways to hemisphere, to interact with one
reach their students. 1 The term another. They highlight opportunities
“classroom” is far more complicated that mark a recent chapter in what is
than it once was. Presented with actually a long history of
communication options that were
I am grateful to Mary Lou Dovan, Cheryl
Gammon, David Goodwin, Viktor Kalmykov,
Jenny Rallens, John Schwandt, and also to my
colleagues on the faculty of New Saint Andrews
College—all of whom contributed ideas and
polish to this article.
2 The terms “online” and “internet” have
been around awhile now, and they do not
describe the wide variety of technological tools
being deployed in education today. “Digital” is
surely a broader term that captures all manner
of channels, devices and platforms, and many
educators utilize digital tools even in the
context of face-to-face classroom interactions.
I am mindful of the limitations of the terms
“internet” and “online,” yet I have opted to use
them because most readers recognize what
they mean, and also because they serve the key
distinctions I aim to articulate here.
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