The article by Ellen Laird, “I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider”, is a comparison between internet learning and physical classroom setup learning. Ellen Laird discusses the differences between taking the web and normal personal courses. According to Ellen, a lot of her online studies are disrupted due to a lack of attention, motivation, and monitoring. There are a number of factors that affect online classes, such as the availability of the individual, technology, and internet speed on the part of the student. This article is a review of the issues discussed by Ellen Laird, in the article, “I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider”. READ FULL REVIEW
I believe that Ellen Laird has made an organization of the article, based on subjects. In the article “I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider”, she has created two different paragraphs discussing the differences between online students and her normal personal students. This is a strategy that she has applied with the aim of showing her readers the differences between the two types of students. The headings in her article have also been used to indicate the problems faced when teaching her online classes, compared to when teaching the normal classes. It is therefore right to observe that she is not very passionate about the online classes due to the lack of personal connection with the students.
I’m Your Teacher Not Your Internet-Service Provider
She indicates the lack of control for the online class that can lead to laziness. This is where she points out that her students in the online classes can skip modules and go to those that they feel are more friendly. This is a case of students choosing to do what they like as opposed to doing what is right and beneficial for them. According to her, it is not an easy task to captivate the attention of online students as they are not available physically. They are able to skip modules that they deem hard and this affects their ability to grasp important concepts.
In Ellen Laird’s essay, “I’m Your Teacher; Not Your Internet-Service Provider” she expresses how much she believes technology has greatly changed learning and school (417). She looks at the differences in teaching in a classroom setting versus an online class. Having taken an online class myself, I agree with Laird’s opinion of online classes undermine teaching and learning (418). Online classes aren’t as authentic and hands-on as in-class learning. The difference between the two learning experiences is very distinct. Online classes are much more technical and fast-paced. They serve the purpose of gaining the credit rather than the knowledge and learning experience.
According to my observation, in her article, “I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider”, Ellen Laird should try to come up with better ways of teaching online classes and ensuring that they are captivating to the students. This way she can have students following modules and grasping all the necessary concepts.
