Week 1 Reflection

What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?

After reading week's 1 readings I realized there are several pros and cons of virtual schools that I have learned. Most of these pros and cons are usually driven by administration and teachers just as it is in the traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Virtual schools or not there needs to be balance between what is expected from students/parents to what is required by NCLB.

One reading that strike the cord for me was Clayton Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Curtis W. Johnson, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. McGraw-Hill, 2008. Chapters 2 and 4. The use of the disruptive innovation model was right on target as to why education needs a huge reform and how virtual school might be the answer.

My thinking of virtual schools has somewhat changed but I'm still on the fence as to support of virtual schooling replacing the face-to- face interaction. I see the great potential in virtual schools and won't it be cool that one day we all can plug into a computer and "upload/link" any information to learn as how it is done in the Matrix movie.