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?

The argumentative response assignment was most difficult for me this week because everyone offered such agreeable and well-thought out posts. As I read and reread each post, thinking about and looking for potential arguments, I came to think about the difficulty in measuring the quality of an online teacher. With such an inadequate level of studies available on online learning in its elementary stages, it is quite difficult to assess online teachers beyond standardized test scores. When it comes to content retention rates or application of newly learned concepts beyond a course, we still lack enough data to conclude what really constitutes a good online teacher. For this reason, I see it as all the more crucial that we continue to (though oftentimes inadequately) compare f2f and online courses to determine which, in general, yields more superior students and citizens, and in which disciplines. 

My thinking has not changed, but I continue to learn and adopt new ideas throughout each progressive week.

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?

This week's readings has allowed me to realize that there is still so much to research and figure out in the virtual education world. Comparing virtual learning to f2f learning is only the beginning. I'm sure that there are many other areas of virtual education yet to be studied and reflected upon, possibly even at a level unrelated to any type of study we've already done in f2f learning. It looks like virtual learning will introduce this and the next generation a revolutionized way of learning, and along with it may come a whole new set of problems to deal with. 

I wouldn't say my thinking has changed per se, but it did shine light on further difficulties of research in virtual learning.