Technology is becoming a huge part of education in not only Oakland County, but in our entire country. Schools are experimenting more and more with online classes versus teacher taught classes, including at Milford high school.

As a participant of an e2020 class, I think students should be given the right to choose their class, depending on their preferred learning techniques. Taking into consideration that there may not be enough room in some classes, students should be able to drop an online class if possible.

While I thought students’ grades were dropping due to this change, Vice Principal Eric Dziobak and e2020 teacher Jamie Ewing disagree.
Most students believe the reason for the addition of online classes caused more teachers to be laid off last year. However, Dziobak said only one Milford high school teacher was transferred, while six were recalled after being laid off in the fall.

Many students were originally upset with the decision to have online classes because it brought up numerous conflicts with classes due to the fact that students didn’t know who was going to be the teacher.
Dziobak said the decision to use online classes was a result of the rise in technology and the student population rapidly decreasing. According to Dziobak, the student population in all buildings in the district is dropping. In addition, online computer courses are becoming a huge part of our educational system.

“It started with the Board because that’s where technology is taking us.” Dziobak said. “It’s a new way to teach,” Many courses that were teacher-taught in previous years are now either a teacher taught course for some students or an Education2020 Virtual Classroom course, depending on the amount of space available. This is bringing up a debate between students and parents.

According to Southwood Online Academy, e2020 is a “multimedia classroom with interactive activities.” The courses provide lectures, online information, practice, homework and quizzes/tests. Available at school or at home, students are given the opportunity to finish the course whenever they have time by the end of the semester/school year, depending on the course’s length.

Online e2020 classes are bringing up debates between students and parents. Some students are being placed in e2020 classes, while others are being placed in regular teacher taught classes for the same course.
“I would have chosen a different elective,” said Senior Connor Heflin. “Students should have been notified if it was an online class or not because they have the right to know.”

Dziobak said that the administration is trying its best to put everyone where he or she wants or should be in accordance with online vs. teacher taught, but they only have so much space in each class.

“[Because it’s something new], naturally, people will move around,” Dziobak said.

Dziobak said in some instances that students’ grades were improving in the online courses.

“People that did poorly in classes are said to be doing well in online classes,” said Dziobak.

After receiving feedback about online classes from multiple sources, I have come to realize that online classes may be misinterpreted as worse than they actually are. Students are given the opportunity to take an online class, and to some, it may come easier.

Although teacher taught courses have advantages, online classes do also.
For example, while taking a teacher taught course, bringing your grade up after a bad term is really hard to do, when in online classes if you start with an “E” as your grade you can very easily bring it back up to an “A.”

Online classes are becoming an important part of our educational system. Whether students agree with the situation or not, learning techniques are slowly changing a little at a time. “Online classes will evolve into something that will help youths be more successful in our educational system,” said Dziobak.