You stay on your side and I'll stay on mine, you take what you want and I'll take the sunshine (America)

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Online vs onsite learning? Or a combo?

When I checked with my students during lockdown, they were happy with the work from home/online version - for a lot of them they preferred the convenience of home (proximity to the fridge was often mentioned) and found themselves working harder and in a much less distracting environment. 

These students are used to online learning - we use Zoom a lot for senior classes.

Most of the staff also enjoyed the experience and were happy to WFH when given a choice.

Seems students who were not initially used to learning via Zoom were much happier to return to school. 

Larry Ferlazzo's piece reports on this. Here's one of his students:

My home is not a learning environment like at school, where there are teachers, other students, learning tools, desks/tables, chairs, a library, lots of space, and those who you can get support from. At home is like a sleeping or resting environment. In a classroom, I can focus more on my assignments/work and get engaged in the subject. Whenever I'm in a classroom, I feel prepared to learn and get my brain pumped; at home, I feel like it's very hard to be prepared because I'm always getting distracted. Whenever I need help, my teachers or classmates are there for me. When I have a question at home, I have to wait for a response. 

I do have to say that whenever I'm at school, I always feel nervous in class. Now that I'm at home learning, I don't feel nervous. From my online learning experience right now, I would not choose more online learning in the future because in a school, a classroom is a learning environment. Also, I feel like it's easier to communicate with my classmates/groups for projects, teachers, counselors, and principal. Learning at a school is best for me.

For what it's worth I agree.