Topic 6

Activity # 2

I do believe that facilitators are important in online learning.  Based on the information presented I would say that the facilitators are like guidance counselors. Students can go to these people when they have a problem in the course. I think it is important to have someone the students can actually see to help them with their issues. Most students in k12 settings are used to seeing their teachers face to face, so online learning might be hard for them at first. I believe that a facilitator could help bridge that gap. While, they are not teachers, they are a familiar face that can help the students with their issues about that class.

Summary

I never really thought about rural schools needing online learning more so than suburban schools, but after watching the video it makes sense. Rural schools do not really have much to attract teachers to come teach at that school, so specialized teachers would be hard to recruit. Therefore, online learning is perfect for these schools. The students can learn from a teacher who is far away, but qualified and they have a facilitator who they already know help them with the class.  I did not really know the difference between the teacher and facilitator until this discussion. I now know that both are equally important for the students to do well.