E-learning days have been going on for four years now, and while the concept is still the same, many feel that they have evolved into something different over time. There have been many rumors around MCHS that e-learning days are on the decline due to the lack of productiveness shown by the students. Whether you heard it from your friends, parents, or if it was used as incentive by teachers to persuade you to finish their assignment, many people are aware of the impending downfall. The real question is if all these rumors are true.

When it comes to the main issue of turning in assignments, MCHS English teacher Mr. Ronnie Lawhead approximated that around one-third of students do not submit their assignment.

“I would guess most students fail to understand the importance of practice.  They feel homework is a waste of time instead of seeing it for its true value,” Mr. Lawhead stated.

Junior Brandon Stewart admitted, “There have been a couple times I didn’t complete an assignment on time just because I ran out of time or the assignment took exceptionally long, but I usually finish all of them.” The common theme among most students seem to be that they are completing most of the work unless the difficulty level is too high.

With the start of the e-learning program, teachers were instructed to assign work that would take the same amount of time as it would in the classroom. There was a bit of a learning curve as students struggled to complete assignments that were thought to be of average difficulty by the teachers, especially without any assistance or someone to direct them. Many teachers began to understand the situation that students were in and began to adjust their assignments.

“Since I do everything digitally, most of my e-learning assignments are what we would do in class on a normal day.  I adjust for length so that students are not having to spend an entire hour on it,” Lawhead said.

With people focused solely on all of the perceived negative outcomes of e-learning, such as the lack of completion, they seem to be forgetting all the positive effects.

A teacher at MCHS that wished to stay anonymous stated, “I think that e-learning days help recharge the batteries of students. Everyone needs a day away to be productive every once in awhile. Students come back to school recharged after e-Learning days.”

Other than being a day away from the typical classroom environment, e-learning days have many other advantages that have the potential to greatly affect the future success of students.

MCHS Superintendent Dr. Ginger Bolinger said, “E-learning days allow students to have access to technology that they will have to use in the future: in their jobs, in school, whatever it might be.”

Not only are students getting a chance to sleep in and do their work on their own time, they are receiving the proper training that may be required for future careers. These are just a couple of benefits to e-learning days.

But are the negatives associated with the day really that negative in the first place?

“…some students do not turn in their work or do not do the work, but that’s the same as if [a teacher] assigns an assignment and they come in the next day and don’t have the work with them,” Bolinger stated.

The anonymous teacher confirmed the statement made by Dr. Bolinger by stating, “I have a turn-in rate of about 80% for e-Learning assignments, which is similar to a homework assignment for an in-class activity.”

When it comes to the plan for e-learning days to come, they seem to have a bright future ahead. The rumors can be put to rest, as they do not look like they are going away anytime soon. Not only do they appear to not be diminishing, but it appears that many would like to see them expand even further.

Bolinger said, “I will tell you that I do not think that they are going away… (w)hat I would like to see in the future is that we do more collaborative learning that allows our students to connect with other students throughout the world and learn from them and from experts. I think that I would like to see it expand.”

Another key aspect of e-learning days is the ability to utilize them for inclement weather without having to make up the class time in the buildings.

“We were just notified that inclement weather days have been approved for this year. We always have to wait to see if those are going to be approved by the department of education, but they were approved,” stated Dr. Bolinger.

Mr. Lawhead stated, “What students fail to understand is that we had to earn the privilege to have e-learning days replace inclement weather days.” Whether they are only temporary, or here to stay, e-learning days are a privilege. Students should not take advantage of them and be grateful for the new type of learning experience that they have been offered.