Elisabeth Steen
“Blended and online learning courses can help bridge learning gaps for students by providing more assistance to students who may have learning disabilities or may be dealing with personal issues such as health.”
– Elisabeth Steen
I started online learning courses because I had ongoing surgeries and was severely bullied due to my learning differences. Blended and online learning courses allows students to receive all their education needs and helps students reach their full potential. It allows students who need to catch up on their education and get their education needs met.
My experiences learning in a traditional school compared to my online school were very different. I had to try harder to prove to people that I can take challenging classes. Due to my motivation, it prepared me for online school. When offered a choice of courses in my online learning environments, the characteristics of those I ultimately chose were the challenging ones. I was born with fetal alcohol syndrome so I am used to people telling me that I can't take anything too challenging because I won't succeed in them. As I grew older, I wanted to prove to everyone that I could take challenging classes and succeed, and that is what I did. I took Advancement Placement courses as well as many other challenging classes. I even took two math classes in one year and passed. My teachers were skeptical on me taking those courses because they were afraid I couldn't do it, yet I did. I take more challenging classes to prove to my teachers who doubt me that I can do whatever I want to when I put my mind to it and that my disorder can't define my learning abilities.
“I believe that I have learned more in my online school because I was in a positive environment.”
Online school is more independent and I was accepted more. I wasn't questioned about my abilities and I was able to finish my education. Whereas in my traditional school I was more distracted by bullies, depression, and trying to finish my education all at the same time.