The most powerful voice in all of education is that of the students. To supplement Markville's contribution to the Broadband Imperative proposal, a student of the Markville experience has shared her thoughts around the role that technology has played in shaping her learning experience. Too often we make decisions without listening to those that have the most vested in the process.
As a student, broadband/Internet access has greatly assisted in my learning experience. In my experience, it has helped me keep up with classes a lot easier, make it easier to communicate with teachers, and helped me further my education even beyond the classroom. Being a high school student, there are a few occasions on which I will miss a class or two- multiple field trips come up throughout the year and sickness has a tendency to sneak up on me. On these occasions, it's always quite hard to keep up with class lessons and notes. Normally, I would have to stay after school or durng my lunch time to get the lesson and notes, but with the Internet I can easily access the days activities through tools such as Moodle and online binders where teachers can post notes, lessons, and extra help sheets. With these, I can view the notes from home, looking over them on my own time. On top of helping with missed classes, it assists greatly to keep up with classes in general as many teachers use the online tools to post the nights homework and activities we should be doing to keep up. As a forgetful person, it is magnificent for me as it helps me remember what I am supposed to do. Furthermore, having Internet access has made it much easier to contact teachers when needed. When given homework I don't understand or a task I am unclear about, it's quite frustrating to sit there trying to decipher the concepts at hand. My parents are not exactly experts when it comes to highschool lessons, so it's hard for them to help me in these situations, and I'm usually on my own, but with Internet access I can easily contact my teacher when help is needed. There have been multiple times where I was completely confused by the homework, but was able to quickly email my teacher and get an explanation on what to do. I could complete my homework and be prepared for the next day, instead of having to take up class time have it re-explained to me then. Moreover, Internet us has helped me take learning into my own hands, asking it outside of just the classroom. With it, I have all the information I need right at my fingertips. I can easily look up more information on topics I'm interested, furthering my learn from just what's learned in the classroom. I can even sign books out from the library over the computer; you put in your card number and you can access an e book, on their database, for two weeks or so. It opens up so many doors and gives me the opportunity to take initiative in my own learning. Access to broadband/Internet has greatly impacted my learning expierience, making it easier to keep up with classes, to gain extra help from teachers, and to further my learning beyond what's said in class. It gives new ways of learning, teachers can use videos, power points, and new ways of teaching and getting across to students, and I believe it's a great tool in the learning expierience.
~Vanessa Nim, a grade 11 student.