GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Angelica is one of two students who will be writing occasional columns for GothamSchools on their experiences attending a New York City public school.

I’m Angelica Modabber, a freshman at NYCiSchool. Unlike most schools, the iSchool is very technology-based, and students take many online courses.  Visitors to the iSchool often question this initiative, since at many other schools, lessons are still taught with a chalkboard and a teacher at the front of the room. Here’s how I came to embrace this style of learning.

When first presented with the “moodle,” (the website on which the courses are found) I was asked to sign in to my personal account and enroll myself in all the classes I would be taking that quarter. Once enrolled, I had access to all the exams, information, questionnaire sheets, and overall assignments.  I was bewildered by all the links, texts, and videos the site possessed.  I shrugged off the confusion; after all, how difficult could it be to sit in a classroom and simply read all the passages and paste them to memory?

In reality, though, like the other students, I was blown away by all the music playlists, YouTube videos, and infinite other distractions. The possibilities were endless. Although the school had done its best to block these diversions, there was always a distracting website left unguarded. (more…)