By: Sebastian Morales

A blended course at Garnet Valley High School is something that was newly introduced to me this year. At first, I had no idea whatsoever on what a blended class meant or how the class specifically operated. As this 2018-2019 school year is the last year before the high school changes the schedule from block scheduling to 8 periods in a day, a greater amount of blended or predominately online classes were created to compare to the traditional classroom setting. I am currently taking Career Development Blended; this class has been an amazing experience, in particular the flexibility of the course. Last Tuesday, I had my first asynchronous class, meaning that my classmates and I were not obligated to attend class directly in the classroom but instead were allowed to stay at home or go somewhere outside of school to complete the assigned work. In the first 15 minutes of an asynchronous class, one must sign into the class online to make sure he or she is aware of the assignments and material for each day.

Many students think that this is an efficient, less demanding learning method, yet other students say they prefer the old way of learning. Students who enjoy blended classes such as Career Development tend to like working with technology and believe that learning through videos and on the screen is a more effective way of learning. In contrast, others are opposed to blended classes because they are used to writing everything by hand and feel that putting pencil to paper helps them understand the material better. Personally, I feel that blended classes are great opportunities for students who will benefit from an online learning method, but this type of learning style is certainly not for everyone.