And so, with much trepidation, I chose my school based on where I had taken coursework to get my certification in Autism and English Language Learners. I took those courses in the traditional way -- after work and in person. They were not easy and I was often tired. This time, I am doing all online.
Now, many youngsters prefer all online. It's convenient in that, you don't have to go after work and you can do it on your own time and you can do it whenever it's convenient for you. Those aspects I love. I do, however, own a Chromebook and therein lies the problem. Not having money to purchase a computer, I tested the Chromebook the first week and it seemed to be working fine. Except a paper I submitted disappeared from my files. It did, submit -- or so I thought. Until I got my grades this week and was told, I had turned in a blank template.
Now, with God as my witness, that template was not blank when it was submitted. In fact, it was filled out completely and appeared to go through. Granted, I was sick and frankly, it wasn't my best paper but it was completed. WRONG!
And so, yesterday, I attempted to recover the paper so I wouldn't have to redo something I spent a couple of hours on. It was distressing to say the least. I sat at my husband's computer and finally found my paper which I had copied and pasted into some discussion group. I had to re-format it (because Google Docs is not the same as Word by any stretch) and then attempt to resubmit it -- which, unfortunately would not happen. And so I did what any 58 year old would do...I went to my bedroom and had a melt-down. I literally pulled the blankets up around me and cried. I stayed there for 30 minutes or so, and then decided, I only had a few more hours to write and submit my second paper -- so I needed to figure this out.
I got up, went to the kitchen and gave it another attempt. No dice. So, I attached it to an e-mail to my instructor, telling him I could not re-submit it but if he wanted the original date I turned it in, to check the date on the discussion page. No TurnItIn.com but I figure he can do that easier than I. Nothing, to my knowledge is plagiarized. I worked hard on that paper, through the haze of cold medicine-- as I was really sick when I wrote it. Perhaps it was better he didn't print it out as the formatting was terrible. Again, Google docs and Word just don't sync up.
And so, last night, in a little over an hour, I wrote an impassioned paper about religion in schools. I cited away and it was, in my humble opinion, a very good piece. Having done it on my husband's computer and in Microsoft Word, it submitted as it was supposed to and I have no worries that it was done (the submission) correctly.
And so, my first week of school is over. I have 5 more weeks (of which 4 have assignments) and I am finished. The material of this course is School Law and exceedingly dry, although interesting. It is case study after case study. It makes me glad I never went to law school...I wouldn't have survived! However, I did prove to myself I could compete with a younger group on not only a scholastic level but also, a technological one. For that I am thankful and relieved.
So, this is school in the 21st century. One day, I suppose, I will be replaced by a computer. For now, I enjoy the ease of doing my homework whenever and wherever I like. As I sit in a Panera Bread Company enjoying a cup of soup and coffee, I realize that my school days are quite different from those with which I grew up.
