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In my last blog post, I discussed the importance of meaningful interactions; particularly when interacting with people makes learning more enjoyable and meaningful (Hurst, 2013).<\/span><\/p>\n …I am inserting the following pause to reflect on the colour orange\u2026<\/i><\/b>because as we have seen in the news this weekend, interactions with people are not always more enjoyable and meaningful\u2026.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Although I was initially not fond of blogging because of the public display of my random thoughts and weak writing skills, I am beginning to see the benefits. Blogging provides a space for the lost opportunity for meaningful face-to-face classroom interactions. In other words, blogging offers an environment to foster student comments, questions, and discussions that typically happen in a face-to-face classroom. There is also an opportunity for previous students, new students, and other academics to join in on the discussions. Blogging may surpass the face-to-face classroom environment because blogging levels the playing field and allows the more introverted learners to silently express their thoughts rather than compete with the more extroverted learners in a face-to-face setting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As I finalize the last assignment for LRNT 526, a critical academic reflective paper that provides evidence of our analysis and synthesis of the critical inquiry we conducted, my thoughts on meaningful interactions have guided my research. Technologies in the K-12 face-to-face classroom, particularly smartphones, are useful tools to foster meaningful interactions between students and teachers. Although public blogging is not feasible at my school due to student privacy issues, applications within Moodle or Office 365 can create similar learning experiences. Smartphones, therefore, are essential tools in the post-pandemic face-to-face K-12 classroom, despite the potential harm they may create.<\/span><\/p>\n