Virtual Learning

Our educational system is a living, breathing beast that constantly changes and evolves. Sometimes the changes are negative and sometimes the change that takes place we just aren't sure about. Perhaps online learning is one change that we'll just have to wait and see on.

Online learning first became big in the corporate and university setting. Colleges paired up with big corporations to offer distance learning classes to employees. In this way, one company's area manager can pursue her master's degree without having to spend countless hours in the classroom. Another company may use online learning to train entire departments at one time. Corporate America seems to like this approach to education so much that we can now find it being applied to high schools across the US.

Virtual High School is just that, partnering with 30+ states across the country. Virtual High gives rural schools the chance to give their students opportunities that would normally not exist. A small high school in the middle of a corn field in Kansas now has 200-300 courses in the catalogue for students to choose from in stead of the 70 or so they started with originally.

Disabled students are also reaping big rewards. Braille literature hasn't been able to keep up with all the information available out there. Now students that are blind or visually impaired can use their computers to learn. They is even software available that will allow you to carry-on a conversation with your computer, without ever having to type a stroke.

Kids in big cities and suburban areas can benefit too. Let's face it, many of the households in America that are raising children are doing so with one parent. Teenagers are pushed into the working world at an early age, even if it's only for them to earn spending money to blow at the mall. The problem is, work often cuts into a students' studies or extracurricular activities. With online learning, a student can "attend" classes anytime they choose. They can even log-on after their shift at the local McDonald's and download the day's lesson. Some students are even using this opportunity to graduate early, ahead of their peers.

Not everyone sees opportunity here, though. Many worry about the social aspects of online learning. There are those that are afraid that students will be taken out of the physical classroom altogether. Schools are an important aspect of learning socialization skills and if online learning becomes the norm instead of the exception, steps will have to be taken to fill this void.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic