Online education, is it the future of education?

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Permalink Reply by Ian Carmichael on January 28, 2009 at 4:06am

Yes, as a way of learning. There are plenty of real-world experiences that need to be had - excursions, experiments, observations, tactile, full-sensory immersion and on-line impressions of these things are often to poor compared to the real thing.
However, when it comes to text and image research, when it comes to participating in distributed commnities, when it comes to seek non-local expertise, then on-line tools are brilliant for what was hitherto impossible.
We need to be wary of just being dazzled by the latest bright shiny thing and confuse activity with education, or the production of something being worthy just in virtue of its being created.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Krening on January 28, 2009 at 6:52am

Thank you for your insight on the matter, what would you say are the benefits and costs of extending higher-level education into the online realm?

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Permalink Reply by Kiwi Commons on May 6, 2009 at 9:20am

Absolutely. Asides from the occasional technical difficulties, a high-tech learning environment can be a huge time saver, as well it provides multisensory stimulation. It can greatly enhance learning, flexibility, and student motivation. As technology advances, it's inevitable that education will adopt new and more efficient approaches to teaching.

Check the following videos out. Pretty interesting.

Here is a video to provide insight on a high-tech classroom environment of the future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dNc5rft4eY

Here are some useful tips on incorporating technology in the classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiisteObuhk

Here's a forum featuring Dr. Clark who guides you through an interactive tour of a virtual classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuVakbMSPp4

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly Greene on May 7, 2009 at 6:26pm

Education is always the last big part of society to accept real change. Folks may talk and dream up wonderful ideas, but innovation in the classroom is a hard sell for more reasons than there are fish in the sea (especially today with that giant plastic gunkyard ). However, the recognition that we are dealing with an authentically different world is truly alarming those at the grassroots level. Online learning can be rich and collaborative and actionable if it is designed correctly. This demands letting go of the drive to simply push content and wait for a student to respond. With the great numbers of adults who must go back for more ed and new training, hopefully better, more immersive tools will be within our reach. The design of such learning needs to come from educators- not techies. It truly is about the learning, not the (as Ian beautifully stated) latest shiny thing. I've been an online student as well as being a professor (f2f, hybrid, & fully online). The focus has to be on the experience for the student. Great online learning demands a total deconstruction of the desired learning- what it actually looks and feels like- as well as a serious examination of the assessments that enable the students to demonstrate they have achieved the objectives. Is it the future? I believe the simple answer is a qualified yes- but we must come to an understanding of what it means to be educated. Learning can no longer be defined as the successful repetition of material. Online learning can afford application and demand that the learner be creatively engaged and responsible for their learning in a 21st century modality- but again- the proof is in the design. Simply changing a lecture to a PPS won't cut it. I believe it was William Dagget who described bad implementation of tech into ed as putting "a jet engine on a covered wagon." I've held onto that visual for the past 10 years as I've explored this field.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Zenhausern on May 14, 2009 at 11:42am

Whether Education is the last to change depends on what you mean by Education. By the late 1980's K-12 education was alive and flourishing especially those with special needs. Email pen pals and interschool projects were all done by text. The teachers and educators that developed and guided these projects were ahead of their time. They were online pioneers who could have grown into the deans of Web 2.0, but are barely remembered.

When the computer and Internet became important enough the educational establishments took over and determined how technology was going to be used. It was the end of Web -1.0

Before the web was invented, a MOO was a social networking site where you build your own persona and "home" and interacted with others around the world. These were forbidden in the state of Texas because they were taking up too much time. Yes, the students were spending too much time creative writing and interacting with others from different cultures. Take a MOO and add graphics. Now call it Second Life.

Some educators will always be pioneers and some will always be conservative. I hope we can maintain a good balance.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Gatling on May 8, 2009 at 3:03pm

Absolutely! Online education is another way of learning. If we use online learning in a f2f classroom in a blended fashion, we can extend the learning of students. Learning online is a viable method for learners of all ages.We are living in a global society , Technology and its use in the classroom can level the playing field for learners who may not have resources in their own institutions. I don't think we're in danger of the scenario presented in Issac Asimov's story,The Fun They Had ,but we're definitely experiencing a paradigm shift in education.

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Permalink Reply by Sukhpreet Kaur on May 18, 2009 at 5:25am

Yes, of course, online learning is the best and most convenient way of learning. I have seen that learning through internet is very easy and it provides you the opportunity of self-paced learning.

In today's world of information technology, anything is possible with just your finger tips. From any kind of information to education, everything is possible through internet within minutes.

Moreover, there are lot of educational websites that provide you with the tools you need to study. Some of them also provide an online learning environment or a virtual platform where students can learn from tutors for e.g. WiZiQ, a web-based platform for students and teachers to study and teach online. It's a free tool and you can join wiziq anytime. It's one of the best tools I have ever come across.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Barnes on May 18, 2009 at 4:55pm

People here obviously embrace this. I've been using a classroom website for years and now teach this in online college courses for teachers. The problem we face is administrators who aren't willing to take the next step into new-millennium education. There is a fear that web 2.0 is a huge security risk.

We need to maintain these types of discussions in order to motivate administrators to see the value in online education. The more teachers like the onese here demonstrate how important online instruction is, the faster we'll move in this direction.

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