As technology is every changing the idea of having online education has been growing in popularity. This article sites that students who use all online courses rank about 9% in the higher percentile then the students who work in a typical classroom environment. The idea of digital learning overtaking traditional classrooms is not too far off. It seems that within the next few years we will see a significant spike in online learning. One of the largest benefit to online education is that it can be tailored to individual students and their learning styles.
What do we think? Is there a possibility of classroom teaching jobs being changed by virtual classrooms? How long until students stop coming to school and learn from home? What will happen to all the teachers?
I actually took a few online classes and at the end I felt like something was lacking. The biggest thing I was missing is that interaction with the teacher. I would receive emails from them and I wasn't sure if how the teacher was feeling (there is no inflection in an email). I also felt like I was teaching myself more so than the teacher was. Perhaps that was the teachers fault, but I felt it was not an ideal way to learn.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I do believe this is the way education is going. I don't think that we will ever forgo school all together, simply because who would be home with the students when they were doing their online classes? I do think teachers will become more like overseers and troubleshooters than teachers. :(
The only positive I could think of is that students could each have more individualized learning because its not just one person teaching 26 kids.
I hate to say it but I do feel that this change is going to occur and its going to occur FAST! being a teacher i am not a fan of the classroom going all digital. I do think teachers will be more of an overseer than an actual teacher. It is nice that it can meet the learning style needs of every student but how will that happen? Will every computer be programmed at the beginning of every school year based on the students style? Will the computer be able to just pick up on the style of each kid and program its self? I don't think that advancement is in place yet so teachers will still need to me hanging around for some time. I say in the next 15 years that there will no longer be a need for teachers. I think students can learn from home now, but it will not be realistic when parents have jobs and can not stay home with their child to make sure that when they are home they are doing their work. I think there will still be a need for school to stay open.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a student and not a teacher, I feel there are definitly some classes that can and should be taught online. However there are also classes and programs that I feel should require the students to be in class. Especially if it's like a health profession for example. There will be changes in which the classrooms operate but I feel that will happen on either a high school or college level.But as young kids they need that interaction with other children and teachers which you cannot achieve online.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input. I agree with what you are all saying but what about this...my school district is looking into online classes and they would like to place several subject in a room with one instructor. Therefor all the students may be working on a different subject but there is one instructor to help them troubleshoot and answer questions as best they can. I think this puts the students at a major disadvantage! Your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI think there are a wealth of opportunities and benefits that can be achieved through online learning, especially due to the fact that various learning styles can be catered to. I'm sure at some point traditional classroom teaching jobs will be less in demand due to the increased online learning. However, I do not believe that this will be all too soon given the fact that not every district is on the same page with regards to technology. However, I am not in a school on a day to day basis so I may not be making the most educated guess on this. Nonetheless, I'm sure there will still be teaching jobs for those teachers who are doing the online teaching, but perhaps not as many teaching jobs because one online teacher or classroom may be able to accommodate far more students than an actual classroom.
ReplyDeleteOnline learning has been around on the college level for quite awhile now and is growing, so it is inevitable that it will start trickling down to the lower grades. As Allison notes, it is already being seriously considered in Nanuet. In addition to the advantages mentioned above, it could also be very advantagous in rural communties where students travel long distances to attend school. As Tom mentioned, a large part of elementary school is about students learning how to socialize, and young students also need to be supervised if parents are working, so we probably won't see any effect on grades K-8 anytime soon. However, those of us who are high school teachers may find ourselves playing very different roles in the classroom soon as a result of online learning. While it certainly doesn't sound desirable personally, it looks like it may be inevitable.
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