It seems that today our hope is to make everything fast, easy to use, and accessible everywhere. We have seen this happen in our social life with the developments of Twitter and Facebook. The same goes for work as well. Most people are tied to work no matter where they go. Now we are beginning to see this same trend with education. It could be a good thing but is that what we really want? Do we want our children to have their learning be mostly on a computer without face-to-face interaction. In all reality I don't think it matters what we want because this is something that is going to happen whether we like it or not. The main thing we can do, however, is make sure it evolves in a way that will be most beneficial to the succes of our students. The question is what do we want to have incorporated and how do we want this to evolve?
I believe there are many benefits to online education that we cannot ignore. One of the main things is that it gives students access to so much more than what is offered in their high school alone. For those who want to excel it gives them that challenge. But what about the kids who are struggling. The best part is that it also helps children on the other end of the spectrum as well, those who are falling behind. With the flexibility of online education they can take remedial courses to help them get caught up.
The last main thing that is great about online ed is what I mentioned in the very beginning. It is accessible everywhere. No matter where you are on the planet you can have access to great education.
What do you think? Is online ed a good thing? Are there possible negative effects?
It has its good and bad points just like everything else in life. It's good for students to access a lot of material and to go their own speed and level. On the negative side, there is a lot of false information, and definitely a lack of social life. With all the technology we sometimes forget to spend quality time with those around us, or just time.
ReplyDelete