The Benefits of an Online Education and How it’s Changing the Way We Learn

Nov 9, 2011. comments (0)
This is a guest post written by Lindsey Wright.
College students all over America are taking advantage of the online revolution in college. They no longer have to sit in class to learn, but can learn via online classes at home with their computers. However, many parents are not aware that their preschool and elementary school-aged children have many online learning opportunities as well.
In the past, rote memorization has been key to success in school. If a child struggled with memorizing math facts, historical dates or spelling words, they were doomed to failure in school. Yet, nowadays, multitudes of sites exist solely to turn learning into a game that a child cannot wait to play.
For instance, English grammar can be a confusing subject for a student to conquer, but the makers of Mingoville hope to help make it easy for children to learn. Mingoville is mainly designed for ESL students, to enhance their fluency and help familiarize them with the language, but could benefit early elementary students as well. All of the prompts on this site are audio, as well as visual, so that students don’t need to have an adult sitting at the computer next to them. This allows them to become comfortable with English on their own.
Math is another subject that many students dread Ironically, many parents often also experience the same exact feelings when it comes to math, causing them to fear hearing the words “I need help with my homework.” However, by using the many tutorials that are available online, parents and children can begin to understand those tricky concepts, such as fractions and percents. Tutorials are fabulous because students who need repetition to learn are able to repeat a lesson as many times as needed. Better yet, they no longer have to feel embarrassed in class for raising their hands once again to have a concept re-explained.
Additionally, using various historical and scientific websites can make formerly tedious subjects come to life. No longer does a student have to rely on memorizing lists of names and dates, or properties of scientific laws. By watching online videos and historical reenactments it can be much easier to put to memory what the student has read about in a textbook.
The beauty of using online learning is that parents no longer have to accept that being in a mediocre school district means that their children won’t get a decent education and struggle to get into college. By simply playing a few interesting, fun, educational games, their children can master the subject matter presented and go on to explore even more fascinating topics. Children who have formerly struggled with school will gain confidence and self-esteem, as they become proficient learners. These children will also gain insights about how they learn best, a skill that is quite valuable in college. It seems that simply logging on to a computer can change a child’s school career forever.
The author of this article, Lindsey Wright is fascinated with the potential of emerging educational technologies, particularly the online school, to transform the landscape of learning. She writes about web-based learning, electronic and mobile learning, and the possible future of education.
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Why Can't We All Just Get Along...

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So, I just realized this is my 400th post. Neat! Thanks for reading and all your support over the past 2 years!




This is a post that has been brewing for a while now....


But after a conversation I had this weekend I think it's time to get some of my thoughts out there for reflection. 


I totally get passion in education. And really can you be an educator and not have passion for education? Perhaps that is a post for another time. 


But the way I see it, many have moved passed passion and moved to anger. 


Again, I totally get that. I am upset with many things in our current system. Sure, if asked, I would give a lot of the "reformers" a piece of my mind. 


But...


It seems like if  you disagree with one side or the other you are perceived as dumb, stupid, or much, much worse. 


My conversation started out with a Tweet that (to paraphrase) asked if a certain, central figure in the reform debate, that many admire and look up to actually had any ideas or if she just ran around the country telling us what is wrong without actually offering up any ideas. I follow this "reformer" on Twitter and her stream is filled with what comes across in 140 characters as anger. Again, I get that. (Remember, I am angry too.) But my point was that when you had the audience she did last week why not give them something tangible to take back to their districts to try or do? Seems reasonable, right?


Normally I don't tweet things like that. I don't. I like the discussion but there are people out there in ol' Twitter land that use the screen as one of anonymity and they believe because they are behind this screen they can say and do whatever they like. Don't get me wrong. Again, I love the conversations. I totally enjoy for my thinking to be pushed. However I have limits....


So after my tweet, which I figured would draw some comments I got plenty of, "I agrees," and a few people who disagreed, which was great. I had fun engaging and talking to them. Then there was one who, has passion, but that passion has grow to anger. And if you cross them, say anything negative about the reformer  whom I mentioned earlier, well, you might as well pack up and go home. 


This tweeter had solid arguments for certain types of reform and the direction we should be going, many I agreed with. However, it was the personal attacks and just general poor language that really made me loose respect for this tweeter. 


Disagreement is cool. Makes us think differently and see other sides, but to move from disagreement to creative hashtags, none appropriate to even write here, really just make your arguments look weak. 


This isn't the first time I have written about this or even encountered it. In a post from late last year I wrote about Education Nation project from NBC and how it was getting all sorts of negative attention from the Twittevers and blogsphere. Again, there I tried to say we needed to move from talk to action. 


In my most popular post ever on this blog I wrote about why we should all think before we Tweet. 


For me I keep coming back to this idea that I believe people who use social media or tools like it feel some level of anonymity and they can say, really what ever. What if we were having a face-to-face conversation? Would the person who I had my conversation with this past weekend behaved the same and said the same things? I am doubtful. 


I am not the only one to notice this trend. My friend Michelle, just wrote a post today about the exact same issue. In it she says; 




What do we tell kids about comments on blogs, online articles, Facebook status updates?
  1. PLAY NICELY.
  2. If you disagree, you can do so without attacking another person’s character.
  3. If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t type it online.
  4. Remember, there are human beings on the other end.
  5. Remember, you are also a human being.
  6. Rule #1 is really all you need.
So why so much animosity amongst educators in online spaces lately? I would say that the current turmoil in which we find ourselves (perhaps related to education reform discussions) is part of it. But are we practicing what we preach? I don’t think so.
Couldn't agree more Michelle. And Seth Godin had a piece this weekend where this last line says simply, "Anger, on the other hand, makes us smaller." 
We are going to disagree. And you know, that makes us smarter, pushes our thinking and helps us see all sides. But is it possible to do it without anger? Passion, sure. But anger?
What do you think? Is this a problem today? Is it a result of the anonymity I say the screen provides or is it something else? Leave some comments below.
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#Edtech Over The Pond

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On Friday, Ken Royal had me back on his BlogTalkRadio show, this time to talk to Joe Dale, an educational technology consultant, living on the south English coast. I was thrilled to be able to exchange ideas with Joe and the conversation did not disappoint. We talked about the importance of educators getting connected, how they can do that and even had a chance to do a mini smackdown where we shared some of our favorite tools.

I think for me the conversation affirmed that the same issues we face in the US are similar else where in the world. Joe and I both struggle with helping educators see the value of getting connected in these online spaces and getting them to understand how they can grow as an educator using something simple like Twitter.

Below is the player with the interview. Take some time and listen, not to me but the exchange of ideas. And listen some of the other great interviews Ken has done with some of the great thinkers in the edtech world.
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