Online Learning Now & Later

The following post was made as a discussion response for week four of EDLD 5368-Instructional Design.

How do you see online education being used in your classroom, campus and district?

In Irving ISD, I believe online education is currently being used primarily for credit recovery; and if it isn't currently being used in this fashion, it will be very soon. I watch teachers' Twitter feeds and one or more ITS is always talking about creating one type of class or another. IISD also uses online education in a distance-learning capacity. Students interact with a geographically separated teacher in some classes either for credit recovery or as part of that particular class lesson plan. Also, one of our middle schools recently began a partnership with a chain of schools in India where our students and theirs could network and share project ideas. Finally, a large number of staff and teachers in my district also participate in Academic Partnerships for their own learning, which as we know is all on-line.

What type of staff development do you think K-12 teachers need in order to begin to develop and implement online learning?

I think a primary topic for teachers would be to help them understand that online learning, and learning using online resources, can be just as beneficial - sometimes moreso - than in-person learning in a brick-and-mortar school (Cradler, 2002). Also, as Hargittai found, the Internet offers a vast amount of resources that are otherwise not available in any one geographical location, and the Internet also fosters and enhances various skills of its users. Communication skills and writing skills are enhanced, as are technology skills through the practical use in online learning.

What impact will this type of teaching and learning have on the business world?

The acceptance of online learning as a legitimate form of teaching in the classroom will have profound effects in the business world. Workers will arrive in their jobs expecting to have online professional development and skill development training available whenever it is needed. As was found by Skillsoft, "prospective employees want to be learning via the latest technology, they expect to be able to – indeed they will demand it." (Young, 2007) What Young also found is that many employees currently entering the workforce expected learning to be available wherever they were, and that 38.1% of employees anticipating that learning at their desk would be one of the main ways by which they would get the training they needed.

How Does Technology Influence Student Learning. Cradler, John, et. al. (May 2002) Learning & Leading with Technology, Volume 29, Issue 8. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://caret.iste.org/caretadmin/resources_documents/29_8.pdf. International Society for Technology in Education.

The Pros and Cons of Implementing the Internet in the Classroom. Hargittai, Eszter. (n.d.) Retrieved May 5, 2010, from http://www.princeton.edu/~eszter/edu/sides.html.

The Future of Learning. Young, Kevin. (2007) Skillsoft Benchmark Study. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/futureoflearning.pdf