Monday, December 10, 2012

Traditional Versus Online Education


Education is an unique experience for every student. Nowadays, we are lucky we can choose from different types of schools for what may best fit our own learning styles. Although I believe there are pros and cons to both traditional and online education, I am excited about what the future of online education holds.

Traditional education is great because it provides an individualized experience to the students. They are able to talk face-to-face with their instructors, receive individualized help and learn leadership, teamwork and social skills through personal interactions. However, the growth of the internet is changing some of these experiences.

Online education is a new platform that is gaining rapid popularity. There are many sites that allow students to collaborate together over the internet by tracking each student’s comments and edits. Another popular idea is the reverse lecture class. Students watch the lecture online and then during class time they are able to work on problems, get one-on-one help and ask questions. I think this is a great idea to help the students have more interaction and clarification time during class.

Many schools who don’t offer specific classes, can now enroll their students in online classes through another school. The students can find a subject they are interested in as well as participate in higher-level thinking courses. 

One of my personal favorite websites is Khan Academy. I love this site because it lays out many difficult math and science concepts and re-explains them in several different ways. It is very accommodating to different learning styles.

Right now, there is a wide variety of resources to explore and begin to integrate into a traditional classroom with technology. As more resources are developed, online education will become more affordable and popular as a school form.

For more information, check out these articles and websites:

Sources:

Can Online Education Tackle Achievement Gap? Tell Me More. National Public Radio. Oct. 2012. http://www.npr.org/2012/10/10/162643520/can-online-education-tackle-achievement-gap

Hood, Grace. More Teachers ‘Flipping’ The School Day Upside Down. All Things Considered. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/2012/12/07/166748835/more-teachers-flipping-the-school-day-upside-down

Online Education Grows Up, and For Now, It’s Free. All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Sept. 2012. http://www.npr.org/2012/09/30/162053927/online-education-grows-up-and-for-now-its-free