eLearning Archives - Diane Hamilton

Online Classes So Important: Mandatory for Graduation

Times have certainly changed for high school education. Alabama, Florida and Michigan are just some of the states that now require students to take at least one online course to graduate. According to the article 10 Online Ed Trends Coming to a High School Near You, “Administrators believe that getting students to take online courses will better prepare them to work with the technologies they’ll face in college and the workforce.”

In Memphis online classes were increased due to an upswing in the desire by students to take these courses. Online courses are available for both high school and middle school students. An advantage for the schools is that they are less expensive. In the article Online Class Required for Graduation in Memphis, the author points out that there will be some stringent requirements. “The structure calls for accountability requiring students to log on, finish assignments, and participate in hour-long live chat sessions with an instructor and classmates. Teachers speak with students after each module to verify their identity. Proctored semester exams are administered on school grounds.”

The number of states adding online requirements continues to grow. Idaho has a tech-focused school reform program that will require students to take two online courses. Indiana has also jumped on the technology bandwagon. Indiana state superintendent, Tony Bennett, recently announced that students will be required to take at least one online course in order to graduate. In the article United States High Schools Including Online Coursework as Graduation Requirement, the author stated, “Mr. Bennett explained his rationale for an online course requirement by stating that he felt like experiencing an online course would help to prepare Indiana students for the technology they will be using at colleges and universities, as well as in the workforce.”

Related Articles

Employers Embracing Online Education

Online degrees are often in the news. When I first began teaching online, there were far fewer schools offering an online education. This led to some negative interpretations when employers were considering applicants with an online education.

Thankfully it is 2011 and people are waking up! In today’s AOLjobs.com article, the author noted, “While online degrees were once largely seen as being second-rate, recent studies have reported that employers are not only more open to, but are even showing a favorable sentiment toward candidates with online degrees these days. Besides the increase in reputation these programs are experiencing, online degrees have also become so popular, that if employers were to disregard candidates with such degrees, they’d also be disqualifying a significant portion of the work force.”

How popular is online learning? According to Campustechhnology.com, “Nearly 12 million post-secondary students in the United States take some or all of their classes online right now. But this will skyrocket to more than 22 million in the next five years.”

With the growth of the Internet, the ease of accessibility to computers and the flexibility that the online environment affords students, online learning has become more popular than ever. The advantages of not having to buy gas to get to class, not having find a car park or pay for parking, and being able to attend class at any time of the day or night have all contributed to its popularity.

A large percentage of students who are studying online are working on their associates, but there are baccalaureate, master, and doctoral programs available online as well. Much of the growth that has occurred in online learning has happened since 1999. With the recent changes in the economy, online classes have seen a surge in enrollment. “Bad economic times have often been good for education, either because decreased availability of good jobs encourages more people to seek education instead, or because those currently employed seek to improve their chances for advancement by pursuing their education” (Sloan, 2008).

There is no mistaking the popularity of online education. Even Bill Gates praised online learning in his 2010 Annual Letter stating, “A lot of people, including me, think this is the next place where the internet will surprise people in how it can improve things.”

If you are thinking about going back to school in 2011, check out some of the following articles for more advice:

Thinking of Taking an Online Class? What to Know Before You Start
Jobs and Education Based on Your Myers-Briggs MBTI Type
How Online Learning Compares to Traditional … Continuing the Debate
The Top 10 Most Common Writing Mistakes
College Costs . . . Good News Bad News
Which Degree Will Make You The Most Money
How Employers View an Online Education

How Online Learning Compares to Traditional . . . Continuing the Debate

The New York Times recently reported, “An analysis of 99 studies by the federal Department of Education concluded last year that online instruction, on average, was more effective than face-to-face learning by a modest amount.”

However, in this same article, they noted that not all results have shown this to be true. Mark Rush of the University of Florida’s researched students who watched lectures online vs. traditional students who attended regular live in person lectures. Their study showed more online students let the lectures pile up and got behind. To find out more about this study, check out the New York Times Article.

While I find this to be an interesting study, almost none of the online classes I teach include recorded lectures. Therefore I don’t find this data to be representative of the online experience that I have witnessed in my over 5 years of teaching for many different online universities.

Although many people find the lecture experience a big part of education, not everyone finds this to be the most effective way to learn. When I attended a traditional college, I personally did not enjoy having to sit through long lectures. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to online learning later.

I am more inclined to look at the 99 studies from the Federal Department of Education than one study that looks specifically at how well students keep up with watching lectures in determining the effectiveness of online learning. I personally think that people are drawn to the type of education that fits their needs. For those that enjoy long lectures, traditional universities may be the best optino for them. For those who don’t, online has a lot to offer.

For those considering taking an online education, check out: The Online Student’s User Manual: Everything You Need to Know to be a Succcessful Online Student.