Sunday, February 8, 2009
Deep thoughts or maybe not...
After reading a review of research on teaching courses online, I am left with some questions- how do employers compare GPA's among candidates who graduate from a bricks and mortar school versus an online school, or do they even have a second thought? How will we make the change in the coming years in the K-12 model to incorporate online learning? Will we recognize the future institution of public education or will be a foreign concept? Are current teacher preparation programs really preparing our pre service teachers for the reality they may face?
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Great questions, Lisa. Given that there were so many 'no significant difference' studies done in the early days of online learning, I am surprised that the question still comes up. The findings were that there is no significant difference between test scores for students in online learning spaces and students in traditional classrooms. The studies were flawed, but since so many people believed them, it seems odd that those same people wonder if the 'quality' of the learning experience is the same.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this type of concern is connected to the concern that many people express about 'lessening' direct social interactions? I am hearing this more frequently--students spend too much time online and not in direct face to face social situations. In my observations of students in K12, I think they herd together just as much as they ever did, but they do so with attention divided between their f2f friends and friend they are texting with...it is an interesting puzzle to work through...