Blended Learning Revolution
Online and blended learning programs are having a positive impact on student learning across the country, and thankfully more media outlets are starting to pay attention to this increasingly important topic.
Through the use of blended learning programs, students like fourteen year-old Gabi Directo are able to learn subjects at their own pace, and move on to new material as soon as they’re ready. Consequently, when Gabi’s class was working on projectile-motion models, her model incorporated more equations and mapped time with distance, as opposed to basic graphing.
Many of the schools leading the way in delivering online learning are charters, many of which have the necessary autonomy to be innovative.
Educators like the ability to post questions online and have students post answers in an open forum, without the worry of more introverted students being less inclined to participate. The classroom setting also ensures continued interaction and individualized attention for students who need it.
Online learning proponents predict a continued influx of online learning programs in the coming years and decades, but warn against the emphasis on just technology as a way of boosting student achievement. Blended programs go beyond introducing iPads or computers to the classroom, and instead focus on how this technology is going to aid the learning process.
