Ask Dr. Lynch: K-12 Online Learning as a Life Skill

EducationWorld Q&A columnist Dr. Matthew Lynch is an associate professor of education at Langston University. Dr. Lynch provides expert advice on everything from classroom management to differentiated instruction. Read all of his columns here, and be sure to submit your own question.

Dr. Matthew Lynch

This week, reader Nicole C. asks:

My district recently announced that 30% of our high school courses will now be offered online, and this percentage will increase in the coming years. I think it’s a great idea, but most of my colleagues are totally against it, saying it will dehumanize learning, among other things. Is my district is on the right track?

ANSWER:

Nicole, here is my take on the topic. Online learning is more than a fad. The facts are staggering: According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, there are nearly 1.9 million K-12 enrollments in online courses every school year, up from under 50,000 in 2000. The current number does not even include students enrolled in primarily online schools. Thirty-one states have full-time online schools that serve on a statewide basis.

Credit recovery is the top reason why districts offer online options; 81 percent of urban schools cite this reason. Are online courses really equal to ones in the classroom, though? It depends who you ask. Recent news reports out of California show that high school graduation rates are at an all-time high of 78 percent, with even higher numbers in areas such as San Francisco and San Jose. While some educators use these numbers to point to student success, critics say the rise in graduation numbers does not necessarily mean students with more education. Online courses, as a means of “making up” failed or incomplete classes, help more kids graduate—but do these young people know what they should?

It is of course impossible to answer a question that vague, but the debate rages on just the same. Just how rigorous is an online high school course? This is likely a cloudy area for those of us who grew up before the Internet forever changed the face of distance education. On a basic level, if a student reads the material and is able to give correct answers on a test, that means he or she has “learned” the content.

When an educator also takes into account other influential factors such as learning style, intelligence and work ethic, that basic definition becomes murky. The general consensus in the education community seems to be that even though online courses have merit, they are less rigorous than those offered in classroom settings.

Then there is the issue of online learning as an overarching ideology. Embracing the inevitability that online learning is a very real part of the average college education, the state of Florida began requiring in 2011 that high school students in the 24-credit graduation option take at least one online course. The public, Internet-based Florida Virtual School leads this innovation and is considered a national leader in the e-Learning model. So in this example, Florida is not simply offering online courses as a backup; the state mandates that students on a college prep path get early exposure to the type of learning they are likely to see in college.

This model highlights two very different ways to look at online courses in K-12 education. On the one hand, there is the hotly debated issue of their educational merit. On the other hand, there is the practical benefit of exposing students to online learning long before the college years. The latter paints online learning as a life skill of sorts—much like balancing a bank account or creating a resume. Without a solid understanding of online learning before graduation, students will be less prepared for what they will face academically following high school.

In my opinion, the K-12 online course dissenters are just wasting their breath. The momentum of online learning is gaining speed. Educators can best spend their time looking for ways to enhance the content of virtual courses and making the most of available face-to-face class time.
 

Education World®    
Copyright © 2013 Education World