educationtidbits

In my first blog, I asserted that the current public education system needs to change in order to adapt to the various needs of students, some of whom may not fit in with our mold of this one-size-fits-all mentality, which is primarily a top-down strategy guided by financial interests.  The reality is that while some aspects of a school have to run like a business, what you’re dealing with is real people who have real needs (not all academic, mind you), interests, and abilities.

Many solutions have been presented to solve our current educational crisis; however, few have had wide-ranging effects on the population of students as a whole.  Locally, there is a big push toward online classes in order to offer a wider range of course offerings, especially for schools struggling to staff even the core subjects (as is the case at the school in which I teach).  On the surface this seems like a viable solution for a daunting issue.  However, as with many other “alternative” education strategies, it is NOT without problems that need to be addressed.

Online classes, as anyone who has taken one can attest, require a whole different set of study skills and motivations.  If a student is inherently driven to succeed, these classes are a great way to break from the lecture-style mode of teaching.  However, most students do not have the discipline it takes in order to stay on track.  As a technology coordinator for Distance Degree Programs at Washington State University, I saw plenty of college students crash and burn in such classes because they didn’t have the organizational skills and internal motivation to keep plugging away at their assignments.  Many of these students lost a lot of money in the process, as they had to retake these classes at an additional cost.  I’m now seeing similar problems with the students at my school.  It’s not that they can’t succeed, but they need additional coaching and guidance throughout the process.

Another issue with the online course option is that of communication between the student and the teacher and the lack of interaction (in many courses) with other students in the course.  Whenever I took online classes, I struggled with the same thing.  I had several teachers who had so much going on in their offline lives that their online students ended up being pushed on the back burner.  Again, it’s not an impossible hurdle, but there need to be more effective measures to ensure timely and meaningful communication if this mode of instruction will work to its full potential.

My suggestion for any student, parent of a student, teacher, or administrator who is considering online learning as an alternative to the standard class is to take an inventory of what is required in this environment and ensure that all the ducks are in a row before even beginning the class.  Find out who is teaching the class, what their philosophies are, how best to contact them if a problem arises, and create a schedule to keep yourself on track.  Granted, much of this is established (or should be) when it comes to creating a course, but it’s never good to assume this is the case.  In an online environment, students must take a lot more ownership over their learning than in an onsite, lecture-based class.

Having rambled on about the issues with online education, I have to admit that if the option had been available to me when I was in high school, I would have jumped at it.  I was one of those highly motivated, extremely bored students who was fully capable of taking basic instructions and running with them.  I’m not saying this to be cocky by any means.  I’m just saying that it takes a certain kind of student to succeed in these classes.  Therefore, if we are to develop a system that fits the variety of shoes our students bring to the counter, we need to look at integrating as many options as possible, not just putting all of our eggs in one or two baskets.

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