Ed Media Wordle!

This is my first Wordle! I created it on www.wordle.net, using words that connect with Ed Media and Art Education. This a fun, artistic way to learn and use vocabulary online.

Online Education

I have been researching the use of online education in classrooms recently. Through my research I have found it to be quite beneficial for students and teachers. It gives students the chance to share their voice to people all around the world. I have also found, that the U.S. Department of Education is making it a goal to have every school and its students using online education. It will become mandatory for students to graduate. My question for you is, how do you suppose the U.S. Department of Education plans to provide all of the schools in the country with the resources for this plan to use online education in the classroom? Do you think this goal is a practical one or too ambitious to be handed out?

The History of Online Education

Online learning is becoming increasingly popular among college and universities and is even reaching further into elementary and high schools. According to U.S. News, “Online college education is expanding—rapidly. More than 4.6 million college students were taking at least one online course at the start of the 2008-2009 school year. That's more than 1 in 4 college students, and it's a 17 percent increase from 2007.” eSchool News has also reported that “more than 1 million K-12 students have taken online classes during the 2007- 08 year.”

According to AllOnlineSchools.com, PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations)1960, was the early precursor to Distance and Remote Learning. In 1969 ARPANET, a communication system, was developed and was the beginning of the Internet. Later on down the line in 1989, “Tim Berners-Lee, a British engineer, conceives what he called ‘a web of notes with links, “ which he later changed the name to what we now refer to as, the World Wide Web. Then in 1993 “Jones International University becomes the first accredited college to exist fully online”. In 2003 the Internet moved to 3-D with Linden Lab’s creation of Second Life, “a 3-D virtual world wherein users create ‘avatars’ to represent themselves. ”AllOnlineSchools.com asserted Linden Lab believes, “by 2009 over 200 colleges and universities—including Harvard, Princeton and Stanford—will teach courses in virtual classrooms or conduct research within this realm.”

As of today, there are two different ways to use online education. The first type is to have all interaction between students and teachers occur entirely online. The second is to have the course “blended,” meaning some of the class meets face-to-face and the rest takes place online. eSchool News, wrote in their article, “that the most effective approach might be a combination of face-to-face teaching and purely online instruction.” Whether this statement is true or not is up to the student and their approach to learning.

Some schools are already moving into their own Second Life, with the creations of their avatars they are able to discover by virtually traveling and learning in their Second Life world. The future hold for online education is uncertain, but continually progressing. AllOnlineSchools.com believes “adult education online may in the future become a hands-free, multi-sensory experience,” with the use of implanted sensors into the brain and skin. One can only imagine how innovative this will become.

Links:
All Online Schools- Online Adult Education: A Look Back to the Future
U.S. News- Study: Online Education Continues Its Meteoric Growth
eSchool News- ED: Blended learning helps boost achievement
Edutopia- The Virtual Classroom: Online Learning
eCampus News- Interest in hybrid courses on the rise