“My Teacher Is an App” - Pros & Cons

By: Will Richardson

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-is-app-will-richardson?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdutopiaNewContent+%28Edutopia%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Traditional education is increasingly taking a back seat to online education. I remember when distance education was typically done through colleges and universities. Now, the concept of an online education is making its way into a number of high schools across the country. In the newsfeed article from Edutopia, Miami schools superintendent makes a valid argument that “he sees no point in forcing the iPod generation to adapt to a classroom model that has changed little in 300 years” (Richardson, 2011). I couldn’t agree more with this notion considering it prepares students for hybrid and distance education classes in college. In addition, students are allowed flexibility in their schedules which can further allow time for gaining work experience via part-time jobs. One misconception however is that online classes are easier and that couldn’t be further from the truth. It takes far more discipline and commitment to be successful at online courses verses traditional courses.

Unfortunately for educators however, the more online schools and courses that are developed, the more teacher cuts will take place because school systems are recognizing this as a means to pull through budget crisis. According to the article, Georgia taxpayers spend more than half on traditional public education per student than it does on online education per student while Miami reports saving $1500 a year per full-time online student. (Richardson, 2011). I'm curious to know however how do grades of online students compare to those of traditional classrooms in a given subject. Is online education in various schools showing a significant achievement gap between traditional settings?