What I find most surprising this week was how data suggests that a significant 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online by 2019 (Christensen, 2008). It is already evident that many schools, universities, education organizations are rushing to adopt the new student-centric online technology, but I had never imagined how rapidly technological innovations are evolving, and within a few more years that the world is likely to flip to a new education paradigm! Another interesting analogy from Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Pubic Education, is “Virtual schooling is driving the same sorts of transforming changes in public education as Apple’s iTunes have been producing in the way people collect and listen to music (Christensen, 2008).” The popularity of online schooling is without a question continue to increase, but it will take a lot of effort, patience, time and money from the learners, educators, and government, to fully maximize the ever-changing educational demands.
As we discussed the pros and cons of virtual schooling, my biggest question now remains to how learners and educators can fully maximize online discussions. As I mentioned in my rebuttal post to the advantages of asynchronous discussion, it is problematic that students can have the sense of being mentally disconnected from the group from a online environment. A student that does not feel connected with the class or instructor may lose motivation, interest and ultimately find that learning and retaining the material is nearly impossible. It is a hugely important question to address now, and I hope to get more promising solutions to answer my question in this semester!
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