Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Online education had its start with business professionals attempting to train their employees in new certification programs in the 1990s, but has since grown to epic proportions, now engulfing a sizeable amount of college students nation-wide. However, this spread has grown to encompass elementary-age students as well, which has caused major ripples within the education community.
While most online schools are meant to appeal to college-age students and employees who wish to further their degrees, online schools also have been found to increase learning among secondary education children, paving the way for a revolution within the education community. Most research that has been done on the subject has featured college students and adult-age classes, only with some K-12 students, although these studies have indicated that students who take the majority of their coursework online rank in higher percentiles than students in classroom settings. The quantitative research which the Department of Education has gained through its studies has indicated that online classes are better than conventional instruction.
While this study was meant to determine whether online schooling should be implemented for more students in the K-12 range, its implications are felt throughout the online community, as this indicates that college students are also gaining more out of online education than in a classroom. These studies have become more routine as technology has evolved so that web-based video and video-chat is more prevalent within American homes and has thus allowed students of all ages to engage in studies from home that they normally could not have.
Online education has spawned a new type of experience that enables students to work more independently and “learn by doing”, rather than watch their teacher lecture to the class. Many experts believe that the number of online students is set to triple within the next few years as studies indicate that this experience is helpful to furthering students’ education, as well as is a cost-efficient way to educate anyone from a kindergartner to an adult seeking an MBA. K-12 schools are already using new forms of technology through websites, such as the Blackboard site many colleges use or other ways in which to post material for their students. The evolution of online education is accelerating every year and will only become more prevalent among students of all ages within the next few years. The individualism this type of online schooling promotes will undoubtedly produce more community leaders, especially when catered to such a young audience.
