Trends in eLearning

This week in EDUC250, we did some reading about local and national trends in eLearing and how these affected us in our schools or communities.  We posted our comments to the class discussion board followed by some deeper thinking about which trend resonated most with us as individuals and why.  I got caught up in an OSPI website link about the increase in online learning among middle and high school students and how parents might understand what online learning is so that they could evaluate available programs for their students.  Apparently, there has been an enormous increase in the numbers of students selecting online learning, not only locally and nationally, but internationally as well.  Reasons for this trend range from being a boon for students who might be slower workers (they can work at their own pace without fear of falling further behind) to convenience for a variety of personal schedules, to offering an unlimited chance for gifted learners to study whatever they might be interested in at an accelerated pace.  Often, students don't live in proximity to the best teachers for their subject matter interests as in the case of language study--a school may offer only German and Spanish whereas the student might wish to become proficient in Swahili.  Finding an online class taught by a native speaker thousands of miles away from the student's home offers a convenient and low cost option not available in any other way.

As an online student for the first time in my long career as both student and teacher, I find this trend fascinating because it changes the world of teaching for me, opening new doors for a new career in a direction I had never imagined!