This happens to be National Distance Learning Week (November 12th through 16th), an opportunity to promote and celebrate the tremendous growth and accomplishments occurring today in distance learning programs offered by schools, businesses, and governmental departments.
According to the website:
Currently, over 2.5 million college students are taking online course and/or earning online college degrees. At the secondary school level, over 700,000 high school students are taking one or more courses online, and nearly 40 states have established state-wide or state-lead virtual schools. Michigan became the first state in 2007 to require high school students take at least one online course for graduation.
Distance learning is completely transforming the education landscape. The dramatic shift from place-based learning to student-based learning is profoundly altering access to education and creating new opportunities for learning at every age and in every field.
College students today will take at least one online course before graduation, and children as young as five are discovering the joys of interactive learning online and building relationships with teachers and students in completely new ways.
As in all major shifts, we can choose how we respond. We can go all alarmist and say that education will never be the same again–and, well, that is true. But there’s no reason to think that online learning will decrease the value or relevance of education or turn college into a stay-in-your-room-all-day proposition.
We need to see that distance learning has enormous potential to enhance the traditional classroom-oriented educational experience by providing more options to those who want to learn but need the flexibility that online courses provide.
With double-digit growth every year, distance learning is proving to be a powerful force capable of turning non-students into students.
That’s worth celebrating.
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