Online education is going to be one of the biggest catalysts for change in the 21st century.
With national growth rates steadily around 50% annually, there can be no doubt at this time about the massive impact virtual education will have on the education industry, which has been historically slow to adapt to changing times. A catalyst to this change will be an injured economy and the fact that online education can save tax payers tons of cash!
Shu’s vision: One day soon, core subjects will be almost entirely taught online. We will see a reorganization of brick and mortar schools as a result. Students will take hands on classes in school -dance, money management, woodworking. School will be a place where physical activities take place, and it will be a place where kids want to go to socialize. Doesn’t that sound like fun!?
Online education, at the same time, will individualize the learning process for students, ensuring not only an education for every student, but also ensuring that every student is educated. Students will learn through every kind of media linked seamlessly, and they will learn through interactive video games that are as fun as the ones they play now on their Wii’s.
What is most important right now is that we remain innovative and allow these changes to disrupt the education system. Together, virtual education and face to face education can improve our students’ learning and, inevitably, our global society.
May 31st, 2010 at 12:54 pm
You are are my new hero. I teach in Texas at a brick and mortar high school and as an adjunct for a privately run online school that will be serving students across Texas in grades 3-10. I have many of the same credentials as you. My district is on the verge of creating its own version of a hybrid classroom. We have all the tools, (SmartBoards, document cameras, computer labs, computers on carts, our 11th graders even get their own laptops, teacher web pages) so my question is how can I get my staff to share your vision?
June 1st, 2010 at 8:18 am
Brad,
Teachers are a funny lot, and to shift a school culture, you’ve gotta do three things. However, these three things have to be done from administration or you’re going to cause conflict amongst teachers. Of course, if you can convince all of the teachers to want it, then you’re already there. The fact is, buying the technology does not a blended learning model make. I created my blended learning classroom with zero funding. So, hope your administration can do this:
1. Communicate the vision
Make sure that, at your professional development as well as in your daily communications, you’re telling teachers both what a blended learning model looks like and that you’re excited to see it happening in your school. When you see it, spread it as an example, no matter how small it is. Make sure teachers know who they can approach within the faculty if they have implementation questions… who is doing what parts of it right.
2. Lead
Great administrators do this without thinking about it to stay the course, but to actually change the school’s culture, it takes a little thought. What can administration change that will show teachers ‘what’s in it for me.’ Here’s what I mean: Technology is a HUGE time saver. If you have a weekly faculty meeting, go virtual with it. Present what you need via a podcast. Use polldaddy to gather data. Put the school on a yahoo group, and use that to house the faculty meeting forum. Then, show teachers how they’ve saved an hour every week because the school itself can work as a blended learning model. Use instant messengers in the school rather than announcements to show the teachers that you don’t want to interrupt them mid-sentence while they’re teaching. Gather teachers’ cell phone numbers, pay them an extra $5 per month for unlimited texts on their phones, and use text messaging to communicate to the staff from google. All of these methods can bring your school to a blended model, which will lead your teachers to bring their classrooms to a blended model.
3. Manage
This, of course, is the time-consuming part of leadership. Management is the hard part. It’s the part where you say, ‘this is not an option.’ You’ll have to make sure everyone is participating in the online forums instead of just skipping the virtual meetings entirely. You’ll have to make sure that implementation is happening in the classroom, and you’ll have to make sure that teachers are learning in the professional developments that you’re holding on these new tools. The best way to do this, in my humble opinion, is to get out in the classrooms. Ask questions yourself about the technology, and make sure the teachers can answer them or find the answer yourself and circle back to answer the question for the teacher. Teacher evaluation periods aren’t enough; check a few random things every day, tweet and text message to push out what you’re seeing that’s great, and your vision will eventually come to fruition.