Technology has literally changed the face of education and brought about a transformation to traditional systems of education. Just like the way listening to music has changed over the years, or Wikipedia has brought about changes in the way we access information, the way we learn is likely to change very drastically in the coming years. Due to the huge advancements in technology and the digital world, even learning can be imparted easily at a fraction of the cost. Students can now access audio, video, text, as well as interactive & collaborative resources through the internet. Teachers as well as … (more) October 30, 2011
Significance of online education is confirmed due to release of growth data
Online education is playing an increasingly significant role and that has been confirmed with the latest data that has been released recently by the NCES or National Center for Education Statistics. Online education has become a part of the education system in most universities and colleges. As per the report, between 2000 and 2008, there has been a sharp increase in the percentage of students who enrolled in at least one online class. The jump has been from 8% to 20% and the number of students that enrolled in the 100% online programs rose to 4%, while it was 2% … (more) October 28, 2011
Online education on the rise steadily but has a long way to go
Internet seems to have connected everybody in one way or the other and has proved to be a useful medium for chat sessions and the regular e-mails that go back and forth. However, there is still one area that needs to be revolutionized through the internet – that is education. Although online education is on the rise and it has pitted the ones who support the virtual programs as it is easily accessible and helps increase revenue, against those who are against it stating that there can be no substitute for the real time classroom experience. There are those who … (more) October 26, 2011
Oversight of online education according to findings of investigation
The Colorado Department of Education had to face the heat from state auditors five years ago, for failing to monitor the online public schools. It was found that public money was improperly channelized to private schools and the teacher-to-student ratios were 4 to 1,500. During the ten-month investigation, I-News Network and Education News Colorado had filed open-records requests, analyzed the data, and also interviewed officials at the district and state levels and this included online education officials as well. This was done to examine the progress since the 2006 audit and to check the state oversight of online education. A … (more) October 24, 2011
Instructors not well-equipped to handle online programs state experts
Although online education seems to have broken all records and gone ahead, the teacher education programs seem to be lagging behind as they have not been able to produce quality teaching staff that is well-equipped to handle the virtual environment, state experts. In the meantime, there have been differences in the traditional classroom instruction and online teaching that has triggered a debate, whether separate training needs to be imparted to teachers who enter the virtual environment. The Colorado Department of Education feels that there is a shortage of online-teacher training programs and has recommended the creation of more programs, in … (more) October 22, 2011