Reflection #4 Online Learning

I just saw this and it just made me laugh about online learning.

I read a forum online titled, Is Online Learning Beneficial For Students?

http://learningmatters.tv/blog/web-series/discuss-is-online-learning-beneficial-for-students/8731/

     Dr.  Carr-Chellman argued that the research from a meta analysis study showed “no significant difference” between online and face-to-face in traditional measures of achievement in most contests.  I wonder what age group did they look at? High-school? College? Elementary?  In my experience ‘traditional measures of achievement’ have been TCAP and I don’t measure  a child’s success or failure on 1 test.  A couple of things she brings out about online-learning from cyber charter schools:

-       have very little ability to monitor cheating. This has to be pointed out. We have to sign our life away and give blood when we give our TCAP.  Could lack of monitoring affect their scores?

-       Traditional public schools must pay cyber charters for every child who leaves their school for a cyber charter (in PA alone, the amount was $1 billion taken out of their underfunded public schools!) 

     She says online learning is “working,”  I think it is for some age groups, but maybe not for others.  Let me explain…

     I think there is no denying that the development of skills online is very important.  No matter what job our students end up with in the end, a good amount of their work will be with technology.  There are some great educational websites for kids and there are some terrible sites. 

I think online learning for young kids is great for tutoring, reinforcement of skills, projects, researching, book clubs, etc.  These sites we can use in our classroom and share with parents. But as far as little kids, online learning taking the place of their schooling is not something I would want for my own kids. What about the social experience? Does it do harm putting a child in front of the computer for hours? I do think that every child in high-school should have at least 1 online learning experience before graduation. I personally think online-learning is fine for college.  It allows the flexibility that we need juggling kids, career, home, and just life in general.  At our age we have have socially interacted and have already kind of formed our personality from our interactions and experiences.  Little kids have not.   The article discussed that students lose the “nurturing intimacy of teachers” and young children lose their ability to interact with live humans instead of screens. I just think that kids need to interact face-to face.  Of course at the end of the day, kids are different, parents are different and they do have the right to educate their child anyway they want to.  Online learning is very beneficial.  I just don't think it should be the only learning.