Online learning myths

A majority of employers in the United States agree that children are not being prepared for today’s work force in K-12 schools. However, most states and all grade levels are discovering an alternative form of learning that may help to reduce that number. Online learning offers flexibility, convenience and opportunity that traditional learning does not.

Common myths

Online learning has really made a major impact on K-12 learning in the last 10 years. Because online learning is so new, it is surrounded by lots of misconceptions. Here are five we can set straight.

1. Online learning consists of kids just sitting in front of a computer all day.
Most online courses for kids K-12 are made up of frequent teacher or learning coach interaction. And all courses are taught using some version of a learning management system (LMS). The LMS is a software package that provides various ways for teacher and student to communicate. They can communicate in real time as well as use emails and threaded discussions.
Many courses have text book or workbook components that take the child away from the computer to complete assignments, only to return and record that the assignment is done or be tested on concepts learned.

2. Online learning is teacher-less
Teachers are central to online learning just as they are in a brick and mortar classroom setting. They are key in the development of the online courses to begin with. They also produce lectures, albeit in an audio or power point format, and probe children’s understanding with online questions and group discussions.

3. Teachers are left out of professional development
Not only do online teachers receive the professional development that traditional teachers do, they receive specialized training appropriate to the online environment. Their training is often conducted online or in a hybrid setting to assure that they understand online learning from the student’s perspective.

4. It is easy to cheat in an online course
Not only are their plagiarism checking software programs available which help to minimize cheating, the very structure of online courses make it difficult to do anything but your own work. Teachers assess students in a wide variety of ways, including an ongoing student portfolio which features their work over the course of the year. This policy ensures that the teacher knows the student’s work well enough to know when that work is not his or her own.

5. Online learning is cheaper than traditional instruction
Recent studies show that the costs of online and in-person schooling are about the same. The physical needs of a brick and mortar school are replaced with the need for technological infrastructure. Hardware, software, connectivity, technical support and may other costs make the two approaches comparable in cost.

 

 

To learn more about online schooling, visit the International Association for K-12 Online learning.

 

By: Becky Papp