Posted on 10/02/2012 6:58:03 PM PDT by Kaslin
Enrollment in online schools has increased twelvefold in Ohio since the first internet-based school was created in the state in 2000, The Gazette Medina reports.
More than 30,000 students are currently enrolled, most of them concentrated in seven statewide cyber schools. Only Arizona had more students in online schools, according to the news report.
Online schools, and other forms of digital learning, are an inevitable and promising form of education for the 21st Century, unless special interest forces are able to keep technology from becoming more integrated into everyday education.
Professor Gary Miron of the National Education Policy Center is a leading voice for those special interests, which include teachers unions and the education establishment in general. He suggested that online schools in Ohio may not be properly serving their students due to a lack of state regulation.
“Miron … said Ohio has fewer requirements for online schools than most other states. He cited items like financial reporting, student-to-teacher ratios, and how long students have to stay in a school or pass state tests in order for schools to receive state money,” the newspaper reported.
And?
Miron states those facts as if they’re negatives. Toledo schools may have more “financial reporting,” but does that make them better? The Columbus teachers’ contract may mandate “student-to-teacher ratios,” but does that make the most sense? The state may dictate how long some students must stay in school, but is that always in the best interest of students?
The educational establishment prefers more regulation for alternative school choice options, presumably to make them less attractive to students and families.
The National Education Association – the teachers union that funds Miron’s opinions – wants a one-size-fits-all, government-run monopoly where kids are assigned to schools based on where they live, regardless of that school’s performance. Union leaders don’t want options for parents. They don’t want competition from for-profit operators because they know they’ll lose business.
But competition is what they’re getting. Now that Ohio has lifted the cap on the number of online schools, watch for even more students to exercise their newfound freedom, which is the American way.
I think online schools are fantastic, provided that the students get as good, or better, education than the brick and mortar.
I wish I had that as an option.
“Professor Gary Miron.....uggested that online schools in Ohio may not be properly serving their students due to a lack of state regulation.”
Uhmmmm.....Sir, isn’t state regulation responsible for the present state of education?????
Oh!!!!.....you see it as a viable system....Hmmmmmm?
What’s that adage....doing something over and over again expecting different....
You can apply that to socialism and every failed version of it.
Another brick in the wall.
There are considerable waiting lists for cyberschools here in Michigan.
I think I would have done far better if something like this had been available back in the 80s.
Certainly not an option for lazy students or parents.
Computers don’t pay union dues.
That is ALL the teacher’s union care about.
Not if these schools are actually doing a better job.
There’s a place for online schools, but I like the structure and the organization of traditional classrooms.
It is good to be forced to meet at a certain time or place to study a subject intensely for an hour. It is a plus to have a knowledge area expert leading and explaining.
I’ve tried both, and I definitely prefer the traditional format.
Unfortunately, the new format is the avenue that will free students from the burdensome liberalism hawked in so much of higher education.
Online needs to work harder at both student accountability and communication/teacher access.
I received my masters online, for me the best option.
No it isn’t. It’s good for people, like myself who doesn’t learn well with the industrial method of educating outlr students, where we essentially put facts into their heads and keep moving on.
If I had been able to keep studying material, until I knew it deeply, before moving forward, I would have been considerably more educated than I am.
There are online PUBLIC schools too, they’ll even send you the computer
Now, they would not put self interest ahead of the needs of the young people, would they? /sarc>
Even as an adult the internet has been a great aid to me. Between my graphic arts classes through the online college extension and the online lectures from Hillsdale college I can keep right on learning.
Its the flexibility that makes it work.
Agreed
Hubby is a prof. and just had a seminar this week about this very subject. I could care LESS about what the unions think.
MY concern is....text books are going digital. Call me a ‘fuddy duddy’....but I like PAPER in my hand. Digital can be erased. Over a period of time....all books and materials are ‘digitized’....which is where we are headed. Where is the ‘backup’?
Second.....if there is a hacking or power outage.....the server goes down. Then what? Is the student re-reimbursed?
Also.....SOCIALIZATION. Students interacting with PEOPLE....IN PERSON.
Just a couple of concerns I have with this. JMHO.
I think this is the wave of the future. I would like to see them put all possible classes online free of charge. To get credit you would have to go to your university and pay to get tested. Save the going away to school for the classes that require lab time and more complex studies. It is senseless to pay tuition for basic courses.
My boy attended a virtual school this past spring. He had wonderful grades and finished the courses weeks ahead of time.
But he missed his AFJROTC class and is back in a brick and mortar school again.
Agreed. I wish online ed was available when u was growing up.
I’ve even taken online college courses and enjoyed them.
Basic courses in college these days are bonehead English and bonehead math for those that failed to grasp them in high school.
Students should be able to sue their high schools if they need to take the courses in college.
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