{"id":8206,"date":"2016-01-29T12:34:30","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T16:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=8206"},"modified":"2016-01-29T12:34:30","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T16:34:30","slug":"how-online-education-can-find-a-path-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/how-online-education-can-find-a-path-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"How online education can find a path forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her excellent memoir Rethinking Normal,<\/a> Katie Rain Hill describes her experience with online learning:<\/p>\n

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I\u2019d click on one tab, and a bunch of modules for that subject would pop up. I\u2019d click on \u2018Section One,\u2019 and there would be a recorded lecture or PBS documentary or article to read with some notes on the bottom. The next link would contain examples of questions and answers. The next link: more examples. The next link: a multiple-choice quiz. I\u2019d have thirty timed minutes to take the quiz. \u2018Congratulations! You got 100 out of 100.\u2019 Move on to section two. It felt like the sections never ended.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This description rings true with many examples of online classrooms I have worked with in the past. Even though the concept of online education is considered innovative, it can simply be a replica of the “stand and deliver” type of instruction that dominated traditional classrooms for decades.<\/p>\n

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Moving it online did nothing to to engage students or meet their individual needs.<\/h3>\n

There was little consideration for the experience of the student. Again, from Rethinking Normal:<\/p>\n

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It was hard to stay self-disciplined. I\u2019d study for four hours, then of on Facebook, then study twelve minutes, then think, I\u2019m hungry<\/i>, and go look for food in the cabinet. Then I\u2019d use the restroom\u2026 At seven p.m. I\u2019d still have thirty sections left to do and would stay up until late finishing. Then I\u2019d get up in the morning and do it all again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Teacher-centered models of instruction and assessment are not transformed into engaging through moving into an online space.<\/h3>\n

\"howThere is growing recognition of the challenges of traditional online models, and more often we see teachers and students utilizing online resources in blended learning models, where digital content is used in conjunction with face to face instruction and support. However, when working with online resources in blended models, it is important to recognize who<\/em> is making the decisions about teaching and learning.<\/p>\n

The evolution of the Khan Academy<\/h4>\n

Khan Academy is a major player (perhaps the<\/em> major player) in online educational content. What was once a series of math lectures has blossomed into a multidisciplinary online learning domain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At stages in their growth, Khan has added tools and tweaked interfaces to allow students to shape their own experience and drive their own learning. These changes have come in response to feedback from teachers, students, and parents. However, it is important to note that although this online content provider is responsive to feedback, there are still a number of assumptions being made about teaching and learning by the developers.<\/p>\n

Teachers can respond to these assumptions in a number of ways:<\/p>\n