Predicting the future of online learning is about impossible. If you would have asked me 15 years ago to predict the future of education I wouldn't have said that a huge percentage of students would be learning online. I do think that down the road most of our learning will be done online, but I don't think it will or should ever replace the traditional f2f learning. I think in the future most of higher education and high schools will offer more classes online than a more traditional format. I don't see that being the same for lower elementary students. I am still not sure how an online class would work for younger students.
I do think there are a lot of things that need to be considered before we go to online learning as our primary way of learning. What set of standards will online schools follow? Will it be dependent on the state the program originates out of or will there be a new set of standards for online schools? How will the offer online classes for lower income students? How will online schools promote social skills? Will they provide access to extra curricular activities?
I do think online learning can fix a lot of problems that we see in education today, but it can't replace the traditional f2f education students also need to succeed.
I heard a great interview with one of the lead technology design consultants at University of Phoenix, and he thinks that in the future education will not simply be K-12 + 4 years of college, but rather a life-long system that we will come back to at certain points in our lives. When they say that our students will have over 10 careers in their lifetimes I believe it. I have friends who have been out of college for 5 years and already have held 3 careers. Online education will allow people to learn what they need to know, rather than what the government or colleges think they should know.
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