Why Online Education Is Gaining Momentum?

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Are you wondering if you should go for online education? Not sure about how an online programme would help you? Let’s have a look....

In recent years, online education has gained tremendous momentum and its demand continues to grow in a rapid pace. It is rapidly transforming the way we learn and teach our students around the globe. With the constant advancement of technology, digital tools have made learning easier and accessible for you and me. Although there are several challenges, but online study is taking the right steps to reach its full potential.

Making Education More Effective 

Online education has undoubtedly proved to be more engaging, accessible, affordable and dynamic than we could have imagined. Although, it was initially considered as a threat for traditional higher education, online modes of learning are actually helping to create inquisitive, knowledgeable and skilled individuals who are becoming an asset for the workforce. Moreover, with blended learning approaches, online learning is also modifying traditional classroom education by making it more interesting and engaging. 

Let’s Look at Some Facts 

The number of learners going for online programmes has increased dramatically since 2000, especially in the past few years. With more than 55,271 students pursuing some kind of online course in the academic year 2012-2013, the number has risen by almost 52 per cent in the last 3 years. Moreover, according to a study by the Sloan Consortium, enrolment for online programmes increased by 21 per cent in 2010, as compared to only 2 per cent rise in college enrolment overall. Based on the results of the study, it is expected that around 30 per cent of all higher education students worldwide are now pursuing at least one online programme from a recognised online school.

Another survey conducted by the Educause Center for Applied Research shows that around 60 per cent of undergraduate students learnt better in classes that incorporated online elements. Moreover, 9 per cent of undergraduates claimed that had the best learning experience through classes which were entirely online.

But Why is Online Learning so Popular? 

The truth is there are a number of reasons for this drastic increase in popularity of online education. Read on....

Rising Costs of Higher Education 

For higher education students, one of the most important reasons is the rising cost of college. As tuition fees are increasing in most colleges and universities around the world, more students are opting for online programmes to earn a recognised degree. Earning an online university degree requires much less time and these programmes are much cheaper than traditional degrees.

Offers More Flexibility 

As professionals and elder students cannot invest the time required for traditional courses, many learners are going online to earn a qualification. Online programmes offer you the opportunity to earn a degree while you continue you to work on your full time job without hampering your productivity.

As students can study whenever and however they want, online and hybrid learning methods are getting accepted widely across the world. You can study at your own pace and access the material repeatedly.

Convenience 

Another significant reason for the growing popularity of online courses is that many students refuse to travel too much in order to attend their school or college regularly. As online learning offers you the opportunity to learn from home, the need for travelling is eliminated. Moreover you can save a lot of cash which would be needed for your daily commute.

Using Latest Technology 

Computers, laptops, iPads, tablets, smartphones and reliable internet connections have become cheaper, faster and more effective. Now we can easily access material online and connect and communicate with anyone from around the world. By taking advantage of these technological tools, online school study has made education more accessible and cheap.

Moreover, as most youngsters nowadays spend massive amounts of time online, it only makes sense to make study materials available to them in way they can access and approach it the way they want. You can now easily check your coursework on your tablet or smartphone. The enhanced mobility and accessibility offered by eLearning has significantly contributed to its growing demand.

Due to shifting trends in education, further advancements of technology and the numerous benefits it offers, online learning will keep on growing and making education more accessible and affordable to everyone.

How the Online Education Revolution Is Affecting K-12?

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Flex, Enriched-virtual, Self-blended, Rotational, contrary to your assumptions are not terms used to describe apps or cars or types of virtual gaming. These terms are descriptions of an incipient learning form referred to as hybrid learning or blended learning. In its report published in 2011 the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, abbreviated as iNACOL, indicates the use of blended learning pedagogy is increasing and is being used in some countries more than online learning. Simply put it is growing. 

Contrary to common perception, blended learning and online learning are vastly different as opined by iNACOL. According to it, blended learning happens to be a mode of learning that has room for in class activities of students in a physical classroom while online learning is totally independent of the classroom and requires to physical presence of the student at all. 

To elucidate the position of blended learning, we can think of a curve where there is traditional schools on one extreme and fully online courses on the other. Blended learning falls anywhere in between depending on the particular fusion of online learning and campus based learning being implemented.. You can form a better idea about blended learning and its use in K12 classrooms from the facts and figures below:

As stated by the non-profit think tank Innosight institute more and more K-12 students take part in online learning in one form or the other. The numbers are 45,000 in 2000 to an overwhelming number in excess of four million in 2010. Also the U.S. has witnessed an average annual growth of 30% in K-12 online education from 2001-2011. As things stood in 2012 16 states in the US offered full time online schools to all K-12 students. All states except Tennessee and Delaware offered supplemental online learning to students at one, some or all K-12 grade levels.

This growth of blended learning is not driven by the US alone. Developed countries and urban areas provide the most opportunities for accessing blended and online learning. The regions offering the most access currently are Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Western Europe.

The difference between blended and online learning as measured in terms of methods, location and primary users are:

The methods used in blended learning are some campus instruction and some online instruction while online learning involves online instruction only.. The location is the school or at a school or remote site while that of online learning is at a school or remote site. The primary users of blended learning are students in traditional classrooms and those of online learning are students outside the classroom. 

Coming back to terms like stated before like flex, rotation etc, we will now take a closer look at what they are. In the rotation model the teacher leverages online resources in labs, learning centers, or for homework assignments. It occurs at school and the homework is done at school or off-site. Flex entails learning which primarily occurs online with teacher providing additional instruction or face to face support. It occurs at school and the teacher is on site. In the self-blend model we find students take one or more classes online to enrich learning. It occurs at school or off-site. The enriched-virtual mode is an online whole-school experience that is supplemented by on-site or other instruction and occurs primarily off-site. 

The issue of whether teachers teaching via the blended learning mode require training is one subject to debate. 11% of countries require a special license or credential. 72% of countries with blended and online teachers participate in professional development. 25% of countries require specific training. In the US digital learning is going from strength to strength with 700 plus bills in 2012 were considered in state houses across the country which were related to digital learning and one hundred and fifty two were signed into law. In states like Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Virginia online learning is a criterion for high school graduation.

The 2012 Digital Learning report card issued by digital learning now, measures the effectiveness of online learning programs with the following criteria; student eligibility and access, personalized learning and advancement, content, instruction and choices of quality, assessment and accountability, funding and deliver. The top ranking states were, Utah(92%),Florida(87%), Georgia(83%),Minnesota(83%) and Kansas(81%) and Virginia(81%).

Learning and education is undergoing a major transformational shift and online learning and blended learning are just some of the modes in which learning of the future will be carried out. These developments affect all levels and K-12 is no exception. K-12 learning is as affected and holds as much promise with the incorporation of these elements in its overall form.

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Free 3 Best EdTech Tools for Gamification of Learning

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The hype and buzz surrounding gamification in the field of education is not without justification. It appears to be just what the doctored ordered as far as the dynamics between knowledge and the learners are concerned. Also It is exciting and empowering, so much that many teachers swear by it already.

In the recent past there has been a surge in the number of EdTech tools present. They can be either web based or may come in the form of apps. However a relatively new teacher might wonder which might be the best ones. In this article we cover three of the best tools to achieve specific goals and the best part is that all of them are free. Each of the platforms discussed has its areas of strength and can be combined in order to maximize impact.

1. Socrative 

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The first and potentially the one with most popularity is the game-based classroom platform happens to be Socrative. It is an acclaimed representative of the “audience response systems” breed. It is robust and potent tool offering multitude of options to teachers. Also the most varied and adaptive of all platforms, it has three different highly customizable modes viz. a question based game mode, “space race” or a mode that seeks to combine speed and accuracy and another one called “Exit Ticket” which is best used to take the pulse of a classroom at the end of lessons.

Socrative has support for multiple choice, open response and true/false terms. Importing images to question items, immediate feedback, live results and data analysis without any effort are made possible by it. Its usability remains the same in both web based and mobile app forms. One of the most customizable, user-friendly, and comprehensive free EdTech Tools available, it rivals abilities and functions of expensive EdTech platforms.

2. Kahoot 

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Kahoot is not as multidimensional as Socrative but has an excellent gamification element with music effects and an interface full of color. It is best suited for activities and problems that do not require multiple steps or long calculations like geographical locations, multiplication tables. One can even use youtube videos and images in question items. It also uses a clever point system.

3. FlipQuiz 

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FlipQuiz is the modern version of the traditional game-show style review quizzes. Designed to successfully achieve a limited number of goal, FlipQuiz makes a mark due to the fact that it is excellent at what it does. One can even add mathematical formulas with the use of the LaTex language. All in all FlipQuiz is an excellent platform and tool of necessity for teachers wanting to review materials in their classrooms.

People love games as they are both entertaining and rewarding. Gamification thus becomes a perfect means a teacher can use to exploit his students’ inborn curiosity and motivation while making learning fun, the Holy Grail for educators. The platforms mentioned in the above paras excel when it comes to achieve that goal. Teachers can also use all the platforms interchangeably and keep the flame of their student’ interest burning all the time.