Global Online Academy: Online Courses for High Schools?

I read an article on the WSJ about the Global Online Academy, which my school has now become a member of. The article doesn’t debunk a trend in which researchers claim that elite private schools are resisting online learning (meaning the delivery of online courses), but it does make a valid point that online coursework amoung private schools is growing and GOA is an example.

GOA is non-profit, though there is a fee to take courses. The fees pay for basic administration, and for teachers to develop and deliver curriculum.

A little about GOA.

Students can work at their own pace, but there are deadlines that must be met. The structure is collaborative in nature, with students interacting with the teacher and each other. One teacher notes that there is still “human interaction” but that it is mediated differently. For myself, I enjoy online coursework, but I do prefer being in a room with people discussing ideas, problems and solutions. I think the online programs that require students to do on site training (such as during summers) the best of both worlds is met. In the case of teaching this is possible due to longer breaks.

What I like about the online world is meeting people living in all parts of the world. This point is made as a benefit of the program, along with other “pros”, such as an expanded choice of courses and the fact that classes are limited to 18 students. (so there can be meaningful interaction, if all participants engage each other and build a relationship) Drawbacks can be a lack of intimacy and spontaneity. (you’ll never have the situation in which you’re in class and jazzed about the topic and choose to carry over in the pub) I think the most important point, which can be said for any learning environment, is that it doesn’t work for everyone. Some kids need the four-wall structure and a teacher in the room. Online learning also benefits kids who are sick in the hospital, home as a teenage parent, or one who needs an extra course to finish school on time or early.

The article poses the question: Can it be avoided? I personally doubt it. I’m not convinced that online learning is going to replace traditional schools any time soon. There have been arguments that kids will learn at home, and schools will be places for community building activities and socialization, like fine arts and sporting activities. It’s possible, but not soon.

The article also points out the opportunities to break down cultural barriers. Yes, this is possible, but with any other form of media, it can be used for cultural conflict as well. People have access to publicize delinquent, and deliberately antagonizing material.

But all of that can be said for any kind of online learning platform. I like the potential benefits that GOA provides for students and teachers. For example, teachers who have to (or choose to) stay at home can earn money through online teaching. Students can pick up extra coursework, and possibly courses that are more attractive to their interests.

Perhaps I'm growing older, but didn't we have distance learning by paper just a decade and a half ago? 

Source Article:  Online Holdouts No More

Further reading: Elite Private Schools Unite to Offer Full-Credit Online Courses

The Story of Sugata Mitra's Experiments with Self-Teaching

An autodidact is a self-taught person. Something I love about this whole story (or experiment, rather) is that it demonstrates how intelligent kids really are. Being a teacher who has taught second language learners I have first hand experience with young people who have difficulty expressing themselves or demonstrating knowledge in a second language, but are otherwise highly intelligent people. 

Sugata Mitra is an education scientist from India. His TED talk, “New Experiments in Self-Teaching” is something all educators should study. Mitra suggests that good teachers don’t want to go in the places they are most needed (ie) impoverished communities/ countries. I have to agree with this, as a generalization. There are those teachers who love to travel and teach, but the best ones often aim for the elite schools.

The First Experiment

Mitra embedded computer touch screens into the walls of public spaces (slums, in particular) in several countries worldwide and waited for the results. (public "hole in the wall" computers) The conclusion was that children are not only keen to explore, but they also have the ability to teach themselves to use computers without guidance: when are interested, they learn. (he jokes about how an extended version of the experiment, using speech to text software, led to children having changed their accents to be understood by the program) Another interesting observation Mitra had was that over several months children retained more information when they worked at a computer, but collaboratively. One computer for four students is one of Mitra’s criteria – forcing collaboration. He concluded in his experiments that one computer for one child hinders learning. (being at a one-to-one school, I can see this, though it’s a generalization and very much context-based)

Furthering the experiment, Mitra went into classrooms, with 4 students to 1 computer, and would ask them a tough question for them to figure out. Eventually they do. One question I have, though, is what quality the collaboration is. It’s human nature to have a leader and follower, even in situations of good collaboration, and some know more than others. To be fair, I haven’t looked at data from the experiments, but how does Mitra learn about the nature of the collaboration? Was it one student that had the tech skills and / or mind to figure out the answers? When a group solves a problem we have to question how they solved it and what contribution each student made.

Self-Organized Learning Environments

Mitra also discusses SOLE - self organized learning environments. His experiments are the foundation of this idea that we can organize our learning independently. (though I’ve not read Mitra suggest this is the best form of learning, but merely one facet of how we learn) “To go further, Dr. Mitra supplements SOLE with e-mediators, or the "granny cloud" as he calls it: amateur volunteers who use Skype to help kids learn online. (source)” A recent Google Power Searching course I recently took reminds me a little of the skills needed to search effectively for answers. The skills learned are not advanced in the sense that it takes a while to learn, but the search strategies are not always intuitive.

I think I need to lean more about SOLE.

Wall Street Journal Article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704584804575645070639938954.html

Here is an example school package that outlines a SOLE program based on Mitra’s work:

http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2208/)

Mitra also has a book, Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning.