The New Face of Education

Our generation is unique—we have been given the opportunity to watch society change before our eyes as more and more aspects of daily life are being welcomed into the world of technology.  I remember when I was in 3^rd or 4^th grade and my elementary school got its first computers—one bulky Macintosh desktop for each classroom.  Each student had a specified “computer time,” a certain hour of the day on a certain day of the week when it was our turn to use the computer, usually to play “Oregon Trail” or “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?”  In 2012, the image of technology in education is completely different.  At Penn State, the routines of students and professors would cease to function without lecture powerpoints, iClicker attendance checks, online quizzes and exams, email correspondence, and MacBook apps for taking class notes.  Today, it is even becoming common to receive an education entirely online without ever setting foot in a classroom.  While online education is arguably convenient and may open the door for a larger number of Americans to earn degrees, I’m not so sure it’s a wise choice for students in any level of schooling.

Online degree programs are highly advertised today – we hear tons of supposed “success” stories where mothers or full-time workers earn degrees at home in their spare time online.  Many conventional university students also supplement their educations with web-based classes, such as those offered by Penn State’s World Campus.  It is also becoming popular for high school dropouts to enroll in online GED programs.  However, many people today are questioning the value of these programs.  I recently read an article on MSNBC.com. revealing that many online GED programs are not actually credible and are not accepted by employers or universities.  Similarly, many graduate institutions and medical/law schools regard online classes as less rigorous and less beneficial to students.  It makes sense:  I took two online classes through a community college in high school, and they were definitely less valuable to me then the conventional college classes I’m taking now.  Communication with professors was limited to brief emails, class discussions were non-existent, and quizzes and tests were taken with an open textbook on the desk beside me.  I just didn’t learn as much because my educational experience was not as rich, and I think the same thing could be said of most online degree programs.

What really concerns me is the increasing prevalence of cyber schooling for elementary and high school students.  More and more students who struggle in a classroom setting are being pulled out of public schools and enrolled in online programs that in my opinion are absolutely incomparable to traditional classroom exposure.  Cyber schools follow state standardized curricula, so they supposedly provide students with the same knowledge bases as conventional schools.  However, cyber school students lack some of the very critical lessons of the classroom such as the ability to interact with peers and adult, the discipline of sitting still and remaining quiet for long periods of time, and the etiquette of appropriate social behavior. If a child is having problems in the classroom, there are underlying social issues that need to be addressed.  Pulling the child out on an environment where he can practice his personal conduct and communication skills with others will only deepen the problem.

Being the first generation of students with the opportunity to receive educations online, we really don’t know yet how this alternative form of schooling will affect us in our later lives and careers.  Personally, I’m worried about the children and adults who no longer attend formal classes.  There’s just something missing when school is not a dynamic social environment but instead the inside of a computer screen. Only time will tell how successful such an education can be.

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