While many parents today have likely never experienced online education, there is little doubt that this 21st century way of learning is a rapidly growing trend for students at all levels. This is because online courses offer new and exciting structured learning environments – ones in which students engage with their peers and teachers through podcasts, video lessons, ‘live-chat’ tutoring and discussion forums, etc. This variety of supports significantly increase the chances that students with varied learning styles can engage with the course content and drive towards their own educational goals.
Online courses are a great choice for students wishing to work at their own pace or to accelerate, along with the flexibility to access the courses practically anywhere there is internet. Some critics have wondered about the lack of social development in students taking online courses. But the reality is that students are already actively using technology to connect with peers and friends and are naturally adept to use the same technologies to excel in online education platforms. In fact, a report by SRI international, on a 12 year-study of online courses has shown that on average, students learning online perform better than classroom-based learners.1
Recently, education technologist, keynote speaker and author Alan November highlighted the importance, for high school students, of taking an entire online course as critical because higher education [and by extension, the jobs they lead to] are increasingly adapting towards online learning.
Here at Onstudy Academy, we take pride in providing students with rigorous online courses, developed by experienced and Ontario-certified teachers that give students a leg up for the challenges of post-secondary education.
1: http://www.azmustangs.org/why-mosaica/what-the-experts-say-about-online-education
