The Connected Nation Blog: How Technology is Fostering Unconventional Alternatives in Education

Thursday, December 15, 2011

How Technology is Fostering Unconventional Alternatives in Education

The Wall Street Journal produced an informative article on current trends in telelearning. More kids than ever before are attending school from their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. The result: A radical rethinking of how education works. An excerpt from the story is below:

"It was nearing lunchtime on a recent Thursday, and ninth-grader Noah Schnacky of Windermere, Fla., really did not want to go to algebra. So he didn't.

Tipping back his chair, he studied a computer screen listing the lessons he was supposed to complete that week for his public high school—a high school conducted entirely online. Noah clicked on his global-studies course. A lengthy article on resource shortages popped up. He gave it a quick scan and clicked ahead to the quiz, flipping between the article and multiple-choice questions until he got restless and wandered into the kitchen for a snack.

Noah would finish the quiz later, within the three-hour time frame that he sets aside each day for school. He also listened to most of an online lecture given by his English teacher; he could hear but not see her as she explained the concept of a protagonist to 126 ninth graders logged in from across the state. He never got to the algebra..."

To check out the full article, please click here and be sure to follow Connected Nation on Facebook and Twitter for more articles on how technology impacts your life!