How Will Decreasing Budgets Change the Way Our Children Learn?

Scarcity is the mother of innovation.  When resources run low, humans tend to find another way.  This may also be the case with education.  As local, state, and federal budgets continue to use education as the piggy bank of special interests, the education industry will need to innovate.

I have been intrigued by the growing trend of online learning for K-12 education, and decided to do a little research on the subject.  It began with a webinar presented by edweek.org on blended learning:  The teaching practice that combines both face-to-face and online learning.

In a 2009 survey, conducted by Project Tomorrow: 

•  63% of students identify online learning as a must-have component in their “ultimate school”.

•  Over 40% of students are currently communicating with their teachers electronically, and over 70% of students are communicating with friends and family through text, email, and IM.

•  Over 70% of high school students have access to a computer and 67% have access to a cell phone.

Children are more than prepared for an innovative approach to learning, and educators are catching up.

The genesis of blended learning began with homeschooling parents.  The need for a diverse curriculum that was easily accessible fed the growth of online learning and virtual schools.  Today, frightening budget cuts combined with increasing demands by parents and legislators on educators are creating the perfect storm for disaster… or innovation.

In the book, “Disrupting Class”, the authors project that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online.  This is not to say that there will be a growing trend in homeschooling – basic economic factors, such as the necessity for two working parents prevent that from happening.

This means that shrinking resources (teachers) will force school districts to create innovative, individualized education models that combine classroom learning with online learning as the new norm.  Hopefully, children will be able to learn at their own pace, because the entire curriculum for their class work will be available online; a medium that most kids are already immersed in.

For Culver City Unified School District, the opportunity is ripe to become a leader in the future of education.  We definitely need creative solutions to continue to provide our children with a first class education.  It is doubtful that our schools will receive additional funding above the dismal levels we are grappling with today.  The answers are out there, and we wouldn’t be the first to do it.  There are school districts across the country with success stories in blended learning models, and the resources available are plentiful.

I was thinking of getting my soon to be 6th grader a head start on her AP classes.  And what do you know?  There’s a website that has UC-approved Advanced Placement courses freely available to California students, teachers and schools:

http://www.uccp.org/