Digital learning has the potential to be transformative (part 2)
A post three weeks ago asked
“Will digital learning, in the form of online and hybrid schools and courses, “transform” education?
Is “transforming” education even a viable goal?”
The post used as a starting point Larry Cuban’s skeptical questions about transformation in education. Cuban’s post argues that transformation is an over-hyped word and concept, used too often and with too little thought.
Another post answered the first three of Cuban’s questions. This post addresses the final three questions.
Transform to what? What are the outcomes that you want to achieve?
There are outcomes related to student choice, and outcomes related to metrics.
Regarding the outcomes related to student and family choices, the goal is to transform the education system so that every student has a wide range of online and hybrid schools and courses available to them. For example:
All high school students would have access to online courses to fill the gaps in courses that are otherwise not available to them. The course catalog for a rural student would be similar in breadth and depth to the course catalog available to a student in a large comprehensive high school.
Students in all zip codes in the United States would have access to publicly funded online schools and courses.
All students would have the option to enroll in a traditional school, or in a school that allows them scheduling flexibility to focus on interests and pursuits in addition to academics, or to address health or social issues.
All students would have an available school that makes it easier for them to move ahead or slow down their pace of learning.
Early college, career-focused, and other innovative schools would flourish such that students would have far more access to these schools.
Students and families would be aware of these options.
None of these non-traditional school options would seem weird or unusual to an average student or parent.
In terms of measurable student outcomes, the goal would be to substantially increase the high school graduation rate, as well as measures of enrollment/engagement and persistence in college, a job, or the military.
How fast should the “transformation” be?
A decade seems reasonable if “should” is tempered by a small dose of reality. (A big dose of reality would push the timeline back.)
How will you know that the “transformation” will be better than what you already have?
One can never know that a significant change will be an improvement, not with 100% certainty. There are always unknowns.
But it is reasonable to expect that the transformation will be better than the current system for two reasons:
Because we are familiar with many online and hybrid schools that are successfully serving students who did not find a good fit in traditional schools. It is clear that online and hybrid learning models can work when well planned and well implemented.
Because it seeks to add to the current education options, not to take anything away. All students who wish to learn in a traditional school would continue to have that option.
Why has this vision of transformation not occurred even after two plus decades of online learning, and a disruptive pandemic? The next post will look at some reasons why.