The Growing Role of Online Learning by Ellen R. Delisio

Enrollment in online and blended courses - those that combine online and traditional learning -will continue growing, a study says. Educators need training and schools need plans to ensure online learning is integrated effectively and efficiently into schools. Included: Data about enrollments and projected enrollments in online courses.

As many as 700,000 K-12 students were engaged in online courses in the 2005-2006 academic year, and the pace of enrollment only is expected to keep accelerating, according to “K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators”, conducted by the Sloan Consortium, an organization that facilitates online learning.
Over the next two years online enrollments could increase by 19 percent and blended enrollments - which combine online learning with traditional face-to-face instruction - could rise by 23 percent, a press release for the study noted.
Rural districts in particular cited the advantage of online courses, because often they do not have the money or personnel to add classes.

One of the authors of the study, Dr. Anthony G. Picciano, a professor in the Hunter College school of education and the College and Graduate Center of the City University of NewYork, talked with Education World about the study’s findings and implications.

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Source: Education World