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Online Learning Is Being Shipped to the Museum

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I read an earnest and well-written article "5 Reasons Why Online Learning Is The Future of Education" by AJ Agrawal, the CEO of Alumnify. I agree with the statement made in the article. The reasons provided are sound and  cannot be ignored. However, I would take the statement one step further. Online learning is today, and the term will soon belong to yesterday.

I was marking an essay with a student half way across the province using the whiteboard and chat in a virtual classroom. We were able to discuss strengths and weaknesses. She was able to type in a new paragraph to show what she learned from the feedback. She received direct instruction not possible where she was.

This week, I delivered a webinar to colleagues from across the province. I used application sharing to show them how to use PowerPoint to storyboard. I opened four whiteboards to let them write objectives in groups. I opened the mic to group leaders to explain their choices, drawing on their expertise and experience. I encouraged feedback in the chat from their peers. I finished with a poll on the use of outcomes and let them discuss. I was able to paraphrase what they had come up with and wrap up the ideas into general categories. I let go of the learning.

Several months ago, I was teaching art with over forty students in a large art lab room. I had created Google Drive folders so that the lead instructor could drag and drop his presentations and rubrics in. When he or I edited, we could see the final product without an email exchange. At the projector, I was able to pull up his presentations from drive to show the students. When done, I posted them online in the LMS course. As I walked around helping students with their art and their research, I pulled up art and artists on Pinterest on my iPad so that we could discuss. With some aspiring artists, I created with them video interviews to display in the course that they could use as part of their portfolio. With their own Google Apps for Education accounts, they were able to produce and share presentations and documents online as well. They were able to collaborate in real-time. They had become active learners with the tools available anywhere and anytime.

Online learning has been an option or an independent delivery. No more. The application and the data are online. The interaction and collaboration breaches distances. Research and extended learning opportunities abound seamlessly. Learners perform online learning every day without necessarily being aware that they are doing it.

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