Visions of Online Learning

Just read a short post on Visions of Online Learning by Troy W. Hicks on his blog, Digital Writing, Digital Teaching.

He begins:

Are we, as educators, approaching this in the right way?

To deal with the growth, the University of California is launching an extensive effort to make sure applicants’ online high school courses are on par with traditional classroom instruction.

More students across US logging on to online classrooms - The Boston Globe

Hicks questions whether we want online education to be "on par" with traditional instruction. Is much of traditional instruction/education outdated? The content may be fine but is the way we deliver it effective?

Shouldn't, instead, the purposes of online learning be to engage students in reading and writing tasks that require multimedia authoring, collaboration with others with whom we typically would not or could not work, and engagement with materials that are fresh, relevant, and contextually useful to one's own inquiry?...

Instead, we need to think about what it means to engage with content and collaborate with others in ways that will both catch the attention of and expand the abilities of our students.

As I create courses, I must remember that I am not writing for the high school student I was in the 1970s. I should not be "delivering" curriculum in the same way it was delivered to me. (I'm not sure it was effective even then.) I must see my role and my tools in a new way.