Week 13- Distance Education & Virtual Schooling

This week in class we discussed distance education and virtual schooling. Virtual schooling has been growing in popularity, compared to traditional schooling. Institutions like Florida Virtual School provide students with an excellence education via the computer and teacher communication. Opponents of distance education criticize that the students are learning strictly from a computer and not having any social interaction. On the contrary, most distance ed students have better communication and a relationship with their teachers, and have higher FCAT scores.

It is important to recognize virtual schooling in the education field. As a future educator, I must be able to adapt my teaching style to those students who have taken distance ed courses to better meet their needs. In addition, I might be a distance ed teacher in the future, so it is crucial that I know how to teach in that environment and stay in touch with the students on a daily basis.

Below is a video I located from YouTube. It deals with distance education at the elementary school level. The video also stresses the importance of accommodating special needs students who participate in virtual schooling. Many times the needs of these students go unnoticed, so it the job of the online teacher to make sure that they are comprehending the material.