Online learning is making education more efficient and more effective

In his State of the Union address, President Obama urged the United States to out-innovate the rest of the world in order to to remain competitive. And when it comes to innovation, there’s no better place to start than education.

Fortunately, we're already moving in the right direction. Online learning is already being integrated into American education, with more than 3 million K-12 students enrolled in an online course in 2009. And the phenomenon is no longer confined to distance learning. Most of its growth has occurred in blended-learning environments, in which students learn online with adult-supervision.

This trend will continue. The troubled budget picture, coupled with the demand for better results, is forcing school operators to rethink the structure and delivery of education. This, in turn, is accelerating adoption of the blended learning model.

Blended learning has the potential to upend today’s standardized, factory-model school system by enabling personalized learning approaches for all students. Many experts agree that targeting students’ different needs at different times will in turn result in higher achievement.

One example is Carpe Diem, which began as a traditional, state charter school serving 280 students in grades 6 to 12 in Yuma, Arizona. When it lost its building lease eight years ago, the school had to slash its budget and question every assumption about what a “school” should look like.

Today, students at Carpe Diem are using online learning as teachers roam, looking over shoulders and offering instant help whenever a student struggles. Students only progress to the next level or unit once they have demonstrated mastery of the unit on which they are working. The software provides frequent feedback.

Students also spend time in traditional classrooms where teachers re-teach concepts as needed, and enhance and apply the material introduced online.

So far, the personalized learning approach has created a far more productive and affordable school model. Its student population—60 percent of which is on free or reduced-price lunch and 48 percent of which are minorities—is excelling. In 2010, the school ranked first in its county in student performance in math and reading and among the top 10 percent of all Arizona charter schools.

What is keeping America back from having many more Carpe Diems? Mostly ourselves. A host of policies and funding streams dictate to schools their inputs and processes, thwarting creative and innovative arrangements for student learning in the process. Others either restrict the online courses students may access, or tie them to an arbitrary calendar year. These policies should be reformed, and students should advance based on mastery; not the amount of time spent in a classroom.

Other countries are already moving in this direction. America, with its abundant technological resources and entrepreneurs on hand, ought to lead rather than follow.

Michael Horn is Executive Director of Education at Innosight Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on education and innovation, which released a January 2011 report titled “The rise of K-12 blended learning” in conjunction with the Charter School Growth Fund and Public Impact.


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