What’s The Future of Online Schools?

By: Justin Ferriman • March 14, 2016
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The ever growing popularity of elearning across all industries has resulted in a great choice of online schools for learners.

In the United States, it is even an option for teenagers to take all of their classes online (in some school districts).

From the higher education perspective online offerings are really starting to take-off.

For many years the University of Phoenix has been touting multiple online degree programs.

It’s funny because at one time it was common to hear people scoffing at a degree from their institution. However it’s now one of the leading names in distance education.

What makes a successful online school? Certainly the course content is important but also the delivery method. In my opinion, a blended learning approach where possible will help with learning retention.

When a course is strictly online then blended learning can be difficult. Still, there are ways to encourage various student interaction points for completely online classes.

Keeping students motivated is important for virtual classrooms. Gamification can help in this area but the instructor also has to put in the effort to facilitate discussion and to foster groups.

In other words: students should not feel like they are earning their degree alone.

Currently forums and chatrooms are used to help bring learners together. This works well but can certainly be epanded.

We are already seeing innovation for student engagement beyond these typical methods. For example, some institutions are implementing virtual field trips.

When we talk about the future of online degrees, I believe this is an area that we’ll see the most innovation.

(The infographic in this article was created by Online Schools Center)

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter