How Distance Education Can Save Our Schools

Educators are turning to online education in an effort to battle rising dropout rates and deal with the teacher shortages that are threatening the future of education in America. In severely troubled states, such as Mississippi (where only about 17 percent of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher) the implementation of distance education programs could prove crucial.
Distance learning opens up a whole new aspect of education--online classes are flexible, accessible, and do not require the same amount of staff. The teachers who are involved in distance education don't necessarily have to be close at hand, which makes for more candidates for every teaching position.

Finding Flexibility with Online Class

Mississippi Education Superintendent Hank Bounds has a plan to overcome the state's teacher shortages, high dropout rates, and overcrowded classrooms--and distance learning plays a major role.
For some high school students, working full- or part-time is necessary for survival, especially in poverty-stricken states such as Mississippi. Getting to school on time, or getting there at all, can be an obstacle, and the fatigue of working and going to school all the time can contribute to the desire to simply drop out.
By offering online classes, Bounds hopes to prevent dropouts by offering them flexibility. Students can participate in distance learning at any time, as long as they can get to a computer with Internet access. With distance education, the same student who might have dropped out has a greater chance of actually graduating.

Distance Learning Expands the Classroom

Besides providing the flexibility of online class, distance education is expected to ease the strain on some of the nation's most crowded classrooms.
With distance education, teachers nationwide become available to conduct online class, and there is no concern over whether there will be enough desks for every student or enough room in the building. Each student attends class from a computer with Internet access. Online classes can be offered throughout the day, whenever a student is willing and able to attend, so distance education does not limit the curriculum to one class a day for one semester.
It is the avid hope of parents and educators across the nation that these advances in technology can come to the rescue of a traditional school system that faces intensive strain--at the cost of America's students and, in turn, America's future.
Source:
CNN

BJ Fairfax holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She writes for a variety of print and online publications.