Online Classes for High School by Reagan

Online Classes for High School by Reagan - February 2018 Scholarship Essay

One trend within college education that has had a dramatic impact is the use of online classes. I feel that over the net five to ten years, this will be utilized within high schools. The benefits of online classes at the high school level will be far different from those in college. In addition to cutting costs, the primary benefit of online classes at the the college level is to allow more student flexibility. At the high school level, the internet can be used to vastly improve school education, as well as to reduce costs.

Imagine a system where students would attend a high school class, taught remotely. Rather than being taught by the person currently serving as the Trigonometry teacher in the local school district at that time, what if the school could provide students with the best Trigonometry teacher in the country? Even the best teacher in the world? Students in Toledo, Ohio could "attend" a class with the best teacher, who could be in San Francisco, Boston, or at Oxford University.

A variety of selection methods could be used to select the best teacher. It could be a subjective method, such as a survey of students to see who they felt best conveyed the class content. Or an objective method such as test results. A combination could be used as well. In addition, the students could be paired with teachers that focus on a method of teaching that works best for that student. This would allow for a handful of teachers throughout the country to teach a subject.

Aside from the improvement in education, cost savings would be dramatic from this program. The number of teachers required across the country could be drastically reduced, particularly highly qualified teachers with advanced degrees. The school would still need local help to monitor student behavior,safety, etc. To obtain the most educational benefit, the system could be augmented with some local tutoring, or even in- class (an cost effective) assistance, similar to graduate students used at the college level. One- on- one time could even be provided through the internet. This would alleviate a large portion of local school board funding issues across the country, as salary and benefit costs for a large number of teachers could be reduced.

Of course, the technology for this already exists. These benefits could be obtained simply with the adoption of these methods by the population. Online college classes are widespread, and as more people experience the ease of use and benefits, adoption by high schools becomes that much easier. Other industries are utilizing technology to derive these same type of benefits. This could be a kiosk where you can interact with a bank teller or pharmacist. Recently, I went to get new eyeglasses. The eye doctor was on a video screen, and was able to manipulate the equipment for the eye exam from their office. As people get more comfortable with interacting in this manner, roll- out to high schools and other education mediums is inevitable and will result in substantial benefits across the world.