Guest Commentary: K-12 Students: We Want More Online Learning

Remember the iconic 1980s advertising campaign that launched cable network MTV? It was a series of youthful and demanding voices saying, "I want my MTV."

Well a generation of digital natives may have a new call, "I want my online classes." That's one of the conclusions of the study Learning in the 21st century: 2011 Trend Update.

This annual report is produced by Project Tomorrow, an education nonprofit organization dedicated to the empowerment of students voices in education, for the Speak Up National Research Project. Each year, Speak Up polls K-12 students, parents and educators

about the role of technology for learning in and out of school. Since 2007, Project Tomorrow has collaborated with Blackboard Inc. on a series of annual reports that focus on how online learning. Blackboard Inc. is a publicly-traded company that develops education technology for K-12 schools.

The findings in in the 2011 report are breathtaking. In just three years, according to the study, the number of high school students who have been involved with online learning has tripled and twice as many middle school students are now learning online as in 2008. Additionally, 36 percent of classroom teachers say they have now taken an online class for their own professional development.

"What is propelling this new level of interest and excitement

around online learning?" the researchers ask. "There are three factors at work: increased personal familiarity with online learning by teachers and administrators, intensified demand for online learning opportunities by students and their parents, and the emergence of a new value proposition for administrators around online learning."

Can online learning really transform the learning process? Yes, according to middle school students. That's right, middle school students.

"They believe that the benefits of online learning go way beyond convenience in scheduling and can actually be the conduit to the more personalized learning environment they crave," according to the report.

But the report tamps down any irrational exuberance. "Despite this heightened interest level, administrators still report significant barriers to adopting or expanding online learning in their schools and districts. Most notable are the ongoing challenges associated with evaluating the quality of online courses and the lack of teacher interest in teaching an online class. Even within the more tech-savvy cadre of teachers with less than 10 years of experience, only one-third indicate an interest in teaching online."

Click here to for the complete report.