HERE’s THE END RESULT:
Unfortunately, within two years disaster struck, and the city’s lawyers were exploring lawsuits against Apple and Education Giant, Pearson, the FBI and the Security and Exchange Commission were probing possible fraud, and Deasy resigned. Leaving aside the criminality that may be inescapable with lavish contracts, the 2013 debacle should warn today’s high-minded miracle workers.
Technical glitches were endemic — Internet connections were spotty and mismatched to tablet/software requirements. The whole system was poorly attuned to a multilingual school system. Students were often befuddled by computer lingo, let alone standard English. The need for extensive coordination among thousands of semi-computer literate teachers and administrators was underestimated.
Not all teachers welcomed the time-consuming demands to learn the technology and many doubted the entire endeavor. Opportunity costs abounded — absorbing software detracted from traditional instruction in much needed basics, particularly for English learners. Many students quickly disabled security features and “education” deteriorated into surfing the net for who knows what.
This summer all non English speaking students should learn to speak English online. Having the schools closed really hurts immigrants because the children don’t learn English so the parents don’t either and everyone loses. Teachers can’t be expected to teach everything in two languages.
My teen son is thriving under Washington Connections Academy aka WACA.
https://www.connectionsacademy.com/washington-online-school
WACA is part of a national online digital school known as Connections Academy:
https://www.connectionsacademy.com
which has chapters in every state.
In general, the technology and operation does work once an adequate system and a trained faculty are established. In the case of WACA, they make it easy to get set up and involved. All that is needed is an internet connection and they even help with this for parents that are unfamiliar with internet equipment.
The incidents described in this commentary by Robert Weissberg appear to reflect a learning curve of problems.
I would not conclude as Robert Weissberg has apparently done but certainly he draws attention to the fact that online schools are not all the same.
Like any new class of business, there are going to be failures and successes.
Connections Academy is a big success. See the links above if you are interested in having your child attend.
This seems like an appropriate time to plug my new book, “All Thumbs: How Our Obsession with Phones and Devices is Damaging Our Children and Restructuring Our Lives.”
It will be available only on-line at www.wildworldofhistory.com as part of a subscription to the VIP service, probably as of Monday.
I look at some of these e-learning programs. Many came with people who had strong financial interests in getting e-books, laptops, etc. into the schools.
BTW, the largest distance learning/on-line learning university in the country now is not the University of Phoenix, but Liberty University, with over 100,000 students enrolled, many of them in the armed forces. They move too much to say in one place for a Ph.D.
Cheap, nearly free education is available online, if you are willing to use it.
What is not so easily available is the credentials which show you are educated, which customers and employers would accept.
It is the system of credentials which need the reformation.
The current bureaucrats resist it because it is how they keep and maintain their power.
Credentials should return to a merit based, testing system. Mostly, let the customers decide!