Driving Down Education Costs With Online Technology

Recently, a thought provoking article by Harman Singh, CEO of WiZiQ was published by Education World. He touched on various aspects including the problem of revising yesterdays lecture again today.

“Each day, I come to work, ready to equip my kids with what they need to succeed in college,” say’s Deborah Cruthers, a Pinon Hills, California, homeschool and private school teacher with interests in the use of technology for online education. “I begin my day with detailed lesson plans, a timer, handouts, and activities to bring the subjects I teach to life. The bell rings and class begins. As I’m getting to work, I’m excited that student’s hands are already raised. I’m thinking, ‘Wow, they already have questions.’ But to my dismay, the student’s questions are, ‘Did we do anything important yesterday? What did I miss?’ I remind them that they need to check the lesson plans online, refer to the wall where I have detailed the week’s assignments, and pick up the handouts in their class box. However, they still need explanations of what they missed and I start losing some of the great energy I arrived with. After six periods and more than 20 students asking the same questions about what happened, I become a little discouraged by all of the lost teaching time spent catching them up.”

That story isn’t too positive, but what if teachers could easily refer students to a pre-recorded session of the missed class. When students aren’t able to stay after school or during breaks for explanations the teacher can’t provide during class, wouldn’t it be great if they could meet the teacher live online? By extending education time, online technology opens a whole new realm of possibility for teachers and students.

When teachers direct students to an online classroom platform where they can view the lesson from previous days via a recording, and also view PowerPoint presentations with detailed assignment instructions, much can be accomplished without interrupting class or office time. In addition, teachers can make handouts available for students through a content-management system.

He also touched on using the technology for Staff Meetings, making them more cost effective.

Teacher in-service sessions, for example, occur when students are not in school. What if teacher in-service meetings could be conducted online -- with teachers attending from home via an online classroom platform? By applying that technology, educational institutions would not have to use campus resources. Schools would slash energy and travel costs as well as valuable administrative and facility resources. Doing the math on potential time and energy savings associated with online meetings clearly points to the immediate economic value of applying the technology. It takes very little imagination to calculate the enormous gasoline savings alone that could accrue if travel to even a few meetings per year were reduced by applying virtual capabilities.

And finally, the importance of using technology and online tools for a more green and clean future.

Schools at every level are actively involved in making students more aware of the global environment and the effects of human activities. Specifically, educators are constantly trying to find ways to teach children how they can do their part in the effort for a cleaner, healthier environment. When people in schools use less energy by effectively using technology, they can have a huge cumulative effect in conserving energy, fuel, and perhaps most importantly, time for effective teaching.

You can read the full article on Education World.

Comments

[Mary, school teacher]

To me it's clear that online education not only helps to save money but also offers one of the most precious things - individual approach to each student. It's hard to realize how many smart students are demotivated in the traditional classroom when they are getting bored listening to stuff that would take them less time to learn on their own...