A Promising Future is Waiting for the Online Learners, asserts Bill Gates

It’s not only educators and new age learners who have started accepting the increasing benefits of studying online but eminent business leaders like Bill Gates and Jack Welch are also humming the same tune. Although virtual schooling has not been able to replace the education system operated in brick and mortar institutions, reports are clearly stating that online learners have a promising future.

It was Gates who promised through his annual letter in 2010 that he would be financing for all those projects that would lead to the development in online learning. The previous decade was thoroughly dedicated to e-learning that has now achieved recognition at various corners of the globe. In fact, what has now been found is that the homeschoolers are currently updating themselves through online learning curriculum. Even a lot of charter schools have come up with online programmes for making students complete their education flexibly and affordably.

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The vice president of public relations for K12, Jeff Kwitowski, says “In the last five years, online learning has become much more proven and mainstream. It's differentiated, engaging, and it really provides the ideal situation for many students.” On the other hand, another group of researchers, Ambient Insight, showed that around 10.5 million students will be taking at least a few online classes by 2014 through a high school.

Predictions moreover say:

Students will be accessing quality content

Concept of educational technology would be encouraged

Online learning communities would constantly enhance their activities

Students would strengthen their knowledge base

According to Forbes, significant developments will keep continuing by bringing more and more resources for education. Both educators and students would be getting more resources for open education and the OER resources will keep scoring high in terms of their quality on a quarterly basis.

Forbes says:

- Over 400 institutions have adopted texts ensuring high quality within a shorter time period

- Texts have been downloaded more than 400,000 times which is indeed a stunning figure for the current academia 

- Over $5.5 million students have been able to complete their education with absolute safety 

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Now, what initiatives should be taken to realise the career goals of today’s learners?

Students, educators, technologists and producers must collaborate to meet these goals, and this is where the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) will have to play an active role. On taking this initiative, leaders from different backgrounds and cultures will gather together and will hence form a global network. Once this happens:

• a lot of innovations would be implemented

• new connections would be established

• unfulfilled goals would be easily achieved

So, the future of online education doesn’t look bleak at all. Rather, the data presented here must act as an inspiration for the new age learners who have plans to take up online courses for higher studies. Virtual learning has already become a noticeable trend which will successfully replace traditional education without effort.

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