Online and Blended Learning: The Classroom of the Future

Does there exist such a classroom where teachers are facilitators and students are
actively engaged and interacting with one another--a place where students are comfortable and
safe and still challenged to learn (Hammel, 2011, p. 2)? As much as teachers in traditional
schools desire to teach in a classroom like the one described by Hammel (2011), the strains of
ever-evolving standards dictating what to teach, classroom management, and high-stakes
testing make it difficult. In recent years, there has been a push to introduce new technologies and
technology teaching strategies into the classroom in order to help students develop 21 century
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critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and several trends have emerged in terms of
technologies which have been shown to be effective for developing these skills. Amongst all of
these trends, I believe that there is one which will be the most prevalent in the coming years: the
virtual classroom and online/blended learning.
Online learning has existed since the mid-1990s, when funding was provided by school
districts, companies, and even the government in Massachusetts and Florida with the purpose of
offering high school courses not available to students in a traditional school at the time (Wood,
2013). Today, virtual schools make available a world of new courses--from obscure electives to
advanced-placement classes--that challenge students intellectually and open up new doors
educationally (Wood, 2013, p. 1). For the most part, traditional schools offer the core classes
which a student is required to take in order to graduation high school. In addition, they offer a
multitude of different elective courses which students may select based upon individual interest.
However, virtual schools often include course offerings which are not necessarily offered in a
traditional school. For example, the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) offers more than 140 different
courses; these include core classes, 13 Advanced Placement classes, and electives such as

Creative Photography, Criminal Justice Operations, and Peer Counseling. I can speak from my
own experience in using online learning to take unique classes; as a junior in high school, I had
the opportunity to take--through FLVS--a 2-credit combination class which awarded credit in
English 3 and American History. In 2011, it became a requirement in the state of Florida that
students must take at least one online class in order to graduate high school; with this in mind, I
believe more and more students will be taking online courses and as a result, virtual schools will
continue to expand and diversify their course offerings.
Virtual schools will also become more prevalent due to the flexibility offered in terms of
time and geographic location. Chingos (2013) indicates that the growth of high-quality
alternatives to the neighborhood school has often been constrained by geography [...] (p. 1) and
that the potential to eliminate such geographic constraints on school choice at both the course
and school levels may lie in digital learning (p. 1). This is evident in the mottos of the two
pioneers of virtual education in the United States: Any time, any place, any path, any pace
(Florida Virtual School) and One Click. One World. Infinite Possibilities. (The Virtual High
School). Many virtual programs, while still requiring students to adhere to a schedule which
keeps them on task and completing a certain number of assignments in a given time period,
allow these same students to choose how they want that schedule to work for them. For example,
a student may be required to complete 3-5 assignments per class per week, yet that student is
able to choose when they want to work in their courses as long as the required amount of work is
accomplished. This flexibility allows for students of any age to maintain a busy schedule and still
obtain a quality education. As a virtual student myself living in Florida, I am able to take two
graduate-level courses through a university located in a state 1400 miles away and also teach
full-time. Finally, many virtual schools even offer a global component to their programs, so that

even international students are able to receive an education which may not be afforded in their
own countries; it is almost like participating in the ultimate exchange student program.
There are opponents to virtual schooling who say that online learning is not for everyone,
and I agree. Wood (2013) put it this way: A good teacher makes a good class. Even with
excellent training, some teachers simply dont work well online. Students dont always, either.
Initially, some choose virtual classes because they think theyll be easier than their face-to-face
counterparts. Thats not usually the case. An online class requires discipline and motivation (p.
5). Because of the flexibility factor, some students forget that they have to keep themselves on
pace in order to be successful in online schooling. Florida Virtual School even drops students
from classes if it has been documented that the teacher has attempted contact with the student on
several occasions to keep the student from falling behind. However, I do not believe that this fact
will keep students from enrolling in online classes. If anything, the students who are the most
motivated to learn will be the ones who continue to flock to virtual education. In addition, more
and more teachers will explore virtual employment opportunities, due to growing dissatisfaction
with traditional schooling. As classroom dynamics change, so will the populations of both brickand-mortar schools and virtual schools.
I believe strongly in the opportunities available through online learning. I have
experienced success through virtual classes myself, and have known others who have done so as
well. It is for the reasons of diversity and flexibility that I argue for online learning as the most
prevalent technology trend to exist in years past and years to come. While the traditional
classroom will certainly not cease to exist, opportunities for a combination of online and in-class
learning (called blended learning) will continue to promote the advantages of online learning in
itself. In this way, the virtual classroom will become the classroom of the future.

References
Chingos, M. M. (2013). Questioning the quality of virtual schools. EducationNext, 13(2), 46-49.
Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://educationnext.org/questioning-the-quality-ofvirtual-schools/
Hammel, L. (2011). K-12 teacher explains what a virtual classroom really looks like. Retrieved
March 14, 2015, from
http://www.wimba.com/company/newsroom/archive/k_12_teacher_explains_what_a_virt
ual_classroom_really_looks_like/
Wood, C. (2005, March 23). The virtual classroom redefines education. Retrieved March 14,
2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/online-education-virtual-classrooms