Liberty University Online Academy is continuing to see increased interest among prospective students and solid enrollment numbers. We are currently offering start dates monthly so convenience is a consideration. I anticipate we will continue to see enrollments at a steady pace throughout the year, although if our historical data plays out to be accurate, August and January will be a largest enrollment months.
Another major benefit to our online academy is the fact that the curriculum and academic calendars can be customized to suit the needs of the individual student. And this really goes to the heart of a major problem facing the U.S. public school system — curricula is monolithic and stardardized. It doesn’t accomodate the different learning styles of the individual student. In fact, I have found that learners, at times, become very unmotivated in this scenario. Now don’t get me wrong, there is still good to be found in our educational system. My four children received their education in a public school setting and I have a son, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law who are teachers. My wife and I were satisfied with the education our children received, but we were assertive with them to make the most out of their experiences.
I have heard it summarized this way – in the 1800s teachers in a one-room schoolhouse would have no problem customizing their approach to each student. But at the turn of the 19th century, as schools filled up with 30 or 40 kids in a room, standardization became the norm. Schools turned into factories and ever since have resisted all efforts to break from a monolithic batch-process approach.
This is why I feel that computer-based learning, especially for high school students, will become more accepted and prevalent in the next decade. This attached chart reflects my assumptions.
These online curricula will include a full range of offerings from AP courses, to supplemental curriculum, to full fledged programs like Liberty University Online Academy. If our educational system is to meet the growing global demands, we must implement a student-centric model which can be best accomplished through innovative online learning.