Experts Tout Virtual Education
May 27, 2010
| 4:33 PM
Leaders of online education gathered Thursday to discuss the role that virtual learning must play in our nation's future, saying brick-and-mortar classrooms won't become obsolete but will be complemented by blended and virtual learning models.
"We [the United States] were great at creating human capital but the rest of the world is catching up," said Paul Peterson, executive editor at Education Next during a forum at the Heritage Foundation. According to Peterson, virtual learning will allow for the personalization of education and save costs.
Across the country, virtual education is growing at 30 percent annually, said Susan Patrick, president of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. The majority of the online learning sector is managed privately, but Florida Virtual Schools, founded in 1997, is run by the state. In the 2008-2009 school year, more than 71,000 students enrolled in Florida virtual program.
Despite its promise, the panelists said they don't' expect a rapid expansion of virtual learning in the public sector. They say this is due in large part to what they see as unfriendly state and local policies.
"What we have in education is a government monopoly," said Adam Schaeffer, a policy analyst at the libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute. Schaeffer argued that more involvement by the private sector is essential for virual education to grow.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus