Face-to-Face vs. Online Learning: Why Is It Either/Or?

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/face-to-face-vs-online-why-either-or-matt-levinson

Too often, adults assume the worst about kids’ online behavior instead of seeing the best. The facts are that teens know how to build community online — and they’re already doing it. A recent Pew survey of teens and online behavior (as reported by The New York Times) revealed:

57 percent of American teenagers age 13 to 17 say they have made a friend online. Nearly three in 10 of the teenagers surveyed said they had a network of more than five friends they had made through the internet. The vast majority, 77 percent, of these relationships don’t culminate in an actual meeting.

7 Stages of Development

There’s a clear path to online learning, matched with strong face-to-face interactions. Schools should be nimble enough to incorporate both modes of learning. And what does the path to successful digital learning look like? Here are the stages of development:
1. Clean up infrastructure.

2. Go 1:1.

3. Find the right LMS.

4. Consider ergonomics and surfaces.

5. Embrace teamwork and collaboration.

6. Communicate with and educate the parent community.

7. Find the right consortium for online learning.

The “Why” of Technology Adoption