READ INTO THE FUTURE: Will you be teaching online in 2020?

Great post for reflection as to what the future holds!
Hugs!
Marisa

Good question, Brad. Thank you.

Can’t wait to re-visit this post in 2020
Nice one Brad, as usual.

I agree  Looking forward to the results!

Haha.  My thoughts exactly!  Thanks Nihal.

Always a pleasure, Nina!

[...] READ INTO THE FUTURE: Will you be teaching online in 2020? | A journée in language. [...]

I think perhaps 48.7%, but never 50%.  That’s just insanity.

i agree almost 99.7% with you… and for what it’s worth…

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=insanity

Feeling a bit like a virtual Miss 2020 & having done the survey here are some observances from my experience.
I am fully online because it suits my lifestyle, small children and living on a remote island. But that would not be enough motivation by itself. The possibilities inherent in educational technology are exciting and liberating.

I’ve been involved in similar discussions about online education in the last few days. Some say that students are slow to catch onto skype, let alone virtual classrooms. Yet, I have students online because they have no native speakers where they live.

Maybe it’s misleading to say everyone must switch to online or make fancy predictions. I think that online is for students who need native speakers, who can’t afford extremely expensive schools, who don’t feel comfortable in unsuitable classroom set ups, who want private or especially tailored tuition, and who want to choose amongst global teachers, and experience the best in education and technology.
So, those in places like China, or remote third world countries etc., I feel, are the ones who will be empowered and educated, which could balance out inequalities a bit.Also business men like online learning as it is flexible.
As for children, blended learning is perfect. I would not like my kids to get more than 50% of education online, as they need physical environments and socialisng, but all schools should make sure teachers have training in how to use their computer labs for creative project work etc. Many schools in Europe have computer labs going to waste for lack of ideas or experimentation
.Also, let me add that I am using edulang technology and am planning to use it for group projects and courses online.

Hi Sylvia,

Virtual Miss 2020 Nice to hear your thoughts in a more detailed manner, and I agree that online learning definitely has a nice range of folks that it will serve better. With that in mind, the survey has been insightful and I’ll share the results tomorrow. Really glad to have you using Edulang’s applications with your groups and can’t wait to hear more!
Cheers, Brad

[...] you, thank you, thank you for taking the survey I pulled together last week as theresults have been quite insightful!  Here are responses from 66 [...]

[...] background-position: 50% 0px ; background-color:#222222; background-repeat : no-repeat; } http://www.edulang.com – Today, 9:55 [...]

Don’t you just love how the French still believed they’d have the same old French buildings and balconies in 2000, a steam train too? The only thing that’s different is flying firemen.

you’ll love these then:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=france+XXI&title=Special%3ASearch

there are the same for germany, russia, usa… fun postcards and all futuristic in funny ways.

-b

Hi Brad,

The motivating factor for businesses is to reduce the cost of instruction – hence the shift to online learning. Ask HSBC or Shell. They´ve recently moved 95% of their employees to online solutions and shut the doors to in-company teachers. From my experience here in Brazil, it´s the businesses who are driving the change and the teachers and schools are being forced to follow suit.  A multinational considers one thing only - the bottom line. If they can improve the bottom line of their business by reducing costs, they will. The financial crisis only increases the need, hence the shift will become more rapid. Traditional schools should be seeking a strategy to combat this shift now. Waiting isn´t  an option. The only encumbrance I can see is broadband speed and accessibility but this is clearly being overcome as we can see through the rapid uptake of smartphones, apps etc.  I know a 5 year old who is learning English independently via gaming on a smartphone - he  isn´t taught English at school. Lastly Brad, what are the demographics of those completing your survey? I suspect they´re teachers working in schools  - or in other words,  the people who are showing the greatest resistance because they have the most to lose.

Best,
Robert 

Hi Robert, 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.  I’ve enjoyed catching your tweets over the last year and it’s great to have you come visit the blog.

The demographics of the survey are a bit up in the air, but in general they are folks in my PLN, which spread fairly widely across the board.  I put the “demographics” or professional environment of teachers who responded to a previous survey just to provide a background showing that yes, many of the teachers reading the blog are from a more traditional, and even private school orientation.

Whereas some large groups might be moving towards elearning, I think the transition is probably a bit less abrupt and far-reaching.  Plus, even if many corporate structures are investing more in asynchronous learning via the internet, I know they’re still bringing in ELT professionals to support that, to “coach” and to help fill in the holes in spoken English, confidence and other angles that are hard to master via elearning.

I explored the question a bit in this post and enjoyed hearing what the blog’s readers had to say too.  Thanks again for your thoughts! 

http://www.edulang.com/blog/teachers-disappearing/

Cheers, Brad