Administrators have already begun to weave new technological advancements into their teaching styles and curriculums. Online forums, such as Moodle, which enable students to have online academic discussions, have been incorporated in English and social studies courses here at Wayland High School.

The United States Department of Education has recently funded the Virtual High School Inc., headquartered in Massachusetts, which provides students with year-long high school courses, such as AP Biology, to supplement a school’s curriculum. Virtual High School also offers courses that familiarize teachers with designing and teaching online courses.

However, this is just the beginning. The Futures Committee, a group involved in envisioning Wayland’s potential new high school, predicts that by 2019, about 40% of all classroom instruction will be via computer, a method known as virtual learning. Virtual learning allows students to take online courses and receive online instruction from teachers located anywhere in the world. With technological advancements increasing at rapid rates, the prospect of such a future is very plausible. Nevertheless, how beneficial is this alternate method of teaching?

My first reaction was to attack this new development, believing this new system will result in nothing but students spending even more time staring blankly into a computer screen, becoming more and more inactive and antisocial. However, the CEO of the Virtual High School Inc., Liz Pape, argues in a recent Newsweek report that in reality, exactly the opposite is true.

She claims that with the online forums available, students are engaged in email and instant messaging with peers and their teachers at all times, creating a natural and comfortable environment for students to communicate and share their ideas. She goes further to argue that for students living in small rural areas, where cyber schools are abundant but students are not, it is a major advantage to be able to communicate with people across the country, not just those located in their general vicinity.

Some may feel negative about in this mode of communication, believing social skills will be lost and learning will become impersonal. Still, there are definite advantages to virtual learning. Online high school courses provide students with opportunities that otherwise would be nearly impossible to receive.

If a school does not have enough funds or a qualified teacher to teach a certain course, students can instead take the online course. A course can be taught by any teacher in the country, allowing students access to an experienced teacher who has received the best training and degrees.

Furthermore, because teachers can track a student’s progress easily through the computer, personalizing lesson plans and aiding struggling students is much simpler. Teachers can structure lessons according to the needs and learning habits of students. The same student, in a class full of thirty students, would not be able to receive such extensive teacher attention.

Along with preparing students for the real world by providing a multitude of courses, cyber schools also jumpstart students into the 21st century by familiarizing them with the technology use.

Virtual learning may seem disastrous on the surface. However, a deeper look shows that this inevitable progression is not terrible, but instead offers opportunities and experiences otherwise impossible for many.