Online Learning Offers Unexpected Benefits

By Author: Donald Plehn
Total Articles: 14
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Starting in January 2014, the General Education Development (GED) testing centers in certain states around the country started to undergo an overhaul. The testing procedures are being updated from the current standardized test paper-and-pencil-based format to an online format.

Numerous states have already implemented this system, an interesting trend has emerged: According to official stats, “Adults who take the GED ® test on computer are scoring higher and finishing faster. In fact, 88% of people passed the GED® test on computer compared to 71% for those who tested on paper.”

This trend doesn’t just apply to online testing for adult learners. According to the 2009 Department of Education’s Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction:

“Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing ...
... some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile.”

So, what are the reasons for this trend? When evaluating online learning versus learning in a conventional classroom setting, a few of the major reasons appear to be the ability for students to move at their own pace, and a sense that the material is more tailored to each student’s individual needs. According to the New York Times article, “The real promise of online education, experts say, is providing learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more ‘learning by doing,’ which many students find more engaging and useful.”

While online learning may not yet be available to all children or in every school, online or electronic educational supplementation is becoming more widespread, with more affordable options entering the marketplace every year. As tablets continue to dominate the field and developers oblige with apps and programming for multiple platforms, students have more opportunity to learn in ways that are beneficial and fun.

Built on a long-standing reputation with the education community, ClickNKIDS’ online and tablet-based phonics curriculum have been a PreK-3rd grade teacher and parent-favorite for more than ten years and has been used in schools and homes throughout the U.S. and over 100 countries. Any child can learn to read English correctly, and the ClickNKIDS’ phonics game-like environment is fun and easy to use.

The ClickNKIDS curriculum is based on recommendations from the National Reading Panel and was developed by nationally recognized early education research professor J. Ron Nelson, Ph.D. Dr. Nelson is also Director of Curriculum Development for ClickNKIDS.

Article Source: ClickN KIDS