iPrep Academy radically changes the school experience
I watched this interesting news clip on the Wall Street Journal Live channel on Roku that had to with an academy in downtown Miami, which allows students to learn outside of a traditional classroom setting. iPrep Academy, is a place where students can get their learn on in an unconventional way. Just think of the good ol days when you were in study hall at high school, but add some treadmills, Dance Revolution, beanbag chairs and Mac books — I know, sounds like a party right? The iPrep academy promotes a cutting-edge learning environment inspired by technology.
In changing the way kids better engage themselves in academics, surprisingly, states and districts nationwide are launching online public schools that allow students from kindergarten to 12th grade the choice of taking whatever amount of classes he or she pleases from anywhere. There’s also another option provided by certain states and districts, which brings students into schools who prefer a physical world instruction that is largely computer-based and self-directed.
This all sounds great, but with every radical change comes pessimism. Critics worry that kids in online classes don’t learn how to get along with others or take part in group discussions, which mirrors the thoughts of this woman from this teaching organization in the news clip I watched. My thoughts were of course she would say such a thing, because she represents teachers, and adapting to this virtual learning model would only cut teacher jobs.
That said, I love this radical rethinking of what the school experience should be like, but there is positives and negatives to this kind of progression.
The positives:
- Budgetary relief for states and the federal government
- Lower student expenses
- Faster, more productive learning
- Unstructured days for teachers, which allow for them to work one-on-one with struggling students
- Kids who performed poorly in a traditional school are less likely to improve in a virtual one
- 100′s or 1000′s of teacher jobs could potentially be lost
Speaking from experience, I’ve been enrolled full-time for a semester online at a community college in my city. It was very convenient for me when I had to watch my son in the mornings and work at night. Online learning isn’t for everyone, but more schools (if the funding is available) should merge this kind of learning style. We’re in an age of technological innovation at its highest level; Kindles are replacing traditional books, while tablets and smartphones become more prevalent in classrooms. Technology will be the driving force behind making school fun again, the way it should be.
For more information and to watch the video I watched, please checkout the WSJ here.
