May 2002 — Editorial
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Changes to Traditional Teaching
In the past few years, 70 percent of American universities have put at least one course online, and this number is predicted to grow to 90 percent by 2005. The range of fields is large, and though most courses are in business and technology, courses in engineering, psychology, education, etc. are growing. In addition, many online courses are now involving more than oneinstitution to service students around the world, such as the University of the Arctic - a co-operating network of universities, colleges and other organizations concerned with higher education and research - now in its pilot phase.
The following chart shows the virtual courses offered in the United States:
Electronic learning, currently a $4 billion to $5 billion market, is expected to increase to $15 billion by 2005. Most e-learning courses have a great deal in common, they are:
Education Partnerships
Many industries are fostering the use of technology in schools. About 1,600 students focused on engineering, mathematics and social sciences at this year's Intel Science Talent Search. Ryan Patterson, a high school senior from Colorado won the $100,000 first prize for his project, "The American Sign Language Translator." The project uses a glove that translates letters of the alphabet and transmits information to a portable computer, where it is displayed as text. The user is able to train the glove to recognize individual sign patterns, with the goal of having it recognize words and phrases.
Also, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is donating $40 million to create small high schools across the United States to increase high school graduation and college attendance. Students will be able to earn both a high school diploma, and an associate's degree or two years of college credit. The effort includes the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In addition, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is planning to commit more than $345 million to schools and districts throughout the United States to create small schools and transfer large high schools into smaller learning communities. Technology is to play a key role in administration and instruction in these schools.
The Growing Availability of Resources
Though free and inexpensive resources are available, many more listings of resources are for sale. Authors and publishers are deciding not to give their work away for free. Still, many individuals, government organizations, museums and universities are sharing their knowledge. The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse identifies effective curriculum resources, and disseminates useful information to improve K-12 teaching and learning in math and science. Also, the NSF-funded digital library offers high-quality educational materials for students and teachers at all levels to improve the quality of science, math, engineering and technology education.
