The growth of online education has reached unprecedented levels and has expanded from higher education to secondary schooling and now classes are even offered online at the elementary level. These online schools have come about not only from for-profit institutions, but from more reputable non-profit corporations that offer students an alternative method of learning. The New York Times recently profiled Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, who is now using the web for something different than renting movies. DreamBox learning is the start-up corporation that Mr. Hastings is now using to help teach students math through online games using a non-profit investment fund for charter schools.
While online education typically focuses on online universities, companies like DreamBox help stress the importance of education to a younger breed of students, one who is undoubtedly already internet savvy. Mr. Hastings is basing his dreams for online education on the popularity of the netbook, a piece of technology he believes will spawn an even greater demand for online education of all ages. Thus far, his company DreamBox creates personalized lesson plans that are “hidden in games and based on concepts children understand or need to work on.” We all know how important online education is for a student at such a young age, and mixing games with education is the best way most teachers have found to create a stable foundation for many different subjects. Hastings’ future educational programs are no different.
Hastings has been a diligent observer of the importance of education since before his success with the online video industry, teaching math to high school students in Swalizand through the Peace Corps and contributing to charter school funds before making his fortune. It is truly people like Mr. Hastings who have made online education for younger students the structured organization it is today. While online colleges remain a wary subject within the education field, many high school students and teachers have recognized the importance programs like DreamBox play in their students’ lives.
The ability to teach complex subjects like math and science through the internet is only the beginning of the projected growth in online schools around the country. Students are already beginning to excel in AP tests like never before due to online training and classes that focus on specific subjects that may not be offered in their home school. Recognizing the importance that companies such as DreamBox play in many students’ lives is the first step toward accepting online education in a younger generation
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