Students across generations have studied core curriculum – English, math, science, and history in traditional classrooms with an occasional field trip, but today’s students have the world at their fingertips with many schools now offering virtual classes in a vast array of subjects, from engineering to veterinary, not often available to high school students.
Virtual education, whether through individual classes or a virtual school, has begun erasing global borders and eliminating academic barriers. A field trip to China, accompanied by high costs and difficult logistics, might have once seemed impossible. Today’s students can and do get a firsthand look at Chinese culture in real time through virtual field trips.
Middle school students in California, for example, watched Chinese dancers perform during a recent virtual field trip. Some schools are even making virtual education with foreign educators a part of their curriculum.
In Michigan, educators have partnered with colleagues in China to offer virtual education exchange opportunities that allow students to communicate with each other, often through videos, online. During the next school year, students will have the chance to attend a real Chinese school, taking virtual classes according China’s time zone, at their own schools during the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
In addition to students having global opportunities once not available without traveling overseas, teachers have seen an increase in educational and networking opportunities. Teachers in one Massachusetts school district, with grants available from the National Endowment of the Arts, have been able to consult with educators in countries – such as Brazil, Russia, and Yemen – about what methods work best in engaging students and in presenting material. The program led to a virtual class being taught by a Brazilian instructor for students at the school in Martha’s Vineyard.
The trend toward more virtual education seems to be growing, and for good reason, according to William Skilling the superintendent of a Michigan school district.
“The global market is changing 24-7,” he said. “We feel it is mission-critical for every student to become fluent in a world language and fluent in multiple world cultures.”
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