Business, education, and community leaders discussed the future of digital learning, Tuesday, at Salt Lake City school district’s new Innovations High School.
The half-day summit put on by Parents for Choice in Education showcased the latest models in hybrid digital learning experiences. The model joins traditional classrooms with online courses and assessments. One of the concerns with moving to a more digital format is the cost of the infrastructure, such as new computers and tablets. But Michael Horn, co-author of "Disrupting Class" and moderator of one of the panels, says in the long run these hybrid models actually help save money.
“We see a lot of these blended learning models starting to have a reduced facilities size so that you can have more students in smaller areas but with more flexible learning environments. All of those things save on costs and allow you to deploy them in other areas,” he says.
Chair of Parents for Choice in Education, Robyn Bagley, says the state is doing ok, but could be doing much better.
“Our policy itself does not present a lot of barriers to digital learning, so that’s a positive. But we are not utilizing technology in classrooms the way that we could,” she says.
Bagley added that she hopes those in attendance, including several law makers, will see that the only way to meet the state’s education goals is through a better use of available technology.