MI requires DL

Mich. first to mandate online learning

This is timely. Just this weekend I was talking with family about the upcoming expectations for students in regards to distance/online learning. I suggested hybrids and blends are almost expected these days in higher ed. Students want access to materials and more online. The students in the room (highschool) agreed. But I also suggested that as tools become more sophisticated less seat time will likely occur. The students in the room were less sure they would benefit from this as communication would be sacrificed. Of course, I assured them that online learning is (or ought to be) very communicative... potentially more so than F2F. My wife then shared her horror story of taking on online course where she was required ("forced") to post once and reply twice to a poorly designed discussion board. This didn't help my argument much. So, it will be interesting to see how MI students react to the requirement. I sure hope MI educators are ready in terms of the pedagogy of online learning, or my wife will be joined by hordes who will never stop sharing their less than positive online learning experiences.