Nothing displays the consciousness of the American public, regarding education, more than this quote by Katherine Mangu-Ward of the Washington Post:

Deep within America’s collective consciousness, there is a little red schoolhouse. Inside, obedient children sit in rows, eagerly absorbing lessons as a kind, wise teacher writes on the blackboard. Shiny           apples are offered as tokens of respect and gratitude. The reality of American education is often quite different. Beige classrooms are filled with note-passers and texters, who casually ignore teachers struggling to make it to the end of the 50-minute period.

Online college reviews have revealed that the dream of online education has become more of a reality for many citizens who until recently still considered education to be the little red schoolhouse.  Despite the many changes that the internet has brought to our society, online education remains at the bottom of internet reform because so many educators stand against it as an alternative to the traditional classroom education that remains the norm. 

Bill Gates has been one of the large supporters of online education, and while his views are obviously from a different perspective than teachers’ unions, he has pledged to donate a large sum of money (roughly $33 billion) toward revolutionizing online education.  Thus far, most online colleges and online schools feature online lectures, but Gates sees a future that is more interactive and therefore better accessible for students of all ages.  I still remember the early days of interactive learning when the internet was first taking off and I was in elementary.  At the time it was revolutionary that we could sit-in in a classroom that was taking place thousands of miles away.  Most educators do not view it as that revolutionary, but to a young child, this is a way to capture their attention better than traditional classroom settings.

Online colleges are currently paving the way for education reform and continue to attract thousands more students every year due to the increased publicity and Congressional reforms.  Even more revolutionary, online education has reached to younger students through programs such as Florida’s Virtual School which offers Advanced Placement classes to students who are enrolled in state schools.  This is a great way to place out of college courses and increase your knowledge in Middle School and High School outside the classroom.  Harvard Business Professor Clayton Christensen predicts that in the next decade, more than 50 percent of high school courses will be taught through the internet.  While this seems like a far-reaching goal, these schools have indicated that it is not that far in the future that we will be logging our children onto the internet instead of driving them to school.

There are still many critics of online education, but online college reviews help dissuade negative views of online education in favor of the many benefits they offer to students.  Online education does not mean a nation that will be full of home-schooled children, learning from computers, but instead means that children will have more options to pursue classes that their schools do not offer, still learning through their own school system.  Online colleges have mastered this technique and continue to foster a positive learning environment for their students and continue to attract new students every year.