Keynote (2012)

Online Learning is Good for Independent Schools

Presenter: Brad Rathgeber

Online learning has grown rapidly at independent schools over the last few years. More than 3 million high school students and more than 5 million college students took online courses this year, with the vast majority of them (~90%) taking them to supplement face-to-face course opportunities. And yet, even with this growth, few independent schools have thought much about online learning or started to develop a plan for using this evolving learning platform. You can expect this keynote session to acclimate you to the possibilities and pitfalls of online learning, address the options that independent schools have for moving into this field, and offer an example approach that some independent schools have taken. More importantly, you will also have the chance to explore an independent school approach to online learning through exploration of an online classroom.

Brad Rathgeber will also be available on Tuesday, June 19, to conduct workshops on topics chosen by edACCESS 2012 participants.

Brad Rathgeber is the Director of the Online School for Girls, a non-profit consortium of independent schools, which he helped found in 2009. Brad has worked to create an independent school model for online education, one that favors dynamic relationships between teachers and students, a collaborative approach to learning, and student-centered approaches. Instead of relying on curriculum already created, the Online School for Girls creates its own curriculum and hires independent school teachers as instructors. Previously, Brad worked as the Director of Technology at Holton-Arms School, where he ran a successful 1:1 laptop program. Brad has presented at many national and international conferences on Online Learning, including the Virtual School Symposium and the NAIS Annual Conference.