According to the New York Times Bits blog, a recent study funded by the US Department of Education (PDF) found that on the whole, online learning environments actually led to higher tested performance than face-to-face learning environments. “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction,” concluded the report’s authors in their key findings.

The report looked at just under one hundred studies that compared the performance of students in online learning environments (or courses with an online study component) to those who were given strictly face-to-face instruction for the same courses. What they found was that students who completed all or some of their coursework online tested on average in the 59th percentile, compared to the 50th percentile for those who received only classroom instruction, and that the results are statistically significant.

by Julia Bauer | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- When Jackie Boomstra tried out as a receptionist for a company now known as VanerumStelter, she soothed a cranky customer on the phone, role-played by an interviewer, and won the job on the spot.

Never mind she has been blind since birth.

Jackie Boomstra, of Grand Rapids,
holds her dog, Bailey, at VanerumStelter,
where she works as a receptionist. Boomstra
says her blindness was not an issue when she was
hired in 2005.

"She blew us away," owner Jim Stelter remembers of Boomstra's interview four years ago. Her deft handling of an irate customer impressed him, especially because Boomstra was new to the school furniture business.

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Lifelong Learning
The world is changing. The exponential acceleration of technology requires all new skill sets. Currently, the technology gap is ever increasing, which means many students graduating and starting their careers don't have the necessary skills to be proficient in business environments.

Vision Inspires
Today's 'lifelong' learners face a very different world than their parents did. They will live longer and have more freedom than ever to choose their experiences, social networks, and values. The rollercoaster of scientific and technological (scitech) change runs faster every year, spinning us irreversibly toward a very extraordinary future. Our planet is wiring up into one vast, instantaneous, transparent and increasingly intelligent global network, which creates amazing new opportunities for business and society.