I am pleased to introduce the new ASU Prep Digital blog. Our intention is to use this space as a platform to share informative content for all parents and students interested or involved in the world of digital learning. We’d like to serve as a resource to help everyone understand the nuances of personalized digital education and how to succeed in online high school. I’m excited to welcome you to the ASU Prep Digital blog and share this opportunity, grounded in the deep experiences, insights and opinions of our team.
Over the past twenty years, they have dedicated their careers to creating a new vision for learning that capitalizes on the belief that magic can happen when students are provided with a personalized learning environment. We believe students thrive where they can learn at a time that is conducive to their schedule and body clock, with an individualized path and pace that is specifically aligned to their academic needs. Although research has consistently and clearly indicated its ineffectiveness, the factory model of education, where students are grouped by age, is not only alive and well, it still lives in the large majority of our classrooms today. Sadly, most teacher education programs are still training teachers for this outdated model of education, leaving new teachers ill-equipped to teach the students of today.
We know that no two students are alike. They have different backgrounds, interests, challenges and gifts. It’s our job as educators to examine prior knowledge, identify the gifts, recognize the challenges, pique their interest, and enable them to rise above whatever baggage or privileges may come with their backgrounds.
When we embarked on this virtual school journey twenty years ago, the tools were primitive, the internet was inadequate, and few could imagine our kids could actually learn outside of buildings called schools. It was then that we took the posture that the word “school” should be a verb. Learning should not be time boxed and scheduled. It should be continuous, constant, and collaborative. Project-based learning shouldn’t be a Friday afternoon special activity but an integrated part of each day. And blended learning should be the status quo as opposed to the occasional innovation, giving all students agency and providing teachers the tools, time and training to teach each child as an individual learner.
That is what we are continually working together to build. On this blog is where we will explore the biggest questions and topics related to online learning. With that said, I’d like to welcome you to the ASU Prep Digital blog. I invite you to subscribe and join us in this conversation about the future of education.
Julie Young
CEO, ASU Prep Digital | Deputy Vice President of ASU Educational Outreach
About Us
ASU Prep Digital is an Arizona State University program that combines online high school and university level courses, giving students the opportunity to earn college credit along with their high school diploma. Open to students anywhere in the world, this online school offers rigorous college-prep curriculum and a three-part instructional model that includes passionate online teachers, university professors and personal success coaches. ASU Prep Digital partners with U.S. and international schools to offer single course enrollments and full-time, diploma-granting programs. For more information, please visit asuprepdigital.asu.edu.
