Is this a freak of nature or the sign of things to come?

Turns out it’s the latter, according to a National School Boards Association survey. The survey poled students ages 9 through 17 and found that one of the top things kids talk about with each other online is (Are you ready for this?) their education. And no, they’re not complaining about school, but rather they’re asking each other for help with their course work.

The survey also showed that middle school and high school kids use social networking for college and career planning, doing research for assignments, and learning outside of school. In fact, only about 40 percent of their time on social networks was used for pure socializing.

So what does this have to do with college and online education? Turns out plenty.

Back in 2009 the SRI International for the Department of Education conducted a 93-page report on online education that spanned a 12-year period from 1996 to 2008. The report highlights a quantitative comparison of the same courses offered to students in both the classroom and online settings. The results were shocking to the highbrows in the world of higher ed in that the students who took the courses online did better academically than the students who took the same courses in a classroom setting. And yes, most of that data was collected at the college level, as opposed to K-12.

“The study’s major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing—it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction,” said Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International.

But if you think about it, finding out that students do better when taking courses online shouldn’t be any big surprise. In the 12-year time frame over which the study took place the Internet and e-mail went mainstream, Friendster, eUniverse, Napster, MySpace, and Facebook were all introduced, video conferencing and Skype replaced face-to-face meetings, YouTube replaced TV, iTunes replaced radio and CDs, smartphones took off, and books went online with e-readers. The kids now between the ages of 15 and 25 actually spend more time social networking than they do watching TV or talking on the phone.

It’s only natural that the generation that grew up at the dawn of social networking is going to use it as a tool to get ahead in life. So if we want to keep up with the demanding expectations of a generation that is used to getting whatever it wants with the click of a mouse button, then formal education will have to lead the way in terms of teaching these kids (and the generations after them) in the manner in which they’re accustomed to receiving information.

Fortunately, that shouldn’t be a problem. Prior to social networking and high-speed Internet, online courses meant reading some material and then taking an online multiple-choice test, with virtually no human interaction. But now with colleges as prestigious as Stanford offering online coursework through the use of their own social networks, students can develop relationships with their instructors and classmates, just as easily as if they were all sitting in a classroom together. Plus, it lets students learn on their own terms, allowing them to review material as many times as they want and log on to study at times of the day when they’re most receptive.

That’s not to say that classrooms will go away completely. There are some subjects that will always require hands-on interaction with a real live mentor (learning how to perform surgery, for example, comes to mind). However, the SRI International for the Department of Education report shows that online college is not a second-class substitute for brick-and-mortar college. It is the real deal as far as learning goes.

Which means that online education is not only here to stay, it will continue to grow and get better, especially in the areas of higher and continuing education. Social networking and the kids who swear by it are pushing us into the next phase of how we formally learn. So the next time you go to kick your kid off Facebook, you might want to pull up a chair instead and observe. Could be he’s doing a calculus assignment with his classmates or trying to figure what he needs to do to get into Harvard. Either way it beats watching the latest reality show on TV.

Top 25 online schools of 2011

1. UMassOnline- At the University of Massachusetts you can expect to choose from a variety of online courses, certificates, degree programs, and corporate and professional education opportunities.
2.Southern New Hampshire University-SNHU has over “40 undergraduate and graduate programs in business, education, and liberal arts.”
3.Liberty University Online-This well known university is the “world’s largest and fastest growing Christian university.”
4. Western Governors University-WGU is set apart from all the other online universities as they have different tuition standards than most online schools.  They have a: Teachers college, College of Business, College of Information Technology, and College of Health Professions.
5. Fort Hays State University-I like FHSU’s motto: “Forward thinking. World ready.”
6. American Military University-AMU is unique as it offers programs for adults currently in the military.
7. Baker College Online-BCO is known to be accredited and affordable offering a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs.
8. Walden University-Walden University was recently rated #1 for their education programs by the “U.S News and World Report.”
9. Ashford University-Ashford University offers acelerated programs for those with applied transfer credits.
10. Grand Canyon University-”Online classes start every month.”
11.Saint Leo University Online-Classes are “100% online.”
12. Northcentral University-Northcentral University has “no residency requirements.”
13. Drexel University Online-DUO’s programs range from a B.S in Health Services Administration to a MS in Higher Education.
14. Capella University-Wow, according to the Eduventures survey of Capella graduates, “CU graduates receive an average salary increase of 51% within 5 years of graduation.”
15. University of Phoenix-The University of Phoenix have programs that range from the School of Business to College of  Information Systems and Technology.
16. Post University Online-PUO offers “highly interactive online degree programs.”
17. Colorado Technical University Online-You can obtain a degree at CTUO in: Business Management, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, Engineering and Computer Science, Health Sciences, Information Systems and Technology, Interdepartmental Degrees, and Psychology.
18. Strayer University-SU offers Asynchronous and Synchronous classes.
19. Herzing University-HU is fully accredited and offers over “45 different programs.”
20. Jones International University- JIU offers Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate programs.
21. Kaplan University-Are you interested in Concord Law?  Kaplan offers a program in Law at Concord Law School.
22. University of Maryland University College-UMUC now allows you to “test-drive” online classes.
23. South University-SU offers “walk through” online learning.
24. Argosy University-Argosy uses the “Socrates” approach which is the Distance Learning Technologies Group.
25. Devry University-DU offers degree programs such as: Associates, Bachelors, and Masters.

This is most definitely a grand list to choose from and I am excited to say that the winner for me is: Liberty University
Online.  Why?  Well, I was enrolled in one of their online programs a few years ago and had to withdrawal due to personal
reasons.  Liberty University just seems to be the perfect fit for me so I will most definitely be returning very soon now
that the timing is right.  Here are just a few of the great reasons why I chose Liberty University Online to give you an
idea what to look for in your “online school search“:

• Liberty University offers “more than 45 fully-accredited degree programs and 100 specializations.”
• Liberty University Online offers the “lowest tuition rates among top online universities.”
• Courses taught from Liberty University Online are “taught from a Christian worldview.”
• Liberty University Online is “ranked #1 among the nation’s accredited online colleges.

If Liberty University is of interest to you, you can request their online learning information on luonline.com.

Which online college or university are you interested in or already enrolled in?  Is it one of the top online colleges of 2011?  If so, please feel free to share which one and why you chose it.

The story, published June 25, highlights the experience of a Salt Lake City young adult and University of Phoenix student Trevor Hansen.

Like the major demographic for online colleges, Hansen works full-time and squeezes in other extra-curricular activities like softball tournaments and motocross, but still finds time to to college coursework via his online classes.

Earning his bachelor’s degree in finance, Hansen argues that earning an online degree is very convenient, since he can work more hours and not have to travel and sit through class.

Additionally, Utah mothers like April Hoyt, who is finishing her online degree in communicative and deaf disorder at Utah State. Hoyt, 31 and mother of four, was highlighted in the article saying she is thankful for the opportunity she has had to get her education online.

Still, he voiced concern that when it comes time to find a job in the financial field, employers may not view an online degree to be as valuable as a traditional bachelor’s degree.

Many professors, too, consider online classes to be inferior, and go so far as to refuse teaching them.

The article quoted Elayne Clift, a writer, journalist and adjunct professor currently living in Vermont, who said that the joy of teaching and the deep importance of learning cannot happen very readily in an online environment.

“I think it is part of the demise of the academy, part of the crisis of higher education,” Clift said.

Clift has taught at the collegiate level for over 30 years, at schools including Yale and Emerson, and she said the online course she taught dumbed-down a lot of the information and witnessed more plagiarism than traditional classes.

Yet the number of online college students continues to grown across the nation. According to the article, Minnesota boasts a high number of online course students, with 100,000 people enrolled in classes online.  And in Utah, the number of students taking online classes increased by 15,000 in five years, from 2005 to 2010, according to Utah System of Higher Education Data.

Some college administrators from Utah wholeheartedly support the idea of online education, however.

As Deseret News reported earlier in the year, authors of  “The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out,” Henry J. Eyring and Clayton M. Christensen, conclude in their book that colleges need to embrace online courses in order to stay competitive with other schools.

Perhaps key to their perspective is the idea that colleges need to embrace high-quality online courses, and not just any level of online class.

Such a distinction is necessary, since the article also reported that many lawsuits have been filed over the last several months against for-profit colleges, in their online base, regarding best practices and validity.

Weber State professor Lauren Fowler subscribes to a theory similar to Eyring and Christensen, saying that online classes can be effective for students who are prepared for the differing class format. In the Deseret News article, she suggests that there be an online preparedness quiz before signing up for an online class.