Embracing digital innovation in education doesn’t just keep schools relevant. It creates new pathways for all students to access high quality education.

While virtual university courses spiked during the pandemic, experts generally agree that rates of online education will not return to pre-pandemic norms despite decreases in distance learning enrollment. Acclimating students to online learning environments ensures access for all students while creating new opportunities unavailable to previous generations.

A recent trial of the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme as an online educational curriculum, reinforced Dwight Global Online School’s commitment to innovative, student-centred learning, ensuring all students have access to high-quality learning and resulting post-graduate opportunities.

The case at Dwight Global

Dwight Global has been part of a pilot program in partnership with the International Baccalaureate since 2022, offering the Diploma Programme high school curriculum online to a limited cohort of students. Early results show that online education is vital to maintaining access to education for all students. The Diploma Programme online is an International Baccalaureate-authorized pilot program designed to reach students worldwide, catering to students facing barriers in traditional brick-and-mortar settings.

Quality education is not something that should be confined to urban or wealthy areas. Geographic location, however, is a barrier that online education is quickly dismantling.

Who benefits?

While online education was highly celebrated during the pandemic, it was a difficult transition for many schools. What we now see, however, is many students can benefit from an online education if implemented so that particularly marginalised students can access it.

For instance, students with health concerns can thrive in online adaptive learning environments, permitting them to access quality education without compromising their medical needs.

Students living in rural or remote areas where quality education and professional development training for educators may be limited can tap into new resources available through an online education. The same is true for displaced students who, for a variety of reasons, may no longer have access to the quality education that they need to be future-ready.

Online education also supports students who are deeply invested in diverse areas of work, sport, or study, allowing them to take a less traditional approach to education while completing a rigorous academic curriculum. 

For example, a student, Shubham, is the co-founder and chief innovation officer of LeapCharger, a company devoted to establishing more than 100 EV charger stations in the United Arab Emirates. Shubham travelled globally to promote his company while earning his International Baccalaureat diploma, demonstrating how online education can help students flourish in their own unique ways.

Lessons learned

An online format offers unparalleled opportunities and flexibility to students who need it, but it’s not for everyone. Online learning demands a high level of self-motivation from students, as well as effective time management and self-regulation skills. 

Online learning fosters collaboration with a global network of students and faculty, enriching the learning experience with diverse perspectives. Specifically in the Diploma Programme online, students also take the course creativity, action and service that requires them to engage with their local community through a project of their own design, reinforcing community care and social engagement for well-being.

Students appreciate the freedom to travel with their families without compromising their education while maintaining strong relationships with teachers, who can provide personalized support and guidance.

It is worth noting that investing in teachers who can capably respond to students’ needs through online education is pivotal to success. Teachers must be adaptable to adjust curricular pacing to meet students’ scheduling needs and use an internal assessment calendar to balance the demands of coursework and track syllabus progression.

Dedicated educators help students feel empowered and connected, which increases engagement and overall student success.

Dwight Global teachers attend faculty workshops on online teaching and pedagogical methods when they begin working at Dwight Global. Teachers are mentored by leaders and peers in the Dwight Global community and from across the Dwight network of schools worldwide to share best practices and help guide their initial experience of classroom instruction.

Through Dwight Global’s participation in the online pilot, students and educators have demonstrated that flexibility in one’s education can lead to success personally, professionally, and academically. 

The achievements of recent Diploma Programme candidates in entrepreneurship, activism, college acceptances, athletics, and global citizenship underscore that high quality education provided online — anywhere in the world — can support student flourishing.

Megan Koepsell is an educator at Dwight Global, where she leads the International Baccalaureate Pilot Diploma Program.