I’ve been following President Barack Obama’s proposal for a multi-billion dollar investment in the nation's community colleges. What is reported as being a $12 billion effort, the aim is to help two-year institutions reach, teach and train more people for "the jobs of the future." The part that interests me the most about this proposal is that $500 million would go to online education. This is the only way to prepare Americans to compete in an economy where jobs requiring at least an AA degree are nearly double the number of those jobs that do not.

Online education at the community college level could serve as the place for Americans to fulfill the president’s call to action and commit at least a year to higher education or career training. Some researchers are predicting half of secondary school learning in the U.S. will be done online due to improved classroom technology, rising costs and teacher shortages. I predict online community college courses are quietly viewed by many as the proving grounds for this much more revolutionary trend.