Topic 8

Experts were asked to rank categories in order of importance for K-12 online learning for policy, practice, and research for the next 5 years in three different surveys. Each time they ranked the categories in the same order for the most part, although there are a couple of exceptions. The order is as follows:

1.       Evaluation of course design and delivery

2.       Best practice

3.       Accountability

4.       Access

5.       Online learning/learners

6.       Professional development

7.       Accreditation/standards

8.       Funding

9.       Technology

Research has found that evaluation of course design and delivery is the first priority in the future of K-12 online learning. Program evaluations are important tools to use to measure how effective a program is for students. Best practice is ranked second. Researchers have found it is very difficult to measure student outcomes since there are so many variables that are hard to control, such as student motivation and communication between teacher and student. Accountability was ranked second in one survey, but third in the other two surveys. Experts feel that requirements for online education should match requirements for brick and mortar schools. This topic was not rated the highest priority, but remains somewhat important. Access to distance education is ranked rather high of importance.  Online learning offers alternatives to those struggling in the classroom. On the other hand, special needs children have additional challenges that may hinder learning. More research is needed in this area to determine how online learning benefits these children. The importance of meeting the needs of learners online was ranked fairly high. It is agreed that in addition to making students successful, a rigorous curriculum is also important. Professional development ranked low on the scale. However, professional development was ranked a priority within the funding category. Where funding is concerned, experts realize the importance of training teachers for online learning. Standards were not as important because experts stated that they feel standards are not set as high as they would like to see them. Funding is also ranked low. However, the panelists see that funding could become a higher priority as more students enter the growing field of online learning. Technology is ranked lowest on the priority scale because experts agree that parents should be monitoring their child on the computer.

Online learning will have a large effect on traditional classroom learning. Distance education is growing at a fast pace and it is important to do further research to best meet the needs of students online. The findings from this study will provide a guide for research in the field of distance learning. Programs must be evaluated to see how effective they are for students. Students must be supported for success and further research can help to support them.

Before reading about this study, I knew that more research was needed on K-12 distance education, but I did not know what topics needed to be looked at first. After reading the article, I realize that program evaluation is where we need most information. This seems logical since we need to make sure the programs are meeting the needs of students.  I also see the difficulty in conducting research on student performance because there are so many variables that could effect the research, such as student motivation. Through the MOOC I've learned that online learning can work, but there are certain circimstances under which students are successful. Students do have to be self motivated and disciplined to get the work done. I like what the MOOC also taught me about facilitators. Good facilitators can be a great support system for students and can make the difference of whether a student is successful or not.

References

Rice, K. (2009) Priorities in K-12 Distance Education: A Delphi Study Examining Multiple Perspectives on Policy, Practice, and Research. Educational Technology & Society,12(3), 163-177.

Topic 7

International Research Into K-12 Online Learning

I teach in an elementary school where we have four computer labs and a tech team that is made up of four members, plus one assistant principal overseeing the group. Our computers are aging, along with our other equipment, such as headphones. Our students go to the computer lab as part of our specials rotation and teachers utilize the labs with their own students for projects. We also have a set of desktop computers in the library and we have one set of laptops for the school.

Training  Relevance 4  Score  4

As part of our staff development each Tuesday, teachers have a choice as to what class they take. The school is offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. These classes are differentiated to meet the needs of the teachers at the school.

Technical Support to Staff  Relevance 5  Score 4

The four members of the Tech Team are there to support teachers. Not only do three of them teach classes, but they also help teachers with lessons, report cards, attendance, and many other things I’m sure I’m not aware of. Our LSTC, or Local School Technology Coordinator, does not teach classes, but is there when we are having technical problems with our equipment.

Reliability  Relevance 4 Score 4

Our systems are very reliable and the tech team always responds quickly to problems that may arise. The only time the system might be experiencing problems is when there is something happening county wide. For example, this school year, the county switched our program that we use to take attendance and for grading. We experienced some down time with the system as they were making the switch. The same thing went for our school website. The website was down on a few occasions. Luckily, I did not need the site to view any videos or other things while the system was down.

Security  Relevance 5  Score  5

Being that we educate very young children, it is important to have certain sites blocked. These are there to protect our students. For example, students may not go to social websites. Our tech team members are teaching the 3, 4, 5 grades that they must be 13 years old to be on Facebook. I think it is important for students to know this for when they get old enough to be on Facebook.

I learned through reading the material on International Research into K-12 learning that the United States seems to be ahead in the virtual schooling world. Some places, like China, do not have a formal virtual school. I am sure we will continue to grow as we see how to best meet the needs of our students.

References:

Bacsich, P. & Bristow, S.F. (2012). International Research into K-12 Online Learning. Retrieved from http://virtualschoolmooc.wikispaces.com/international

Topic 6

Research into the Facilitation of K-12 Online Learning

Do you agree that facilitators play an important role in online learning? Why or why not?

I agree that facilitators play an important role in online learning. Since the teacher is in a remote location, the facilitator is present while students are online. In a face-to-face course it is important to create a community environment. This is just as important in an online course, but is much more difficult to do. A facilitator is key in helping to build a connection and keep students from feeling isolated. They are there to support students, answer questions, troubleshoot technology problems, communicate with the teacher and parents, assign a participation grade, and make sure students do not cheat. In Claire de la Varre’s presentation entitled "Teaching Presence in a Blended Learning Environment: Contributions of On-Site Facilitators," she includes a list of expanded responsibilities of facilitators that are most important for students success in online learning. The expanded responsibilities of the facilitator are to create a positive environment, attend to individual differences, encourage students to interact with other students, encourage students to contact the teacher, support and motivate students, and model time management and organization skills. In her study, Claire de la Varre found that facilitators categorized as a “good” facilitator were ones who did not undermine the authority of the teacher, kept in touch with the teacher, responded quickly to teachers, and had built a relationship with students. Facilitators who showed a genuine concern for their students and kept them motivated had students who dropped out less often than facilitators that undermined the authority of the teacher and did not have a good relationship with students. Students in K-12 online learning are still learning the skills needed to be a successful online student, such as time management and organizational skills. It is imperative that students have a facilitator to support them.

Before reading about facilitators and hearing Claire de la Varre’s presentation, I did not know the role of the facilitator was so important. When I think of K-12 online learning, I envision a student sitting at home alone on a computer. After learning more about the facilitator, I realize how having a facilitator could mean the difference between a student being successful or not in online learning. Facilitators provide the human connection that students need to feel less isolated. They are their advocate and students feel they have someone on their side.

References

de la Varre, Claire (2011) Teaching Presence in a Blended Learning Environment: Contributions of On-site Facilitators. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WgjuzjWdtRU

Irvin, M. (2012). Research into the Facilitation of K-12 Online Learning. Retrieved from  http://virtualschoolmooc.wikispaces.com/facilitator

Topic 5 Research into the Teaching of K-12 Online Learning

A Closer Look at Cyber Charter Schools

Contributed by Dr. Allison Carr-Chellman

Professor of Education

Department Head, Learning and Performance Systems

Dr. Carr-Chellman describes cyber charter schools as a public school that any child may attend at home and online. They are accredited in the state where they exist, have state testing, and have curriculum in K-12. She shared the statistics on how rapidly online learning is growing, ranging from 40,000 students taking at least one online course in 2000 to 4 million in 2010. The number of students taking online courses full-time is 250,000. She goes on to describe the type of students taking these courses as ones that are struggling in the classroom, some are actors/actresses, and some may be highly gifted. She mentions that there are several unanswered questions about these types of schools. It is unknown whether cyber charter schools are better, the same, or worse than traditional schools. They are also uncertain as to whether this is a way for some insert religion into education. The most surprising fact is how much money some are making. Cyber schools send materials to students, such as a computer and a stipend to pay for an internet connection each month.  The money that is needed for a child to attend a cyber charter school comes from the district the child traditionally attended school. Dr. Carr-Chellman says that the traditional school still has to pay the teachers, keep the lights on, and do what it takes to take care of the students still in the traditional school, while sending money to cyber schools for students who have left. She gave an example of how much money was being sent to cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania, who has 40,000 of the 250,000 full-time students taking online courses. In 2008, $600 million was being sent to cyber charter schools. Although cyber schools are non-profit, curriculum and materials developers are for-profit corporations. One corporation’s CEO recently made $2.6 million in one year.

Georgia Virtual School Teacher Education Research and Trends by Dr. Joe Cozart

Contributed by Dr. Joe Cozart
Associate Director of Strategic Planning
Georgia Department of Education
Office of Technology Services

Dr. Cozart begins by telling about the Georgia Virtual School. He says teachers are evaluated three times a semester. Administrators input data into a teacher information system so that they can pinpoint areas a particular teacher should work on, as well as where teachers need support school wide. He says they use a program that teachers can use to get live support to enhance their teaching. They also track student performance very carefully. If they see a problem area, they can go in and enhance content to help students be more successful. They can even sometimes tell where students will struggle before they get to a particular content area. Dr. Cozart says that in the future, they expect to be able to use data to implement interventions from the very first day of school.

After listening to these two videos, I feel excited and apprehensive at the same time. I hope someone will find a way to fund cyber charter schools without taking so much money from the traditional public schools. I think students who need to go to a brick and mortar school, particularly the younger grades, should have access to one. On the other hand, I was excited to hear about programs that some schools use to quickly tailor a program for students that best fit their needs. This is a great way to maximize a student’s learning time. It is exciting to hear about the wonderful things available to students and what is in store for them in the near future!

Resources

Georgia Department of Education. Georgia Virtual Teacher Education Research and Trends by Dr. Joe Cozart. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gukez6XyHBo&feature=player_embedded#!.

Learning and Performance Systems. A Closer Look at Cyber Charter Schools. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4L_wfX3MzRE

Topic 4

Critique the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses based on the literature related to asynchronous course design (both K-12 and higher education).

I was not familiar with the National Standards for Quality Online Courses before reviewing them for this topic. There was an older version of standards and there was a need to develop a newer version of standards. The standards can be used for any type of online instruction. Blended learning includes a variety of online learning, ranging from the face-to-face teacher teaching with digital tools to a complete curriculum being online. I think these standards are very important to online learning. The standards ensure quality instruction for students and help them to be successful.

The standards have certainly helped me in my coursework as an online student, like a clear course syllabus should be included in the course and resources that enrich course content should be available to students. Those are just two examples of standards that I can relate to personally. I have struggled with courses that did not give a clear syllabus. It is very difficult to know exactly what is expected of you if it is not made clear at the beginning of the course. Having resources to provide background knowledge into something that we are discussing is very helpful also.

I feel that standards are imperative for any kind of learning because they support the learner when used properly. The learner is the reason for learning and teachers need to make sure they are doing all they can to help students thrive.

References

International Council for K-12 Online Learning. (2007). National standards for quality online courses. Vienna, VA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.inacol.org/research/nationalstandards/iNACOL_CourseStandards_2011.pdf

Topic 3

1.  What did the report tell you about the current state of research in K-12 online schooling? What surprised you? What was confirmed for you?

There is still a lot to learn about K-12 online schooling. Most people want to know if online learning works, but the real question is under what conditions does online learning work? Online learning is not for everyone. Students should be self-motivated and need to be trained for online learning. They also need parent support during the program of study. Students who have and use their own technology tools daily do not know how to use the tools for online learning. A successful program must be willing to train, not only their staff, but the students too.

In listening to Dr. Ferdig, I was surprised to hear how schools are unwilling to change the way they are teaching teachers. Since technology is the way of the world, we really need to get schools onboard to train future teachers. One way teachers could be trained is with the simulation idea Dr. Ferdig shared during the video. Teachers could use the simulation to get a feel for what it is like to be a teacher in the real world. This would be a great exercise for teachers in the beginning of their program to see if it is something they think they would like to do for a living.

The thing that was confirmed for me was the fact that online schools are growing despite the fact that some people do not think online learning is better than face-to-face learning. Hopefully, we will continue to see growth that we’ve seen over the last decade. I relish the opportunity to learn more about the online schools and can’t wait to become part of the reform.

References:

Ferdig, R.E. (2012). Research into K-12 Online Learning. Retrieved from http://virtualschoolmooc.wikispaces.com/research

Topic 2

According to some, distance education did not start with virtual schools as someone might think. Instead it started with sending student materials through the mail beginning in 1840. People have different definitions for distance education. The definition given by Verduin and Clark (1991) states that distance education (DE) occurs while students and teachers are separated, which supports the idea that DE has been around since 1840. Others include the internet as part of the definition for (DE) and, obviously, this would not fit into the timeline that dates back to 1840.

I support the idea that students must achieve equivalent outcomes to justify providing educational choices. Before reading the information on this topic, I was under the impression that online schools have a low student performance. I did not have this belief myself, but rather this was my thought when I read the activity I had to do for topic 2. Then, as I was reading the information for this topic, I found out that studies show no significant difference between the performance and outcome of students in brick and mortar schools and online schools. I was appalled at this finding.

Another concern of online learning is whether distance education can provide differentiated instruction to include advanced placement and opportunities for students with special needs. From what I have seen, most schools offer these types of programs for student success. I think that is the beauty of online learning because they can focus more on individualized instruction with the help of curriculum providers, like K12 Inc.

The previous issues mentioned have apparently been concerns for a while and studies have shown that student performance is virtually the same for distance education and brick and mortar schools. I think the underlying issue is people are afraid of change and technology is ever-changing. These issues probably will not go away because some people will always fear the unknown.