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