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