Is online learning the wave of the future or merely a bump in the educational road?
Before they even start kindergarten, most kids can download apps, maneuver an iPad and “Google it.” But when they enter school, we expect them to learn from dusty books, blackboards and worksheets (armed only with a foreign object known as a No. 2 pencil).
Facebook, eBay, Google, iTunes, Kindle and YouTube have all changed the way we consume information. Yet, our analog public school system may not be preparing the millennial generation to thrive in the digital frontier that they have come to know and expect.
People like Microsoft mogul Bill Gates think formal education is the next place where the Internet will surprise people in how it can improve things—especially in combination with face-to-face (blended) learning. “With the escalating costs of education, an advance here would be very timely,” writes Gates in his 2010 annual foundation letter focusing on how innovation, including online learning, can make the difference between a bleak future and a bright one for our children.
Texas is one of many states already offering both full-time and supplemental virtual schooling options. Governor Rick Perry outlined the expansion of virtual schooling as one of his education initiatives for the 2011 legislative session.
Currently there are 450,000 children enrolled in state virtual schools around the country—an increase of nearly 40 percent over the previous year, according to the 2010 Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning annual review, released at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Virtual School Symposium recently. Florida is leading the trend with the largest state virtual network, serving more than 200,000 students, reports iNACOL.
Approximately 1.5 million K-12 students engaged in online and blended learning for the 2009-2010 school year, according to iNACOL’s National Primer on K-12 Online Learning. Although K-12 education lags behind post-secondary in leveraging the Internet to teach, the report says many states and school districts are seizing the benefits of online education—which is delivering unparalleled equity and access to high-quality education, unconstrained by time and place.
There are many types of online education programs, such as state virtual schools, charter schools, multi-district programs, single district programs, programs run by universities, blended programs, private schools and consortium based programs, reveals iNACOL. Through virtual learning, students are tapping into increased opportunity, flexibility and convenience, while teachers are discovering a new way to reach students, many of whom were unsuccessful in traditional schools and courses.
Former Governors Jeb Bush (Florida) and Bob Wise (West Virginia) recently launched Digital Learning Now, a national campaign to advance high-quality digital learning to better prepare all students to succeed in college and careers. “Technology has changed the way we live, work and play,” note the pair on their website, digitallearningnow.com. “But it has yet to transform the way we learn.”
The Digital Now Council, made up of leaders in government, education, business, technology and research, plans to hold states accountable to that end. This year, the consortium will begin grading each state based on 10 elements of high-quality digital learning. It’s a much-needed measure in a rapidly expanding platform that has few policies in place.
‘It makes learning explode in my face’
Lea Ann Lockard, principal of Texas Connections Academy @ Houston (TCAH), spent 18 years in a traditional brick-and-mortar independent school district. In her new role, she is still an instructional leader in a progressive learning environment where kids are meeting state standards. Only she is no longer overseeing the physical safety of her pupils or ushering them through arrivals and drop-offs. In fact, some of them study from their kitchen tables.
Her school can accommodate 1,000 students—and they are hovering close to capacity. The enrollment draws from all over the state, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, for grades 3-8 (9-10 are pending). The school, part of the Charter Schools Division of Houston Independent School District, is just like any other free public school, using high-quality printed and electronic textbooks, as well as TAKS testing—only it’s all virtual.
Victoria, who attends TCAH, starts her school day around 10am—in her pajamas, reports her stepmother, Laura Heymann. “She doesn’t get dressed if she doesn’t have to,” quips Heymann.
The Dallas-area family opted to virtual school Victoria after her grades began to suffer at her local school. She suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and struggled to stay focused in a traditional classroom.
She completes her coursework in anywhere from 3-6 hours/day (Attendance is logged and monitored, just like a typical school, but can be completed at the student’s pace and schedule.). It takes less time, says Heymann, because she is less distracted.
But, her day is far from dull and sedentary. In fact, it’s highly interactive, insists Heymann. It’s a surprise to the family, as well as many who are unfamiliar with virtual schooling.
“It makes learning explode in my face,” is how Lockard says she’s heard a student describe it.
Victoria’s teachers engage her in live lessons (which she can rewind and review) and phone calls, as well as e-mail, chat, video and offline assignments. She also has access to clubs and electives that are not available in her local school (such as digital photo editing and Web design). TCAH offers more than 50 optional field trips to locales such as NASA, Natural Bridge Caverns, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Moody Gardens in Galveston.
“We try to open doors and expand their thinking beyond the community they live in,” says Lockard of her cyber charges.
In addition, the anytime/anywhere schedule works for Victoria’s blended family. She can travel between her divorced parents’ separate homes in Dallas and Houston and not miss a beat with her schoolwork.
“We love it and are very happy with it,” offers Heymann.
In fact, Lockard says that virtual schooling appeals to families who want more flexibility and control with their children’s education (such as children involved in intense sports, entertainment careers or those with special or medical needs)—but who aren’t prepared to tailor and oversee the curriculum on their own (such as a homeschooler).
The Texas Education Association (TEA) defines homeschooling as the equivalent of private schooling, where the family provides the education (at their expense). Virtual schooling, however, follows the same state mandates and requirements as a public school (including the TAKS test). Therefore, tuition is free for state virtual schools (funding comes from the TEA, though it is based on completion versus attendance as in brick-and-mortar schools).
TCAH, like other digital learning providers, offers a complete educational package (including a computer and offline materials—even prepaid envelopes to turn in homework), as well as personalized instruction. For Heymann that has meant, “I haven’t had to lift a finger.”
For younger children, parents—or “learning coaches” —find that they do have to invest more time. And, for some, that can be a deal breaker.
Rachel Wolverton turned to virtual schooling, administered through Texas Virtual Academy@Southwest (a K12.com program), after her son Jude, who has Down syndrome, struggled with traditional school.
She feels that the online third-grade curriculum has been too advanced for her son, although his Individualized Education Program (IEP) is still in effect online. What is expected to take six hours to complete daily might add up to more like nine hours for the duo. She is also juggling three younger children at home.
“It’s a full-time job and a struggle for us,” says Wolverton.
She also laments the lack of social outlets for Jude. “His social development is extremely important to me but hard to access,” she stresses.
Many virtual schoolers rely on extracurricular and sports activities for socialization. But, Wolverton admits that’s a tough route for her: “I’m so exhausted at the end of the day,” she says.
CJ Merrell opted to switch from homeschooling to virtual schooling (also through Texas Virtual HYPERLINK "mailto:Academy@Southwest" Academy@Southwest) because the teacher and materials support appealed to her. However, the third-grade parent has surmised that the latter is less flexible than the former. Notably, she has gotten bogged down in prepping for TAKS in addition to assisting son Sean in completing his regular coursework—something she labels a “double whammy.”
Merrell says she would rather pick and choose online courses to supplement her own curriculum to meet her son’s needs (He has been diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger’s syndrome.) on his terms.
Online learning isn’t for everyone, advises the National Parent Network for Online Learning (NPNOL).
Given the socio-economic condition and family structures for most K-12 students, the growth of home-based virtual schooling will most likely tap out at 10 percent of the schooled population, according to The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning report co-written by Michael Horn, co-founder and executive director of education at Innosight Institute, a nonprofit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector.
There is simply a limit to the number of families who can accommodate the time commitment involved. And, Horn observes, for many children, having a place to congregate with friends is also vital.
Why blended may be best
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently described a “new normal,” where schools will have to prepare to do more with less. He also offered that the “challenge can, and should be, embraced as an opportunity to make dramatic improvements.”
Enter a hybrid of distance and face-to-face online education, known as blended learning.
“Absolutely one of the biggest promises with blended learning is the ability for districts to do more with less funding,” says Horn. “Ten years from now the education budget is not going to get any better.”
In a blended learning environment, students study online while they are at school, giving them a more personalized, productive and innovative (not to mention cost effective) way to learn.
“It provides the best of both worlds and allows for individualized learning,” says Horn.
The University of Texas K-16Education Center is at the forefront of the online learning movement, providing cutting-edge learning solutions that allow students the flexibility to work outside physical and temporal educational environments, according to Dr. Amy Pro, principal of the online high school.
The center offers TEA-accredited high school courses that school districts, teachers or independent learners can pick and choose from. Individuals can purchase courses to supplement their traditional learning with the assignments graded by Texas-certified teachers.
K-16 also runs a private online high school, The University of Texas High School, which draws students (even adults seeking to obtain a degree) from around the world. Because they do not receive TEA funding, the school charges tuition—though it is not a “diploma mill,” stresses Pro.
The program offers even greater leeway than a state-run virtual school. Students need to complete 12 semester courses (equivalent of a grade year) within a 12-month period to stay on track (to graduate in four years)—but it’s not mandatory.
Pro says that freeing students of required seat-time is critical. “Online learning provides flexibility—it provides an opportunity for the student who learns quickly to move forward while also providing extra time for other students,” she explains.
Parents paving the way
In the book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, authors Horn, Clayton Christensen and Curtis Johnson estimate that by 2019, half of all high school courses in the United States will be consumed over the Internet.
However, advocates stress that expansion won’t be enough. There must be a concerted push for quality over quantity.
Horn says Texas has work to do in that regard.
Current legislative policies don’t reward quality, he states. Online course providers, as in much of the rest of the country, get paid no matter how well students do in the course. Horn cautions that this format does not motivate providers to come up with higher-quality options.
That’s where parents come in to push legislators and follow Utah’s example, he suggests.
Recently, Utah took the lead in transforming its education from school-centered to student-centered with the passage of Senate Bill 65, known as the Statewide Online Education Program. Now online providers will be paid 50 percent up front and the remaining half when the student successfully masters the course.
Horn asserts that tying funding to mastery of the subject aligns with the “10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning” released by the Digital Learning Council. Policymakers need to continue to shift the focus from input metrics, such as seat-time requirements, and instead focus on student outcomes.
Horn adds that Utah’s legislation was largely crafted and led by Parents for Choice in Education, a nonprofit group founded (and run) by Utah public school parents.
Making sure parents have a say in their child’s access to high-quality digital learning has become a mission for many.
“For too long, parents’ voices have not been heard when decisions about the future of our schools are being made,” implores Rose Fernandez, executive director of NPNOL.
Earlier this year, the organization launched a national online parent petition in support of digital learning. They hope to raise awareness of the rapid expansion of K-12 online learning options and the need for policymakers to ensure that state laws support online learning.
The goal to educate every student to her highest potential is at stake.
