Say Yes to Virtual School

After reading the various scenarios and giving careful thought to the questions posed, I honestly don’t think that my particular district is prepared to move to an online learning platform.  They should be, but they are not.  I come to this conclusion with deep regret.  Being a large urban district, there are many politics that are involved when implementing change. Ultimately, changes that would move the district forward are slowly accepted, thus, hindering growth.  I have been with the district for over fourteen years and have experienced this first hand when attempting to present the advantages of career and technical classes receiving credit for math and English.  It didn’t matter that we were one of the few districts in the state that was not doing it.  The initiative never did move forward.

School districts who are forward thinking in the 21^st century should have an online plan already on the table.  It is very apparent that online classes are here to stay.  In order to embrace all students in all learning platforms online classes should be available.  For instance, in the scenario where the student wanted to take a calculus class but it wasn’t available in the school is a good example when an online class would be advantageous.  The student would be happy and the district could still maintain him in their enrollment for monetary purposes. 

One of the problems that school districts would face is setting parameters and regulations for taking online courses.  Throughout all of our readings it has been continuously emphasized that some type of orientation should be mandatory for students before they are eligible to enroll in online classes.  This is very important so that students will be successful.  Also, there should be a select group of classes that are available online, such as AP, lower level math, science, and English classes.  In other words, academic classes that can be used towards a high school diploma.  The scenarios involving the calculus and leukemia student would fall under this category.

Remedial, as well as, elective classes should be offered too. Remedial classes would not have credits attached, but some motivated at risk students may benefit from them.  Elective classes in particular areas such as business, foreign language, or even sign language would allow students to take classes to ensure that they have enough credits to graduate.  The scenarios involving the cyber schooled student whose enrollment is tied to the teacher’s performance evaluation is an example of online classes that would address this need.

The student, with the support of his parents, who did not want to take a particular teacher  could only do so if the class was available online through the district.  It is not odd that students dislike a teacher and want to take another teacher.  We are living in a world of choices.  Parents can now choose whether they want their child to go to charter, private, or public schools. For some, due to dissatisfaction, they may choose to home school.  Whatever the scenario, sometimes it is hard to please everybody all the time.  We do not live in a perfect world but parents want a perfect educational system.

Virtual Schooling (Part 2)

                As I mentioned in part one of my blog, I have learned a great deal of what the expectations are of a virtual instructor by seeking employment for an online teaching position. After reading the articles I found the article that detailed the various eschooling for the various states to be highly informative.   Michigan Virtual University is a state funded virtual school. When I interviewed with them, I was surprised that they had their own curriculum for instructors to follow.  After reading the article I can now see why that is a good thing, because then they can determine if state standards are being met. I also learned how funding works for many online schools.

                The reading suggested that some subjects, such as math, can be challenging when taught online.  However, after reading the articles I believe the success rates for this subject could also depend on the student.  Some students could watch videos of how to do a problem and learn from it.  Other students, just as in a traditional setting, may need to watch the video several times before they get it.  This is synonymous with asking a teacher in a classroom setting questions on how they got the correct answer.  Additionally, a trait of a successful online student is motivation.  An online student has to be motivated to complete assignments and ask questions via the appropriate medium in order to be successful in the online learning environment.

                Another factor regarding online learning is the teaching staff.  Online classes are not easy to set up.  The teacher has to have a solid plan on how to deliver a lesson so that learning takes place.  Online teachers cannot deliver a lesson as if they were in a traditional classroom.  I believe there is a lot of scaffolding that needs to take place in order for the student to not get lost in the online class. Barbour points out the differences between virtual school and cyber school with virtual school being district based, a consortium, or offered to all students in a state. Cyber school, on the other hand, is mostly offered through charter schools.  

                As all the articles mention virtual schooling has been around for a long time.  With the advent of digital natives, however, it is becoming more popular and is expected to grow.