Craft Category: Artifacts

This study examines the role of online and blended instruction in addressing concerns and issues facing the American high school, informed by data collected from a national sample of principals. Findings portray that there are certain online learning initiatives that directly address education reform, including the following:

• Improving graduation rates
• Credit recovery
• Building bridges to college careers
• Differentiating instruction
• Lowering operating costs

Read this report and discover how online learning can improve the quality and experiences of students in American high schools.

Findings in this report highlight the need for additional guidance in policy and practice for providing special education in online programs. In February 2010, NASDSA convened a policy forum to identify challenges associated with serving students with disabilities, and to develop related policy recommendations. Project Forum, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), outlined the following expected outcomes for this report:

• Identify issues/challenges related to serving students with disabilities in virtual K-12 public school programs.
• Identify what works related to providing special education and related services to students with disabilities in virtual programs.
• Develop policy recommendations to address the identified issues.

Read more to discover the challenges and potential policy solutions to serving students with disabilities in a virtual K-12 learning environment.

This issues brief analyzes how online programs deal with at-risk students. First, the authors document a sampling of K-12 online program strategies for at-risk students. Second, the report provides survey responses to determine online delivery and design methods employed to assist at-risk students.

Browse this issues brief for specific recommendations regarding at-risk learners in virtual school environments.

This report identifies Wichita Public Schools as a case study for analyzing disruptive innovation – or the use of computer-based learning. Launched in 1999, these Learning Centers were designed for dropout-recovery and credit-recovery purposes. By 2010, the district served 946 students in 3,904 half-credit courses and had a waiting list of more than 300 students in the 2008-09 school year. Download this report to discover how Wichita Public Schools created a new successful educational model to serve dropouts and at-risk students.

This guide assists parents in understanding what online learning is and in selecting the right online school, program, or course for their children. As part of the Promising Practices series, the authors explain online learning promising practices to parents, with considerations for full-time online schools as well as supplemental online courses.

Given the enormous growth of online learning providers, the array of options can be bewildering, with choices including:

• State virtual schools, online charter schools, or district schools
• Public or private schools
• Full-time or supplemental options
• Fully online or blended instruction

Use this guide to determine the key elements of online education programs, and use the checklists to compare online schools side-by-side as you search for the best options for your children.

In October 2008, iNACOL released the initial Snapshot State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada report, providing a brief outline of K-12 distance education in Canada. This report provides an updated analysis of Canada’s K-12 distance education regulatory schemes. Author Michael Barbour provides a national overview, reporting that all 13 provinces and territories have some level of K-12 distance education activity. Explore this report to examine various legislation and programs that provide Canadian students with distance education opportunities.

The standards in this document address what is needed for a quality online program, elements of which include quality course design and quality online teaching. This report provides the encompassing and over-arching set of standards program leaders need to assure a quality online program. It is designed to provide states, districts, online programs, and other organizations with a set of quality guidelines for online program leadership, instruction, content, support services, and evaluation.

This document provides an overview of the most critical of the course design and teaching standards. It describes the necessary support standards needed for programs designed to supplement schools’ course offerings as well as those programs designed for full-time students.

How do communication and interaction work in an online teaching environment? This document answers this question, drawing on quality online teaching literature, school policies regarding online teaching practices, and professional development programs for online teachers.

Online teaching is a complex professional practice. In addition to content knowledge and pedagogical skills, online teachers must be qualified in methods of teaching content online. Examine this report for deeper insights into communication and interaction strategies for online teaching.

This memo examines the outcomes of existing studies on K-12 learning effectiveness, and it provides a literature review of these studies.

A number of rigorous studies have asked the question, “Is online learning effective?” However, there is not a single, large-scale, national study comparing students taking online courses with traditional students, using control groups in the instructional design. The most in-depth, large-scale study to-date is a meta-analysis and review of studies from the U.S. Department of Education.

This memo contains 3 sections:

• A summary of the major study by the U.S. Department of Education
• A brief literature review of online learning research and studies
• Future research recommendations.

Download this memo to learn more about how online learning is an effective alternative for improving student performance.

This infographic portrays how Congress and the federal government can take actionable steps to promote quality online learning opportunities. By explaining specific policy approaches, and how to achieve each approach, iNACOL informs policymakers and constituents of potential ways to expand online learning opportunities. View this infographic for direct federal government actions that can improve access and equity for all students.