Craft Category: Artifacts

How can online programs enhance students’ social development? Here, educators demonstrate creative ways to break down barriers of time and place to enhance student socialization. As part of the Promising Practices in Online Learning series, this report addresses the following socialization issues in online programs:

• Interaction with a teacher or other adults within the online class.
• Communication with other students within the online class.
• Online communication and activities facilitated by the school but outside of class activities.
• Activities that involve bringing students together in physical locations.
• Social networks and Web 2.0 technologies.

Browse this article to see how online schools are exposing students to differing views and perspectives, enabling students to think for themselves and effectively handle new situations.

K-12 online learning is increasing access and equity by making high-quality courses and highly qualified teachers available to students everywhere. As one of six papers in the Promising Practices in Online Learning series, this report seeks to respond to key issues that arise when online learning targets at-risk students and credit recovery. By taking a personalized, student-centered online learning approach, educators can engage at-risk students, opening up new pathways to success. Read this report to review case studies and innovative means to incorporate online learning in credit recovery for at-risk students.

The rise of the Internet tremendously increased the quality of digital classroom resources, and schools and districts today are combining online learning with face-to-face instruction, called blended learning. By combining the very best elements of online and face-to-face learning, author John Watson argues that blended learning will emerge as the predominant education model of the future. This report was designed to answer the following 5 questions:

• How does blended learning fit into current conceptions of online learning?
• How does blended learning help engage students and support their academic success?
• How are online learning and face-to-face instruction being combined effectively?
• Is blended learning meeting unique student needs that neither fully online nor face-to-face models can achieve?
• What digital content and curricula are being used in blended learning?

Read this report to explore some of the outstanding models of blended learning in use today, as well as lessons learned and recommendations for development, implementation and analysis.

Online education is one of the fastest growing phenomena in K-12 education in the United States today. Over half of states currently have some form of state-run virtual school, with additional state programs in the planning stage. Various surveys have reported that at least one third of high school students have had some form of online education experience (Selzer and Lewis 2005, Allen and Seaman 2006).

The focus of this issue brief is to increase the awareness of the importance of making online courses accessible to meet legal obligations. This brief references U.S. civil rights legislation, but the issues of access and equity are relevant to all online programs.

Additionally, this brief highlights the importance of collecting and disaggregating enrollment and completion data by race, national origin, gender, language proficiency, and disability. Read more to discover how to make online programs more accessible and ensure all students have access to the educational opportunities provided by your program.

This report, created by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) research committee, aims to raise awareness of misconceptions and provide guidance on professional development for traditional and online schools. School leaders have recognized that online courses are part of the solution to challenges faced by particular students, including access and equity.

However, few principles have a clear idea of the range of professional development needs of their staff. In addition, only a few programs prepare teachers and leaders for virtual learning. Yet, it is widely recognized that quality is tightly linked with professional development and training. Examine this report and discover new models of professional development that will expand your mind to a new vision of the future of education.

In this report, Florida TaxWatch examines the viability of Florida Virtual School as a credible alternative to traditional schooling, regarding both student achievement outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Florida Virtual School earned high marks in both.

Online courses have shown to be important to reach students who need:

• Academic courses their school cannot provide
• To retake courses for graduation
• Alternatives to traditional education
• Options to courses offered in their school
• Access to courses because of physical disabilities

Online learning is here to stay, and you can learn important promising practices from Florida Virtual School by reviewing this report.

Many educators and policymakers remain unaware of the basics of how online education programs operate, what an online course looks like, and most fundamentally, how students can learn online. This report aims to help fill the gaps, to be a resource for anyone who is new to online learning and wishes to quickly gain a broad understanding of the academics, operations, policies, and other key issues in online education.

So what is online learning all about? This report seeks to answer the following questions about online learning:

• What courses can be taught online?
• What does an online course look like?
• How do students interact with their teacher?
• What qualifications and training are required of teachers?
• Does online learning really work?
• Do students earn full credit for successfully completing online courses?
• What state or school district policies are needed to implement online learning?

While the challenges of online education are small compared to its actual and potential rewards, it is clear that both online programs and state oversight must evolve thoughtfully to continue to increase educational opportunities and improve outcomes. Read this report to discover what online learning is all about.

This report is designed to provide a study of the state of K-12 online learning in 17 countries, with research and writing performed by Allison Powell and Susan Patrick. These countries were surveyed on issues such as funding, content, initiatives, professional development, obstacles, and trends.

View a short summary or read this report and identify international trends in online learning, explore online learning initiatives and projects in individual countries, and promote international dialogue for future collaboration.

In 2006, iNACOL released this brief which discusses the top ten myths about virtual schools. For example, myths include: online courses lack interaction, and online teachers have easy jobs. Instead, iNACOL debunks these myths by explaining that students in online learning typically have more one-on-one interactions with their teachers and fellow students – and that online teachers work harder and spend more hours online, but that they love it.

Peruse this brief and find answers to today’s most common myths regarding virtual education.

This research study aims to advance e-learning opportunities in Michigan through 3 deliverables: an analysis of online learning models, implementation strategies, and recommendations to expand e-learning options. The author focuses specifically on Michigan Virtual High School and underperforming schools or schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

Author Tom Watkins holds that Michigan cannot lead in the 21^st century without casting off the anchors of archaic laws, policies, and beliefs that bind us to 20^th century education models. Read this report and witness how e-learning is bringing the learning to the people.