Virtual Schooling - A New View

I distinctly remembering watching some lame late afternoon TV re-runs as a child on a regional channel with no network affiliation. It was probably "Mama's Family" or something I never saw outside of syndication. The commercials were typically the same each day. There were ads for things like Chia pets, The Clapper (clap on, clap off!), or the latest household cleaning device ("Bah-ling! Good as new!"). Another common commercial was for distance education, specifically correspondence courses. I can still hear the spokesmodel's voice: "Want to train for a new exciting career from the comfort of home? What to earn your high school diploma? Start learning by mail today and we'll send you all the materials you need to change your life...welding...pharmacy technician...underwater basket weaving...paralegal...blah, blah, blah..."
Having parents who both went to college for four years or more (the first in their families to do so) I had my ideas about the quality of "distance learning" and it were not good y'all.

So, there it is. That was my opinion for years. I can admit it. Even though I completed my undergraduate studies in the year 2000, having been privy to the introduction of online college and K-12 classes, I continued to think that the quality of distance learning, and thus the subsequent knowledge of the student, was second rate at best. "How much could you learn outside of the brick and mortar classroom?," I thought. Distance education went against all of the iconic ideas I had held about education for my entire life, every movie I ever saw (Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School anyone?), everything I had experienced and had been told. I thought that getting an online degree was mostly just paying for an educational status that was incongruent with how much usable information one actually had in that field. But, honestly, I really had no authentic first-hand experience on which to base my opinions, other than those cheesy childhood commercials.

Now I am a third-year teacher (having previously been a newspaper reporter) and a graduate student in a Master's program at a major university. And the method of instructional delivery? Online. The major? Education, focusing on Curriculum and Instruction. Gasp! What? The same person who turned their nose up as an undergraduate to distance education? Yes, the same.

Well, let me explain. I have a very busy, full time job as a teacher and coach, a mortgage, various other bills and a family to help support. There was no other way to do an advanced degree other than through distance education for the flexibility it affords. Now, after taking several courses and experiencing what distance education can be myself, my ideology has changed completely.
Now, I'm not going to say that those mail-order learning "programs" of yesteryear were really worthwhile, but I will acknowledge that anyone who still holds a negative view of the potential of distance education is as misguided as I was. The change in quality is all about advances in technology and in societal norms as a result.
The Internet and, in particular, high-speed access, have revolutionized what is possible. Throw in some very creative companies that created endlessly versatile, user-friendly content delivery programs and you have instruction and learning that go way beyond what many ever imagined possible with computers, or in distance education for that matter.

Now, I know there are many terms...E-learning, digital classrooms, distance education, etc. and various definitions for each, but what I like best is what this blog will focus on, and that is virtual school. I say that because it is "virtual" in that it is not a brick and mortar classroom, so you are in class virtually via a digital interface, but it is "school" in that there is real learning taking place. There is a curriculum, there are professional instructors, there is support staff, and there are administrators overseeing it all. There is a community of learners. A real community. One that is richer in some cases than what you'll find in any traditional school. Virtual as it may be, none of it runs or has a purpose without the influence of humans, for humans and by humans.

Having spent some time reading about the nature of virtual learning I've realized there may be primarily four camps of thought on the subject: 1) Those who are blindly convinced it is the one and only future of education; 2) Those who feel that it has great potential in the realm of teaching and learning and want to study it in a meaningful way; 3) Those who are skeptical about its benefits and see it as secondary to brick and mortar schooling, and 4) Those who are convinced it is worthless and of the devil, so to speak.
I suppose I would categorize myself as a number two, but a former number 3 among my own classifications. And I'm not the only person who has started to see its potential.

According to the National Education Association, of which I am a proud member, this is its official current stance on online learning:

"Over the last two decades, America's schools have embraced tools that allow students to learn without the limitations of time and place.

Satellite, microwave, cable, and broadcast TV first gave students access to courses not otherwise available in their home schools. More recently, multimedia Internet-based technologies have provided even more powerful options for teaching and learning at a distance. With virtually all schools now linked to the Internet, a growing number of states, districts, and individual schools are adopting online courses to expand their curricula.

Online courses make sense. Not only do they expand the range of offerings to all students but they also are a boon to special populations such as homebound, incarcerated, and other non-traditional students. In addition, they provide an alternative method of instruction, one that adults too are using for their own professional and personal development."

To me, the NEA's statements are all ones of relative fact. Virtual schooling transcends geography, schedules, family life, transportation, etc., etc. Now, while I don't think distance education will ever completely replace traditional schools, I do think it has not even come close to realizing its full potential or popularity. Its benefits for the general population are too great to ignore.

As I go forward into my own personal study of virtual schooling, which will involve observing a real high-school English class (Seniors) through a state-run virtual school, I plan to expand my own working knowledge and expertise in the field. I am completely open to the experience and readily accept that I must be willing to alter or completely change my viewpoints based on the evidence presented to me, provided it is based on sound, legitimate research and careful study. I hope to be a part of that process and in developing the canonical knowledge of what it means to be virtually "schooled," specifically as it relates to high school language arts education. I understand that I have a lot to learn.

Reference:
National Education Association. Online learning. Retrieved March 12, 2008. Available at: http://www.nea.org/technology/onlinelearning.html