Some applicable data

Considering my previous post, I sought out a facts-based study of a virtual school program. In short I was looking for some data to go with my anecdotal reports of conversations with students who had taken classes online.
I happened across a study of a Texas Virtual School Pilot conducted in 2001.
Here's a brief introduction of the study and its impetus (available at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/publications/ecavlp.htm#eb):

"In 2001, the Texas Legislature directed the Texas Commissioner of Education to gather needed information on the quickly expanding world of electronic courses and virtual learning. In order to gather data to support recommendations that enable high-quality online learning and potential state funding for these courses, the Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 975 in 2001. This legislation called for the commissioner to establish a program to examine the state policies, requirements and restrictions that impact districts and charter schools offering electronic courses to local students who are not physically present for all or part of these courses.

To implement SB 975, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) established and administered the Virtual School Pilot (VSP) during the 2001-02 school year. Twenty-four charter schools and school districts participated in this first year pilot. The pilot is continuing during the 2002-03 school year with 23 participants. The same legislation also mandated the commissioner to prepare a report about the program. A study of the VSP was conducted between August 2001 and November 2002 to gather data and prepare this report."

I won't bore you with all of the rationale and details of the methodology, but what I found to be most worthwhile, and met my purposes, were the statistics regarding characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students (those who completed the courses and those who failed).

This was the data from the study:

Exhibit 11
Characteristics of Successful and Unsuccessful Students

Characteristics	# of Responses	Percentage of Total Survey Respondents*
Students Likely to Succeed in Virtual Courses
Self-directed and disciplined	10	71.4%
Organized	7	50.0%
Other (independent learners, overachievers, exceptional communication skills)	6	42.9%
Technologically sophisticated	5	35.7%
Students Likely to Fail Virtual Courses
Not self-directed, lack discipline	14	100.0%
Disorganized	10	71.4%
Limited technology skills	4	28.6%
Need social interaction	2	14.3%
Source: 2001-02 TEA Study of Electronic Courses and Virtual Learning Programs surveys * Note: Percentages will not add to 100 because there were multiple responses to the question.

Notice that being self-directed and disciplined was tops among the characteristics that students thought were most likely to contribute to success in virtual school classes. Next, was organization, followed by "other," which included multiple responses, and technology skills bringing up the rear. What was striking to me is that 100 percent of respondents stated that lacking self-discipline and direction contributed to failure. Notably, last were students who responded that failure was often caused by a need for social interaction. The aspect of social interaction in virtual schooling is something I would like to explore more in the future.

At any rate, while this study did provide me with some considerations as it pertains to student success in virtual schooling, the breadth of the study was relatively small, which I am stating because of the low number of respondents (see the table for more information).

But I was glad to see that the authors of the studied realized their data was not enough to make a sufficient determination on the efficacy of their virtual school pilot and why students might succeed or fail and the overall educational benefit of this type of instructional delivery.

From the conclusion, note the following:

"1. Are electronic courses and virtual learning educationally beneficial?

The Study Team was unable to determine the unique educational benefits of electronic courses due to the lack of adequate information regarding course completion and course performance.

According to reports and studies in other states, the potential of online courses to benefit students educationally and to improve student performance is promising. VSP pilot participants, regardless of their school size or location, believe that students will have access to a wider number of courses through electronic and online delivery. Small and rural school districts may gain access to highly qualified teachers who are not available locally through electronic courses. VSP programs may provide an additional opportunity for at-risk students who have not been successful in traditional settings."

The latter paragraph above seems to be consistent with what I've found so far, that many education stakeholders have high hopes for the potential of virtual schooling because of all the benefits it might have for servicing ALL students. Establishing equality the public education system has always been a challenge, for multiple reasons (cultural, geographical, etc.), but maybe virtual school is a powerful contributor to overcoming this issue. However, there is the digital divide. And what of that and its effect on access to virtual schooling, especially on a full-time basis?

References:
Surles, S., Gibson, G., Redden, K., Scarbrough, D., Speer, B., Clark, C. & Fletcher, G. (2001). A study of the Texas virtual school pilot. Retrieved March 15, 2008. Available from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/publications/ecavlp.htm#eb

A Little Further

How ironic. The same week that I begin a look at virtual schooling I run into two students who have taken or are taking high school classes online, and their opinions represent two opposite ends of the spectrum. Additionally, both conversations regarding virtual school were unsolicited. They just happened. I'm not too big on fate, but that had to mean something.

In the first instance, I was talking one of my soccer players I coached this past year and in previous seasons. He had talked about missing school last year because of an extended illness and having to sign up for virtual school so he wouldn't get behind in credits. His synoptic view of the experience? That he prefers the traditional classroom because there is a teacher there in person explaining concepts/ideas directly. Now, he did acknowledge that he could see why some people held virtual school in high regard, but he said for him it didn't match his learning style or personal level of motivation. He said he did better when a teacher helped to guide him. This is understandable, I can see how some students might need an ever-present motivator for learning. Some of my own students are those who have to be regularly encouraged to stay focused on learning activities.

Then, not three hours later, I went into a local business where one of my previous students works. While he was in my class earlier this year, he went to an online class so he could participate in a work study program. Without me even asking him, he proceeded to talk to me about how he was doing in his virtual school class. He said for him it has been great to have the flexibility of being able to work when his schedule allows and to work ahead if he wants to, which he mostly has. Further, he said his teacher was very responsive and understanding and felt like his learning in the class so far was quite worthwhile. At the moment, he said, he was in the process of reading a novel and noted he was a slow reader. This was slowing him down a bit, he said, but added that he was glad for being able to get ahead previously, because he could now work at his own pace without getting behind in the work.
This made me realize that virtual schooling does in fact fit many students because it helps the student tailor the learning to their needs and styles. By it's very nature, it seems to be more flexible than traditional classrooms.

Going a bit further with this information I found a blog at Distance-Educator.com entitled "Knowing how to learn at a distance" (available at http://www.distance-educator.com/blog/saba/?p=4 ).
The blogger, who goes by Saba, writes about what distance learners might need to do: "The distance learner, perhaps more than any other learner, needs to rely on his/her own ability to learn. In the absence of an immediate support group of peers, tutors and instructors the distance learner has to know how s/he learns, and be able to manage her ability to learn."
Saba refers to "metacognition," which is a word thrown around quite a bit in schools these days, but basically means thinking about one's thinking. At least, that's the definition I've been given in at least three workshops/prof. development sessions.

As it relates to virtual schooling, however, this does make sense. In order for one to be their most successful at online learning, where the onus for learning is more firmly planted on the student, one needs to understand how they learn and what methods they might employ so that they can take charge of their learning experience. That is, if virtual schooling is to offer one more flexibility in pacing and depth of learning, but the teacher is not physically present to provide regular prodding, the student needs to be able to know what to do in order to gain knowledge and understanding from the curriculum, as well as when to seek out further assistance.

Just as EQ (or emotional quotient) was brought about to describe possessing a high (or low) emotional awareness, metacognition is kind of a new IQ, (maybe MQ?) whereby a student is aware of how he/she learns and applies this information effectively. For individuals this could include the knowledge of whether virtual schooling is a good personal fit, or not.

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

The Blogger

Don't criticize the picture. My four-year-old daughter took it. You wouldn't criticize a little girl, would you? That's primarily categorized under "Things That Aren't Right." At any rate, this picture reminds me to see things from the perspective of others. To my daughter, this must be what I look like a good part of the time. Scary.