Banners are taped to the wall promoting this year’s homecoming court and Friday’s football game. Rushing from class to class in under 4 minutes sometimes proves impossible. Above the chatter of excited teen girls and boisterous male voices is the slamming of locker doors. As the time runs low students start to run and a few papers flutter to the floor as the hallways clear for every student to file into their next class. This description of the traditional high school hallway might seem normal and one might assume at one time or another every student nationwide could describe this very experience but for many school districts and students across America, this might not be how they are experiencing high school anymore. With the emergence of on-line classes and virtual schools the face of many high schools is changing. Why are on-line classes in such demand in the United States? Are they the best choice for the current needs of our students and school districts? Will on-line classes eventually replace teachers all together and high schools in America will become totally ‘virtual’?
The original push for online courses was for more schools to be able to offer advanced placement courses when they did not have qualified teachers or enough students seeking a course to make it economically feasible to hire a teacher (Miller, 14-15). Pam Birtolo, chief learning officer for the Florida Virtual School, estimates that online AP courses cost $1,000 to $2,000 less per student than face-to-face classes (Miller, 14-15). Online courses were originally geared solely toward advanced learners in AP courses because of the independent nature of learning that must happen in an online setting. Students must self-motivate, set a pace for oneself and stay on-task to complete the entire course.
With the demand for online courses growing and the supply increasing rapidly virtual classrooms are popping up in districts all across the nation. Districts are even requiring an online course before graduation! In 2006, Michigan legislature passed a requirement that students must have “an online learning experience” to graduate with Alabama following in 2008 (Davis, 8-9). In one Ohio school, students take classes as part of a virtual high school. This is a growing trend nationwide and worldwide. Students, not just advanced students, can sign up for classes their school wouldn’t otherwise be able to offer and take them online with a teacher from across the nation. Students can specialize their learning, and take classes that truly interest them or put them a step ahead on their career path (Trotter, 13-17). These virtual high schools are a collaboration of teachers that are specially trained to teach online courses and the school districts must agree to train a certain number of teachers to contribute to the consortium. This particular company, Virtual High School (VHS), has 200 member schools in 28 states and 8 countries (Trotter, 13-17). There are many other companies forming and some districts forming their own inner-district virtual school system. This school in Ohio sees VHS as a way to “balance its limited resources with the community’s increasing expectations for students” (Trotter, 13-17)
The greatest push currently for online courses seems to be for credit recovery. With the increasingly high drop-out rates and the high stakes of No Child Left Behind, schools cannot afford to have students failing classes or getting behind with no plan in mind. Online credit recovery allows just that. Several of the largest urban school districts are rolling out programs for online credit recovery (Zehr, 10). This means if a student has failed a class in the traditional classroom setting, he/she can take the same class online to earn those credits and get back on track to graduate on time. With a graduation rate in Chicago of 55 percent (Zehr, 10) it seems an educational crisis that must be addressed immediately. In Houston, 2,500 students (out of 6,127) are enrolled in credit recovery classes (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A) illustrating the extensive need for such an option. Apex Learning, Houston’s provider, supplies written tests along with the computer-based multiple-choice assessments and the district can decide whether to use them. NovaNet, another popular company, does not provide the written tests so Austin I.S.D. must supplement with their own written assessments (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A). Students in Houston take, on average, 61 days to complete an online credit-recovery class. This is 26 days less than a typical semester-long course. Some would argue the online course is less rigorous, others would speculate it is because students have already seen the material and did learn something the first time around (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A). Little research is available to support either argument. Some say seat-time requirements are a hindrance to the effectiveness of online courses so many states are now waiving those requirements for this setting. Students can progress at their own pace, proving mastery quickly on some topics and working longer on those objectives that they have more trouble with. This is the beauty of the design. Sales in the credit-recovery line of online courses have increased eight hundred percent from 2008 to 2010 (Zehr, 10). “It’s the vision of the future as far as I’m concerned: kids going at their own pace,” said Mr. Blackman, head of the Dallas I.S.D., “the traditional school is only good for about a third of the kids” (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A).
Undoubtedly there are many innovative ways to use online education to fight the dropout problem. One that I thought was especially interesting was the way the Detroit-area school district combined online education and problem-based learning to address one of the highest dropout rates in the country. With more than 30 school districts in their metro area, Detroit also has high percentages of low-income and minority students. A program called Westwood Cyber High School is “having success re-engaging area dropouts and at-risk students” (Davis, S6-S7). Students here are often zealous about their projects, excited to collaborate with their peers and best of all – self-motivated. These are the same students who in the traditional setting were at risk of dropping out. The cyber high school uses a blend of online classes, project-based learning and optional face-to-face support to help these students achieve their goals. Most students enter the program behind in credits but of the 540 enrolled most are now on track to graduate on time. With state approval they have done away with traditional requirements and take an approach based on performance on a project the students often initiate. Many students work from home on a broadband connection paid for by the district and have a teacher mentor who is only assigned 6 students so he/she can provide around the clock support (Davis, S6-S7). I think this is a great program. This will teach otherwise disengaged students to self-motivate and feel successful. They are also going to have unique experiences upon graduation that traditional students will not.
Seeing the great need in this country for an online option in our high schools is easy. Proving it as the best option for our students is not as simple. Researchers estimate that, as of 2009 more than one million students take classes online, a forty-seven percent increase from a K-12 survey done in the 2005-06 school year (Davis, 5). With this number of students taking online classes already so large and growing so rapidly, one would hope that districts haven’t signed on before ensuring the research behind this type of education is sound. However, from top to bottom the research simply isn’t substantial and many supporters of online education will agree that “practice is far ahead of both policy and research” (Ahmed, 14). Some educators and researchers advocate that “the success of online-only education depends largely on the quality of curriculum and the teachers. Poor quality online curricula exist in the marketplace and figuring out how to train and evaluate virtual teachers is still a work in progress” (Davis, 8-9). Those factors as well as concerns about loss of face-time with teachers may slow the growth of e-learning.
There is information available on how to evaluate a district’s readiness or quality of online education. Liz Pape, President and CEO of VHS, discussed seven criteria by which to evaluate a district: First is curriculum, sighting student-centered learning in all course activities, documents, etc. Second is instructional design, sighting much student-to-student and student-to-teacher interaction. Third is teacher quality sighting it is critical teachers play a daily role in classes and give timely and constructive feedback. Fourth is student roles sighting students should have access to content experts from around the globe. Fifth is assessment sighting a variety of testing styles to meet all student learning styles. Sixth is management and support systems and seventh is technological infrastructure sighting the need for access to appropriate hardware, software and the internet (Pape, 12-16). This seems like a great list of criteria posed by the CEO of a company that sells online classes. Is this actually research based?
The growth of online AP courses is occurring in what remains uncharted territory. “Virtual course makers and the College Board continue to debate the benefit of hands-on lab experiences that online learners may forgo” (Davis, 14-15). In the realm of virtual classrooms for the average student there is little research to support or discredit such an approach to education. Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals said, “as we move toward this online world,…we need to be sensitive to social interaction, emotional development, and how to deal with adults in many situations” (Davis, 8-9).
The largest concern for the lack of research seems to be in the rapidly growing arena of online credit recovery classes. Russell Rumberger, education professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara said, “I question the effectiveness of these programs, but without data, it is hard to know” (Zehr, 10). And that seems to be the summation; there is simply no data so everyone just moves forward blindly. The Austin I.S.D. and Dallas I.S.D. each reported educating about 4,000 students in credit-recovery courses in 2009 (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A). There is no question to the reasons for the popularity since it enables students to learn at their own pace, it is very difficult for a teacher who has 30 students with varying levels of proficiency and some of the most advanced software programs can adapt in real time as the students progress (Ahmed, 14). As mentioned earlier, the Austin I.S.D. uses the popular NovaNet which does not provide written tests along with their online materials. If Austin did not supplement with their own written tests, students would be able to earn an English credit without ever writing a single sentence! (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A). It is scary to think of the districts out there using this same system that don’t supplement with their own assessments. Robert Scott, the Texas commissioner of education said he was “concerned some districts might be offering an easy way out of a rigorous curriculum, rather than an avenue back to regular classes.” He also said that “any tool that helps get kids credit toward graduation is certainly worth having but any time you’re accelerating education that quickly, there’s a concern that the quality of the content in the standards you’re going over will be lessened” (Thevenot and Butrymowicz, 21A).
With the dawn of an era in our midst I am without a doubt that teachers everywhere have at least secretly wondered if their future success relies on their ability to teach screen-to-screen. All of the articles, all of the research, no matter which side it proposes to be on agrees, “a computer never replaces a teacher, it allows the most talented and gifted students to move extra fast and the students struggling to take the time they need to before moving on to the next task” (Ahmed, 14). While critics worry that online learning robs students of the classroom experience and the social aspects of school, the Chicago Teachers Union has come out strongly against the effort saying many of the online programs reinforce the “drill and kill” testing mentality and fail to engage students (Ahmed, 14) which is what teachers work so diligently in their classroom to ensure.
Not surprisingly, statistics do show that the age ranges of students taking online classes are widening (students are getting younger i.e. an 11-year-old in online AlgebraJ) but statistics also show that fewer students in the “middle of the road” are participating in such classes. It tends to be the high-performing and the under-performing (Viadero, 9-11). Very few online students take electronic classes full time rather combining virtual schooling with traditional courses (Viadero, 9-11). Also, no matter the learner, online classes are most successful with extensive teacher interaction and support.
Even in the online classrooms and virtual high schools teachers will still play a vital role. One study, conducted at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln looked at the potential of motivating high-risk students in online high school courses. As more and more under-performing students (also considered at-risk) take online classes as an option to earn graduation credits, it is vital to understand what will motivate them to succeed in this environment. The study concluded that motivational email feedback and interaction from the instructor would likely motivate these students in this environment. The study sited that “students with high self-efficacy and/or adaptive attributions display increased effort, resilience, and persistence on educational tasks in traditional classrooms” so “enhancing messages from teachers to students with efficacy and attributions-to-effort will increase motivation and engagement for at-risk students in web-based courses” (Lehman, Kauffman, White, Horn, and Bruning 1-19). So the research agrees with what teacher interactions accomplish in traditional classrooms, they must also accomplish in online classrooms for students to be successful. Teachers must not only teach the content but they must also help each student feel confident. Students in online courses also rely on teacher feedback before they proceed. Ultimately, most students want to please their instructor and when an instructor is giving quality and timely feedback students are more likely to spend more time on the course.
Despite its current lack of backing in research, online education is here to stay. In fact, two out of three school districts expect their online-course enrollments to climb (Davis, 5). “People say that every online teacher and course isn’t high-quality, well, I’m pretty sure every physical class isn’t high-quality either” (Ahmed, 14). The truth behind online education is that it attracts students. With the right blend of online and traditional classrooms our students can far exceed our previous expectations. In the Chicago school system, every student from 3rd to 5th grade was given about three hours of online math per week with software that adapts to their skill level for every answer given. State assessment scores showed shocking gains in math (Ahmed, 14). “Our students are not going to be competitive if they’re not tech-savvy, and colleges expect you to know what to do with a laptop when you walk in the door” (Davis, 8-9).
Cheerleading tryouts will still be held in the spring. Two-a-days will still make or break some football players over the summer. Will the hallways still be filled with gossiping teens? Most likely. The difference may be what sort of classroom the students are rushing to. For a period of the day these students may sit in a virtual classroom with a teacher from Northern Canada. For another they will rush to traditional Geometry class with Mr. Clark, his Smart Board and his corny jokes that never get old. The argument will always be there as to which is better. I think online classes will increase because it is what our students need and the format in which they are most comfortable. We should embrace these changes as a way for our students to learn as much as they can in the most exciting way that they can. We should do all in our power to ensure that the courses offered in our school are of quality and with rigorous activities and content based assessments. Best of all we can rest assured that, as teachers, we will never go out of style, never be outdone and never be replaced.
References
1. Ahmed, Azam. "Chicago Schools Place Virtual Ed. Initiatives High on Priority List." Education Week. 30.4 (2010): 14. Print.
2. Davis, Michelle R. "Breaking Away From Tradition."Education Week. 28.26 (2009): 8-9. Print.
3. Davis, Michelle R. "Detroit-Area District Innovates to Address Dropout Problem." Education Week. 29.30 (2010): S6-S7. Print.
4. Davis, Michelle R. "Web-Based Classes Booming in Schools." Education Week. 28.19 (2009): 5. Print.
5. Lehman, Stephen, Douglas Kauffman, Mary Jane White, Christy A. Horn, and Roger H. Bruning. "Teacher Interaction: Motivating At-Risk Students in Web-Based High School Courses." Journal of Research on Computing in Education. 33.5 (2001): 1-19. Print.
6. Miller, Diana. "Advanced Placement Secures Online Niche." Education Week. 28.26 (2009): 14-15. Print.
7. Pape, Liz. "American School Board Journal." High School on the Web. 192.7 (2005): 12-16. Print.
8. Thevenot, Brian, and Sarah Butrymowicz. "More High School Students Acquire Online Credits." New York Times 11/5/2010: 21A. Print
9. Trotter, Andrew. "E-Learning Goes to School."Education Week. 21.35 (2002): 13-17. Print.
10. Viadero, Debra. "Research Shows Evolving Picture of E-Education." Education Week. 28.26 (2009): 9-11. Print.
11. Zehr, Mary Ann. "Demand Still Growing for Online Credit-Recovery Classes." Education Week. 29.36 (2010): 10. Print.
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