Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools

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Spotlight on Emerging Technology Online Learning
in K-12 Schools

• Application Four
• Dustin Maroon
• Walden University
• Dr. Jacqueline Derby
• EDUC-6715I-1 New and Emerging Technologies
• January 30, 2011

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Can online learning modules fill instructional
gaps and support meaningful, authentic student
learning?
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Without prior research and planning, any teacher
could answer yes, no, or maybe.
To answer this question, educators must first ask
themselves What is the target
subject/curriculum? Who are the target
students? Will the learning environment be
accredited?
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What is the target subject/curriculum?

• First, a decision should be made, will the entire
  course content be given online, or will the
  online content supplement what is covered in
  class.
• Supplemental resources can be given to all, but
  not all classes or students are appropriately
  ready to commence in full-time online courses.

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Curriculum Continued

• Courses like reading and handwriting are more
  difficult teach in an online environment,
  however Symbolic representations of mathematical
  concepts can be made more concrete for students
  in online courses through the use of virtual
  manipulatives (Cavanaugh Clark, 2007).

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Advantages to online learning modules

• Documents and media can be accessed any time from
  any internet connection
• With this flexible time, students have the option
  to work at their own pace.
• Information can be centralized, such as syllabi,
  resources, video/audio recordings, past
  assignments, grade-book functions, and
  collaborative learning chat rooms.

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Advantages Continued.

• A wider variety of classes could be taught, such
  as different foreign languages or other
  accelerated courses not currently available at
  the school.
• Students could increase course loads and
  possibilities by completing course work at home
  after a full day of school.

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Disadvantages to online learning modules

• Students may not have internet resources at home.
• Multi-child families will have various siblings
  competing for time on possibly one computer.

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Solutions/Rebuts

• Onsite computer labs will need to be accessible
  outside of school hours for students.
• Labs should also be open during study hall and
  lunch hours.

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Is the curriculum authentic, meaningful, or
accredited?

• A critical decision for the e-learning
  institution is to identify key pedagogical
  concepts and instructional models that will
  ensure consistency and quality of e-courses and
  serve as a road map for e-curriculum designers
  that have varying educational backgrounds
  (Johnston, 2007)
• Educators should also Develop quality measures
  and accreditation standards for e-learning that
  mirror those required for course credit
  (Cavanaugh Clark, 2007).

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Accredited continued

• Developing quality curriculum for the virtual
  environment (as it is for face-to-face
  environments) is challenging and time consuming,
  however once created and approved by a governing
  body, it can be replicated and administered
  globally, which decreases teacher planning in the
  future (Johnston, 2007).
• Once resources are organized and fabricated,
  educators would become more monitors of learning
  than lecturers.

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What will help and ensure that students are
productive?

• Interactions and assessments in an online
  learning environment vary in complexity and
  sophistication and generally fall into the
  following five categories
• Simple recognition (true/false or yes/no)
• Recall (fill-in, free recall, or matching)
• Comprehension (multiple choice, substitution,
  paraphrase, or short answer)
• Problem solving (simulations or modeling)
• Knowledge construction (project-based outcomes,
  research, or products from creative activity)
• (Johnston, 2007)

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Productivity Continued

• Feedback Content and Quality. Online courses
  should offer students substantial feedback on all
  tests and work products. Online feedback provided
  in the online learning environment can be simple
  judgments indicating correct or incorrect
  answers, or it can be complex responses that
  include diagnosis or remediation, or both.
  Diagnostic or remedial online feedback promotes
  better outcomes than feedback simply signaling
  that a response is right or wrong (Johnston,
  2007).

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Will online learning make a difference?

• If the correct material is designed for the
  appropriate audience, online learning modules
  will supplement and bolster the current education
  system.
• This type of learning does place the bulk of
  responsibility on the student as teachers do not
  get to see and academically push them on a
  daily basis. Many college freshmen fail out
  every year because they are not ready for the
  responsibility of getting themselves to class and
  doing homework on their own. Online learning is
  more of an impersonal and individual task,
  however if content is organized and designed
  correctly for students, so much more could be
  accomplished by todays students.

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References

• Cavanaugh, C., Clark, T. (2007). The Landscape
  of K-12 Online Learning. In P. Adamson, B.
  Adamson, N. Clausen-Grace, et al (Eds.), What
  Works in K-12 Online Learning (Chapter 1, p. 11,
  15). Eugene, OR International Society for
  Technology in Education.
• Johnston, S. (2007). Developing Quality Virtual
  Courses Selecting Instructional Models. In P.
  Adamson, B. Adamson, N. Clausen-Grace, et al
  (Eds.),What Works in K-12 Online Learning
  (Chapter 2, pp. 21,28). Eugene, OR International
  Society for Technology in Education.