Online Learning

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Susan D. Patrick President and CEO North American
Council for Online Learning
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North American Council for Online Learning

• NACOL is the premier K-12 nonprofit organization
  in the field of online learning.
• Provides leadership, advocacy, research, training
  and networking with experts in K-12 online
  learning.
• Ensure every student has access to the best
  education available regardless of geography,
  income or background.
• Virtual School Symposium (VSS) Redesign Powered
  by Online Learning
• Dallas, Texas - November 5-7, 2006

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National View, Global Perspective
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Global Workforce

• Competitiveness Science, Technology,
  Engineering, Math
• Innovation, Risk-taking, Creativity
• China, India and Russia 3 billion
• Intel Science Competition 2004
• 65,000 Americans entered
• 6 million Chinese students
• Mexico Digital Curriculum and Instruction
• International E-Learning
• China, India, Japan, Korea, European Union,
  Singapore, Australia, UK, Ghana, etc.
• Developing a new education strategy centered,
  powered by online learning

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What Students Need to Know 21st Century Skills
and ICT literacy

• The future will demand people who can express
  themselves effectively with images, animation,
  sound, and video, solve real world problems that
  require processing and analysis of thousands of
  numbers, evaluate information for accuracy,
  reliability, and validity and organize
  information into valuable knowledge, yet students
  are not learning these skills in school.

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Defining 21st Century ICT Literacy

• The Partnership for 21st Century Skills defined 6
  key elements of 21st Century Learning
• Emphasize core subjects.
• Emphasize learning skills.
• Use 21st Century tools to develop learning
  skills.
• Teach and learn in 21st century context.
• Teach and learn 21st century content.
• Use 21st century assessments that measure 21st
  century skills.

www.21stCenturySkills.org
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Explosion in E-Learning and Virtual Schools
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Distance Education in K-12 Public Schools
2002-2003 (NCES 2005)

• 328,000 enrollments in 2002-2003
• 36 of public school districts have students
  enrolled in distance education courses
• Of these districts, 72 plan to expand their
  distance education courses
• Distance education provides more course options
  to public school students
• 50 of districts offered Advanced Placement or
  college-level courses
• 80 cited the most important reason as offering
  courses not otherwise available at the school

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Percentage Distribution of Enrollments in
Distance Education Courses 2002-03
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Reasons for Offering Distance Education Courses
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Distance Education at Degree-Granting
Postsecondary Institutions 2000-2001

• 56 of all 2-year and 4-year institutions offer
  e-learning courses
• 127,000 online courses offered
• 3,077,000 enrollments in distance education
  courses
• 90 use asynchronous Internet based courses
• 51 use two-way interactive videoconferencing

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Sharing Research to Inform Policy
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What Leaders Need to Know Four Key Ideas

• 1 Online Learning Expands Options
• The first impetus to the growth of K-12 distance
  education was an interest in expanding
  educational options and providing equal
  opportunities for all learners. (p.7)
• 2 Online Learning Is Rapidly Growing
• Recent Surveys show that K-12 online learning is
  a rapidly growing phenomenon. (p.4)
• Clark 40,000-50,000 enrollments in 2000-2001
• Eduventures 300,000 K-12 enrollments online
  2002-3
• USED/NCES 328,000 enrollments in distance ed
  2002-3
• Peak Group 500,000 enrollments in 2005
• Growing 30 annually

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Online Learning Works

• 3 Is Effective Equal or Better
• One conclusion seems clear On average, students
  seem to perform equally well or better
  academically in online learning. (p. 17)
• 4 Improves Teaching
• Teachers who teach online reported positive
  improvements in face-to-face, too.
• Of those who reported teaching face-to-face
  while teaching online or subsequently, three in
  four reported a positive impact on their
  face-to-face teaching.
• (p. 25)

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Are Online Students Engaged?
Apex Apex Learning, Inc FLVS Florida
Virtual School VHSVirtual High School
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Are Online Students Learning?
Apex Apex Learning, Inc FLVS Florida
Virtual School VHSVirtual High School
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Online Learning National Education Technology
Plan

• Goals related to E-Learning (pages 8-9)
• Provide every student access to e-learning
• Enable every teacher to participate in e-learning
  training
• Encourage the use of e-learning options to meet
  NCLB requirements (HQT, SES, choice)
• Explore creative ways to fund e-learning
• Develop quality measures and accreditation
  standards for e-learning that require those
  required for course credit
• www.NationalEdTechPlan.org

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Gallup Poll October 2005

• 40 of adults want students to take an online
  class for graduation from high school

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Michigan April 2006

• First state to require online learning
• In new high school graduation requirements
  every student must have an online learning
  experience or course
• Need for online learning is greatest with
  students to access skills they will need to get
  ahead and compete in an increasingly
  technological workplace

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1952
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68 H.S. Graduation Rate

• Prepare them for the world they are entering
• 68 graduate high school
• 26 make it to sophomore year
• 80 of jobs require postsecondary education
• U.S.
• 31 proficiency in reading at the 3rd grade

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System Design

• System is doing exactly what it was designed to
  do
• Bela Banathy writes on transformation and
  systems design in education
• Industrial goal for education 25 of students to
  college
• Time and motion studies in the factory age
• Prisoners of Time (national report)

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• Silent Epidemic
• Gates Foundation commissioned first study of high
  school drop outs
• 88 had passing grades
• 69 were not motivated to work hard
• 66 would have worked harder if more had been
  demanded of them
• 81 called for more real world learning
  opportunities

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Transformation vs. Integration
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Leadership TIP

• Trust
• Integrity
• Passion

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Todays Students
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Who Are Our Students?

• Largest generation (36 of total population).
• 31 are minorities more diverse than the adult
  population.
• Have come of age along with the Internet.
• Information has been universally available and
  free to them community is a digital place of
  common interest, not just a shared physical
  space.

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Rise of the Millennials

• Studies show that they are a capable,
  conscientious, concerned and optimistic
  generation, determined to succeed
• 96 percent say that doing well in school is
  important to their lives.
• 94 percent say they plan to continue their
  education after high school.
• 90 percent of children between 5-17 use
  computers.
• 94 percent of teens use the Internet for
  school-related research.
• Teens spend more time online using the Internet
  than watching television.
• High school and college students spend nearly
  400 billion a year.
• And they increasingly are involved in making
  spending decisions for their parents.

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Internet Use by Age
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12th Graders Perceptions About School
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What Are They Telling Us?

• We have technology in our blood.
• -- High School Student

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Creativity and Risk-taking

• Your creativity is highest at 6
• Lowest point terminal seriousness at 44
• Bounce at retirement

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"Changes in our lives may not come as abruptly as
for the young yet we grow and change, and enter
upon new journeys or new seasons, and are withal
as much at sea (at least, much of the time) as
any novice facing the world."  Risk-taking "...is
an old-fashioned theme, for nowadays we go to
great lengths to avoid risks.  ....Yet something
of an older bias lingers, and we are reminded now
and then of times ... when it seemed better to
put all save honor in jeopardy than to look too
long before taking a leap.  Somehow these seem to
have been the best of times, and we would fain
recapture their zest and assurance."     People
may "plod along without vision, being naively
surprised when things turn out well, and
disillusioned or cynical if they go ill.  They
might be standing on the edge of a cliff while
remarking on how solid the road is or they
arrive at a little Eden and assume it is only one
more motel along the highway of life. August
Heckschel, "The Risk-takers," C. S. Monitor,
6-19-81, p. 20.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes

• The mind stretched to a new idea never returns
  to its original dimension.

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Thank you!
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Toward a New Golden Age in American Education
How the Internet, the Law and Todays Students
are Revolutionizing Expectations

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1. STRENGTHEN LEADERSHIP

• Invest in leadership development programs to
  ensure a new generation of tech-savvy leaders.
• Retool administrator education programs to
  provide training in data-driven decision making
  and organizational change.
• Develop partnerships between schools, higher
  education and the community.
• Encourage creative technology partnerships with
  the business community.
• Empower students participation in the planning
  process.

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2. CONSIDER INNOVATIVE BUDGETING

• Consider a systemic restructuring of budgets to
  realize efficiencies, cost savings and
  reallocations. This can include reallocations in
  expenditures on textbooks, instructional
  supplies, space and computer labs.
• Consider leasing with 3-5 year refresh cycles.
• Create a technology innovation fund to carry
  funds over yearly budget cycles.

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Aligning Every Dollar

• 21st Century Skills
• Every dollar spent on 21st century tools?
• Cost per student per day 11 and digital content
• Cost of textbooks vs. cost of laptop

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3. IMPROVE TEACHER TRAINING

• Teachers have more resources available through
  technology than ever before, but have not
  received sufficient training in the effective use
  of technology to enhance learning.
• Teachers need access to research, examples and
  innovations as well as staff development to learn
  best practices.
• Every teacher has online training

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4. SUPPORT E-LEARNING AND VIRTUAL SCHOOLS

• Provide every student access to e-learning.
• Enable every teacher to participate in e-learning
  training.
• Develop quality measures and accreditation
  standards for e-learning that mirror those
  traditionally required for course credit.

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5. ENCOURAGE BROADBAND ACCESS

• Evaluate existing technology infrastructure and
  access to broadband to determine its current
  capacities and explore ways to ensure its
  reliability.
• Ensure that broadband is available all the way to
  the end-user for data management, online and
  technology-based assessments, e-learning, and
  accessing high-quality digital content.
• Ensure adequate technical support to manage and
  maintain computer networks, maximize educational
  uptime and plan for future needs.

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6. MOVE TOWARD DIGITAL CONTENT

• Ensure that teachers and students are adequately
  trained in the use of online content.
• Encourage that each student has ubiquitous access
  to computers and connectivity.
• Consider costs and benefits of online content,
  aligned with rigorous state academic standards,
  as part of a systemic approach to creating
  resources for students to customize learning to
  their individual needs.

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7. INTEGRATE DATA SYSTEMS

• Establish a plan to integrate data systems so
  that administrators and educators have the
  information they need to increase efficiency and
  improve student learning.
• Use assessment results to inform and
  differentiate instruction for every child.
• Implement School Interoperability Framework (SIF)
  Compliance Certification as a requirement in all
  RFPs and purchasing decisions.

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Questions

• Thank you!
• For more information, visit our website
• North American Council for Online Learning,
  www.NACOL.org
• Email spatrick_at_nacol.org
• Join us!
• Next Generation Education Redesign Powered by
  Online Learning for the 2006 Virtual School
  Symposium, November 4-7, 2006 in Dallas, Texas

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Thank you!