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Full-Text Articles in Education
Introduction (Online Learning December 2015 Special Issue), Anissa Lokey-Vega, Michael K. Barbour
Introduction (Online Learning December 2015 Special Issue), Anissa Lokey-Vega, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
While at an admittedly slower rate than the growth in enrollments, research in K-12 online learning has been picking up pace in the past decade and a foundation in best practice is now being laid.
A special K-12 issue of Online Learning is an ideal avenue for an academic dialogue. The focus of this special issue of Online Learning is to present rigorous research specific to the context of K-12 education including systematic inquiry into promising practices, various schooling models, measures of quality, and parent and teacher experience. All authors have provided explanations of K-12-specific terminology to support readers new …
Review Of Virtual Schooling And Student Learning, Michael K. Barbour
Review Of Virtual Schooling And Student Learning, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
A new report compares the performance of Florida Virtual School (FLVS) students with students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools and concludes the FLVS students perform about the same or somewhat better on state tests and at a lower cost. The report claims to be the first empirical study of K-12 student performance in virtual education. This is not correct, and the report in fact confirms the findings and repeats the methodological flaws and limitations of previous research. The report’s findings fail to account for the potential bias of student selectivity in the FLVS sample, the potential impact of regression effects, differential …
K-12 Online Learning: A Worldwide Perspective, Michael K. Barbour, Kathryn Kennedy
K-12 Online Learning: A Worldwide Perspective, Michael K. Barbour, Kathryn Kennedy
Education Faculty Publications
K-12 online learning is often used as an umbrella term to describe all instances of kindergarten through 12th grade students' learning by using the Internet. This chapter will explore the state of K-12 online learning in North America and around the world. From correspondence education to complete online schools that are found in some school districts today, K-12 online learning is continuing to grow at seemingly exponential rates. Policies in various districts and countries, along with the individual needs of students and goals for the education system, have often dictated--or at least influenced--this development. In this chapter, we explore these …
The Farnet Journey: Effective Teaching Strategies For Engaging Māori Students On The Virtual Learning Network, Michael K. Barbour, Carolyn Bennett
The Farnet Journey: Effective Teaching Strategies For Engaging Māori Students On The Virtual Learning Network, Michael K. Barbour, Carolyn Bennett
Education Faculty Publications
The Virtual Learning Network (VLN) provides schools, particularly those in rural and remote areas, with the opportunity to cooperate to expand curricular offerings for their students. Each school that participates in a VLN cluster contributes at least one course delivered by an e-teacher, allowing member schools access to any course offered through the VLN that they cannot offer locally. At present, there is no formal national training for the e-teachers, although individual clusters offer a range of training opportunities. This case study focused on the e-teachers’ perceptions of the learning curve required for them to be adequately and effectively prepared …
Pictures From An Exhibition… Of Online Learning: A Creative Representation Of Qualitative Data, Michael K. Barbour, Jason Paul Siko, Kaye Simuel-Everage
Pictures From An Exhibition… Of Online Learning: A Creative Representation Of Qualitative Data, Michael K. Barbour, Jason Paul Siko, Kaye Simuel-Everage
Education Faculty Publications
K-12 online learning at the K-12 level has been around for approximately two decades and is continuing to grow. While researchers have researched a variety of issues related to K-12 online learning, there has been little published on the student experience in web-based learning environments. In this article, two doctoral students were tasked with analyzing existing data, then representing and situating their findings in a format other than the traditional "results" and "discussion" sections found in a typical six-section journal manuscript. One student created an image that focused upon the tools used by the K-12 student in her online learning. …
State Of The Nation: K-12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour
State Of The Nation: K-12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
This is the 5th edition of the State of the Nation: K–12 Online Learning in Canada report. The purpose of this annual investigation is to describe the policies and regulations that govern K–12 distance education in each of the thirteen Canadian provinces and territories. The study is also designed to survey the level of K–12 distance education activity across the country.
It's Not That Tough: Students Speak About Their Online Learning Experiences, Michael Barbour, Angelene Mclaren, Lin Zhang
It's Not That Tough: Students Speak About Their Online Learning Experiences, Michael Barbour, Angelene Mclaren, Lin Zhang
Education Faculty Publications
K-12 online learning is growing in Canada and elsewhere in the world. However, the vast majority of literature is focused on practitioners and not on systematic inquiry. Even the limited published research has largely excluded the perspectives of students engaged in virtual schooling. This study examines secondary student perceptions of components of virtual schooling that were beneficial and challenging. Students largely enjoyed their virtual school courses and found the synchronous classes, the technology, and the ability to control their own learning as positive aspects of their experience. Students also found the lack of a sense of community, working during their …
Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour, Richard E. Ferdig
Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour, Richard E. Ferdig
Education Faculty Publications
K-12 Online Learning has exponentially grown in the last 15 years. An estimated 1.2 million K-12 students took online classes last year; 45 states currently have some form of online learning at the state-level; and some states mandate some sort of online experience prior to high school graduation. Given its dramatic growth and ubiquity in K-12 schooling, it is critical that administrators learn more about K-12 schooling and the role it may play in their district or building. Unfortunately, there is not one single model of K-12 online schooling. Therefore, there is not one suggested set of recommendations, learnings, or …
State Of The Nation: K–12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour
State Of The Nation: K–12 Online Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
A variety of initiatives are driving online and blended learning in each of Canada’s provinces and territories. From teachers’ unions in Nova Scotia fighting to ensure online learning is an accepted method of educational delivery, to Ontario’s College of Teachers creating an e-learning endorsement for teachers or the British Columbia government creating policies to expand the growth and opportunities online learning provides, there are multiple, isolated initiatives happening across the country.
State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada is now in its fourth year of publication and can be seen as a national guide for understanding the field …
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring The Research On Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring The Research On Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
The first web-based distance education programs at the K-12 began in the early 1990s. Unlike distance education and online learning in general, much less is known about virtual schooling – even less of which is based on systematic research. What is known is often based solely on practitioner experiences. Regardless, the growth and practice of virtual schooling has far outpaced the production of reliable and valid research. This paper will focus upon describing the evolution of K-12 online learning in Canada and the United States, how that evolution has impacted rural schools, and what lessons can be learned from the …
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
The history of online learning at the K-12 level is almost as long as its history at the post-secondary level, with the first virtual school programs beginning in the early 1990s. While these opportunities were designed as a way to provide rural students with access to more specialized courses, as opportunities have become organized into virtual or cyber schools the nature of students served by these institutions have broadened. Unlike online learning in general, much less is known about virtual schooling – even less of which is based on systematic research. Regardless, the growth and practice of virtual schooling has …
Beyond Volunteerism And Good Will: Examining The Commitment Of Schoolbased Teachers To Distance Education, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Beyond Volunteerism And Good Will: Examining The Commitment Of Schoolbased Teachers To Distance Education, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Education Faculty Publications
Two decades ago Newfoundland and Labrador introduced distance education in the K-12 environment. The program focused upon providing advanced-level courses to rural school students, and worked largely due to the widely known, but rarely documented significant amounts of content-based assistance from school based personnel. In the past seven years the province has moved to a virtual school model of distance education and more rural schools find that they must rely upon this virtual school to offer academic-level courses to students with a wide range of abilities. This has created many new responsibilities for teachers that have also gone undocumented. Studies …
How Are They Doing?: Examining Student Achievement In Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
How Are They Doing?: Examining Student Achievement In Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Education Faculty Publications
Six years ago the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation began a virtual high school within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Designed primarily to provide courses in specialized areas to students in rural areas, where schools have difficulty in attracting second language, mathematics and science teachers. However, there has been some concern that the opportunities provided by this virtual high school are "second rate" or only able to cater to independent, self-motivated students. The purpose of the study is to examine the student achievement in standardized public exams and final course scores in the province between different delivery …
Learning Styles: A Focus Upon E-Learning Practices And Their Implications For Successful Instructional Design, Morris Cooze, Michael Barbour
Learning Styles: A Focus Upon E-Learning Practices And Their Implications For Successful Instructional Design, Morris Cooze, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
With the proliferation of online learning into the K-12 learning environment, the focus of investigation needs to shift specific studies that pertain to this environment. One such area of investigation surrounds the development of specific online course content and the individualized learning styles of the students in these online learning environments. This review focuses upon the vast body of literature for the post-secondary online learner and argues the case for additional research in K-12 education. While recent studies have started the process of changing this focus, as online learning becomes more prevalent and accepted as a means of learning at …
Learning Styles: A Focus Upon E-Learning Practices And Pedagogy And Their Implications For Designing E-Learning For Secondary School Students In Newfoundland And Labrador, Morris Cooze, Michael K. Barbour
Learning Styles: A Focus Upon E-Learning Practices And Pedagogy And Their Implications For Designing E-Learning For Secondary School Students In Newfoundland And Labrador, Morris Cooze, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
With the increase of online learning in the K-12 environment, research must turn to specific studies focused upon this level. One area of investigation surrounds the development of online course content and individualised student learning styles. This review found that although there is a vast body of research concerning online learning in the post-secondary environment, this is not true for K-12 education. Recent studies have begun the discussion for secondary school students as online learning becomes more prevalent and accepted as a means of learning. The lessons that these studies bring forward may be of particular interest to instructional designers …