Education Commons^™

Innovative Public Education Or Glorified Homeschooling: Funding Full-Time K-12 Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

While there has been some improvement in what is known about supplemental K-12 online learning, there continues to be a lack of evidence to guide the practice of full-time K-12 online learning. This paper examines the literature and research into the funding of full-time K-12 online learning programs. As one of the few areas where a reasonable body of literature exists, and where both progress and neo-liberal groups have reach relative agreement. It concludes that full-time K-12 online learning costs less than traditional brick-and-mortar, and that policymakers should consider the nature of instruction when determining funding for full-time K-12 online …

Strategies For Overcoming Common Obstacles In The Online Environment: Issues In Virtual School Teaching, Michael K. Barbour, Kelly L. Unger

Education Faculty Publications

K-12 online learning or virtual schooling has seen substantial growth in the United States over the past two decades. While the practice of virtual schooling has exploded, the availability of research-based best practices to guide teachers working in these environments is lacking. This chapter presents four cases from Michigan Virtual School (MVS) teachers that examine a variety of issues that virtual school teachers face when facilitating K-12 student learning in the online environment, including strategies to provide substantive feedback in English Language Arts, methods for addressing the demonstration of mathematical computations, using Web 2.0 tools to increase interaction in an …

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

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

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 …

Research And Practice In K-12 Online Learning: A Review Of Open Access Literature, Cathy S. Cavanaugh, Michael K. Barbour, Tom Clark

Education Faculty Publications

The literature related to online learning programs for K-12 students dates to the mid-1990s and builds upon a century of research and practice from K-12 distance education. While K-12 online learning programs have evolved and grown over the past decade, the amount of published research on virtual schooling practice and policy is limited. The current literature includes practitioner reports and experimental and quasi-experimental studies, both published and unpublished. This paper reviews open access literature in K-12 online learning and reports on a structured content analysis of the documents. Themes in the literature include steady growth and a focus on the …

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 …

Connecticut Blueprint For A Nclb “Housse” In Educational Technology, Antoinette P. Bruciati

Education Faculty Publications

According to the United States Department of Education, teacher quality is one of the most critical aspects of the teaching and learning process. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has required that state agencies assume the responsibility for increasing student achievement and ensuring teacher quality by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The NCLB outlines minimum qualifications that are needed by teachers who work on any facet of classroom instruction and authorizes state administrators to establish the criteria through which an experienced teacher will meet the subject matter competencies in a specific content area. This paper …

Benchmarks For Assessing The Technological Literacy Of A Highly Qualified Paraprofessional, Antoinette P. Bruciati, María Lizano-Dimare

Education Faculty Publications

Under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) all instructional paraprofessionals working in a program supported under Title I, Part A, are required to meet the federal definition of being highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. In meeting the NCLB requirements, the capacity to support teaching and learning activities in the content areas must be demonstrated. As school districts incorporate increasing amounts of technology into their classroom curricula, the role of the paraprofessional must keep pace with new pedagogical methods for using technology to support student learning. Through the development of …