Online and Distance Education Commons^™

The Straight Truth About Online Learning In The Straits: An Investigation Into The Nature Of Education In A Rural And Remote Region Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Dennis Mulcahy, Michael K. Barbour, Minakshi Lahiri

Education Faculty Publications

This paper reports on a naturalistic research project that was conducted in response to the educational concerns of the coastal rural communities of Labrador Straits. The research project investigated the current provision of education available to the children and the youth of these communities and found that due to declining population, changing demographics, lack of qualified teaching staff in the region and several other interrelated factors, there was an increased reliance on online learning in the small rural schools of the Straits as well as other rural regions of the province.

State Of The Nation: K-12 E-Learning In Canada, Michael K. Barbour, Randy Labonte

Education Faculty Publications

Current research in K-12 online learning in Canada has focused on defining distance learning and its current strengths and weaknesses. Yet, the proliferation of technologies and digital learning spaces has led to the emergence of new instructional strategies and digital learning practices for teachers in many K-12 classrooms, both online and onsite. Traditional school-based classrooms are incorporating technology-supported open learning options, creating “blended learning” opportunities where at least part of instruction occurs in a classroom, part online at a distance to the teacher, both combined with some element of choice in learning for students. For these emerging practices little is …

Review Of Overcoming The Governance Challenge In K-12 Online Learning, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Review by Michael K. Barbour.

Chubb, John E. Overcoming the Governance Challenge in K-12 Online Learning. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2012.

This fifth and final paper in the Fordham Institute’s series examining digital learning policy is Overcoming the Governance Challenge in K-12 Online Learning. The purpose of this report is to outline the steps required to move the governance of K-12 online learning from the local district level to the less restrictive state level and to create a free market for corporate innovation in K-12 online learning. Unfortunately, the report is based on an unsupported premise …

Today’S Student And Virtual Schooling: The Reality, The Challenges, The Promise, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Introduction:

In 2008 I was approached to deliver a keynote address at the biennial conference of the Distance Education Association of New Zealand (DEANZ) in Wellington on the topic of today’s student and K–12 distance education. Several months ago, Mark Nichols asked me if I would be interested in putting some of the ideas that I discussed as a part of that August 2008 presentation into a manuscript for the Journal of Distance Learning. This paper represents my best efforts to summarise and expand on those ideas.

As in my 2008 keynote, I want to discuss three main themes …