Michaela+Koopmans

=My Notes= Web-based instruction [|web-based instruction]

-The rapid growth of the Internet and home computer use, as well as decreasing costs in communications, has led to a surge in online instruction (Volery 2001), encouraging educators at the secondary level to believe that distance education technology can improve teaching effectiveness for high school students. This hope has culminated in the creation of virtual high schools (VHSs). A VHS is an educational agent that uses a variety of electronic models to supply quality instruction to defined populations of students (Mittelman 2001). VHS programs operate outside the traditional school system's barriers of place and time, bringing together students, teachers, and information from around the world. Virtual schools and courses experiment with a range of organizational and pedagogic frameworks-- from individual courses on the Internet, to programs that complement or replace courses given in traditional schools, to entire systems that offer alternatives to the regular educational system (Mittelman 2001).

-Gloria Chaika, in her article "Virtual High Schools : The High Schools of the Future?" (1999), discusses the many advantages of cyber schools. Key among these benefits is increased opportunity. VHSs enable students in small, rural, or low socioeconomic status school districts to take specialized courses not normally available to them. Home- schooled students can gain instruction in subjects, such as foreign languages and computer skills, which their parents might not be prepared to teach. Online programs offer workable alternatives to a variety of potential learners, including school -phobics, people in hospitals or at home due to illness and injury, dropouts who want to go back to school, expelled students, single parents, and students in other states or countries looking for nontraditional educational solutions. Also, in an age when many schools are overcrowded or crumbling, cyber learning makes financial sense: schools that use distance learning may not necessarily need to modernize or build new buildings to provide quality cyber instruction.

VHSs offer more than increased learning opportunities; they offer equal learning opportunities. Tom Layton, a technology teacher at a cyber school originating in Eugene, Ore., explains:

Distance education finally brings democracy to education. It gives the student in East L.A. or Brentwood, or Martha's Vineyard, or Harlem...an equal opportunity to content curriculum and to people with many perspectives. I believe students who learn with each other will learn from each other. Until now, the single biggest factor influencing the quality of education was where you live. If you don't believe me, ask any real estate agent. For the 21st Century it is not going to be where you live, but how you are connected (Chaika 1999).

Impact of computer-based edu. [|Impact of computer-based edu]

-Virtual schools can be a solution to inequities in educational opportunities that exist due to factors such as geographical location, school size, demographics of income and race/ethnicity, budgeting constraints, and substandard teachers. Computer-based instruction is now offering students in low-income schools, rural areas, and small towns the same preparation for college courses and career demands previously available only to learners in well-funded urban and suburban population center schools. Thomas predicts that within the next three or four years, most high school students in the United States will take all or part of their courses from the Internet.

-The missions, visions, and purposes of virtual schools are as varied as their types. Many intend to offer high quality or rigorous instruction to all students regardless of location or school size. Some specifically target very rural populations. Some are designed to serve special learners, whether struggling or gifted. There are virtual schools that provide online college preparatory courses to enhance students' eligibility for admission to top-flight universities. Others have a mission to provide an opportunity to students who dropped out of high school before graduating. Some wish to serve as an alternative for learners whose needs, for whatever reasons, are not accommodated by a traditional classroom.

-What was the quality of the IVHS experience for students? Overall, students agreed that taking an online course was an effective way to learn. Sixty percent of those surveyed indicated they would take another course online. Twenty percent stated they would not, and 20% were unsure. Individual differences were prevalent among students in their reactions to courses and instructors. Some liked the personal freedom of an online course and being able to proceed at their own pace. Others thought the freedom was too much and encouraged procrastination. Some students did not like the lack of personal contact, while others enjoyed not being bothered. Administrators and counselors agreed that the IVHS was meeting the academic needs of students. Their statements indicated a strong impression that students were surprised at the difficulty of completing an online course successfully.


 * They (FVS) cover everything; we skip things in regular class.


 * In this class, I learn lots of different aspects of the Latin language. Rather than just vocabulary, I learn history, culture, and geography.


 * The work is better and requires more thinking.


 * This is real stuff I am learning, not just busy work.


 * I believe that FVS teaches more material and covers more ground than a regular high school does.


 * You definitely go in depth a lot more with FVS.


 * I am reading more books for the AP Lit exam than I would in a high school course.


 * It is better because you learn much more than a bunch of dates to pass a test. You learn the reasons behind the dates and events, and in doing so you learn more about American history than what you would learn by reading a chapter out of a book. (Florida State University, 2000).

-I believe this is the wave of the future for education. This has the potential to be a lifesaver for our public school system. It could be an answer to overcrowding, as well as a very cost efficient solution to building new schools and classrooms. If our world is moving into the age of computers and technology this is the perfect place to start. (Optimal Performance Parent Survey, 2001, p.38).

Role of technology in SUPPORTING learning communities [|role of tech in supporting learning communities]

-We suggest that one of the most promising uses of technology is as a vehicle for building and supporting learning communities that will help students thrive in the new millennium. There are many reasons why technology can play a central role in creating effective learning communities. These include the potential of technology to increase our ability to work and learn from others who are distant in time and location.1 Technology supports and expands the sociocultural links that help give us intellectual identity. It also provides new "power tools" for learning that enable students to develop the interpersonal and intellectual skills necessary to construct shared understandings of their world. These power tools are the keys for the creation and communication of ideas. Learning communities powered by these evolving tools provide a way to develop an instructional system that can help students learn to work in a world culture and to shape their destiny in the interdependent world of the 21st century.

-Electronic field trips. Communication tools make it possible for people anywhere in the world to be a part of a classroom lesson. - Online mentoring. In addition, teachers can invite distant "team teachers" from any field, with any expertise, to work in their classrooms. -Distance education also provides flexible online materials that make it possible to share information in a format that differs from traditional classroom lectures. -Science investigations. Used appropriately, these digital resources can be companions in the investigation of reality. -Virtual reality technology can add additional interactive options to the learning environment, making it possible for students not only to see what exists, but to place themselves in different settings. In these virtual worlds, students can make choices and see the consequences of their actions. -Internet search tools, though still primitive for educational use, give students access to more information than could ever exist in a single school library. But with text or with multimedia, it is the process of sharing expertise that is critical in the communal work of Learning Circles. Writing collaboratively with a larger community of people who care about a topic is a powerful lesson in group problem solving and thinking.

We work online. We shop online. Let's learn online. [|Work. Shop. Learn. ONLINE]

-Bill Gates: He wrote: " Online learning can be more than lectures. Another element involves presenting information in an interactive form, which can be used to find out what a student knows and doesn't know." -How do we know online education will work? Well, for one thing, it already does. Full-time virtual charter schools are operating in dozens of states. -One of the most successful areas of online education so far is helping kids who have fallen off the educational grid. - Online education gives students in dysfunctional urban districts the chance to enroll in high-quality classes or language instruction without an expensive move to a suburban district or a private school. Cities benefit, too, as families uncomfortable with the quality of urban public schools can continue to live near their downtown offices while enrolling their children in Web-based programs, reducing white flight and suburban sprawl. -According to Julie Young, the president and chief executive of the Florida Virtual School, "most teachers and most students who are taking classes online say that they have more interaction with their teachers and students than they do in a traditional setting."

advantage of web-based learning [|adv of web-based learning]

-One major advantage is that allows anyone, anywhere, to study anything. For example, a small school in rural Oklahoma is unlikely to offer its students a wide variety of language classes; the school is too small for the school district to justify hiring teachers of, say, Russian or Arabic. In a traditional classroom environment, students with an interest in those parts of the world would simply be out of luck. Thanks to web-based learning, however, students have access to relatively obscure subjects. There is, in fact, a huge library of courses and training offered around the globe. Web-based learning has made it possible to study nearly any subject from nearly anywhere in the world.

-many web-based learning packages are offered in modules, which students work through individually, at their own pace. Moreover, an electronic forum enables students to meet with teachers in one-on-one sessions. The ability to work through the material at the student’s own pace is a dramatic advantage over traditional teaching methods. [|BUILDING HIGH SCHOOL CLICK BY CLICK-Kristina] But not all participants fit the archetype of the typical high school-aged learner. One non-traditional student hoped to return to school after more than 50 years to complete the credits necessary for earning a high school diploma. Others were already carrying full course loads at the traditional high schools and wanted the opportunity to take additional coursework, while some students decided to take a class to improve a grade they had received in the traditional setting. The Illinois Online Network also found that asynchronous discussions in an online course allowed the learner time to think and reflect on presented content material. Rather than trying to formulate an answer on the spot, the learner gives more consideration to the response, which seems to result in more engaged learning. Thus, instead of only learning facts, students discuss topics and become active participants in the learning process. This research was supported in the Rapid City Academy's experience with its virtual high school. So, it's no surprise that 88 percent of academy instructors identified reflective learning, student engagement, and student-centered instruction as advantages of online instruction. In addition, students' responses to individual teacher's requests for feedback regarding the online education experience indicated the positive impact of a personal connectedness to the instructor through the use of e-mail, threaded discussions, and journaling. The online learning platform's interactivity also rated highly with 88 percent of the instructors, while students in general enjoyed using the computers and all of the related tools, such as threaded discussion boards, e-mail, and journals. Perhaps as importantly, many of the students were experienced in the use of interactive online tools, including electronic bulletin boards, as well as chat and instant messaging, prior to beginning their online coursework. These same students also highlighted the use of Web sites to learn more about subjects of interest

pros of online school [|pros of online school]

Whether you live in the most remote town in the United States (provided you have an internet connection) or at the top of the tallest building in your city, you can always be on time to study your lessons. Online schooling eliminates the time you have to prepare to dress up for school. It also removes the time you have to spend sitting on the taxi or waiting for the green light. With online schooling, your home and your classroom are the same.
 * No time wasted on traveling

For people who need to attend important things around the home, online schooling works best. For instance: you have a baby to take care of or you have a several things that must be done around the house. If before you have to find ways to squeeze all the items in your "to-do-list" for one whole day, now online schooling will give you more time on other things as it eliminates the time you have to spend on preparation for school.
 * Can attend home needs anytime

To create a page...
>
 * 1) Click on the edit button [[image:edit.jpg]]
 * 2) Type the title of the page. Use a descriptive title not just "notes 1."
 * 3) Highlight the text and click the link button in the menu bar.
 * 4) In the Page Name text box **__add your name to the end of the title of the page__** and press add link.
 * 1) This will create a hyperlink to a page that doesn't exist. When you go to the page you will be prompted to edit this new page. **__Make sure that you choose the Notes page template.__**