Chapter 11 : K–12 Online Learning:

Sustainability,

Success, and Sensibility

• At present, K–12 online learning programs are

primarily a North American phenomenon.

In the United States and Canada, education of students

between the ages of 5 and 18 usually occurs in

elementary and secondary schools, in classes that

range from kindergarten through 12th grade. Together,

these schools are referred to as K–12 schools.

Online learning is a type of distance education, or

formal study, in which teacher and learners are

separate in time or space.

Distance education may be electronic, such as

online or video-based study, or non-electronic,

such as print-based independent study.

Online learning has advanced through several

generations of development to reach its present-day

structure. It incorporates the computer, e-mail, fax,

telephone, and Internet “to deliver instruction offering

flexibility, adaptability, collaboration, synchronous and

synchronous, communication, response to rapid change

in information, student-directed and independent learning

possibilities, and face-to-face opportunities”.

It offers a change in the time and space in

which students learn.

This chapter will focus on the progression of online

learning from its earliest days to the present and offer

recommendations for future practice. It will also use

information from previous chapters in this book to

further confirm the need for sustainable and sensible

models that will lead to the success of online learning.

The Foundations of K-12 Online Learning

In the early days of virtual learning, the quality of

communication and interaction between teachers,

teacher and student, and student and student was

criticized. Again, the definition of communication and

interaction was based on historical educational

experiences that insisted on a face-to-face

component.

What online learning did was to broaden

the definition of communication and interaction,

encouraging more student participation in

a less daunting space and supporting a change in the

role of teacher from all-knowing sage

to facilitator or coach .

The definition of communication and interaction was

further expanded to include a community of practice

that “changed the isolated locale of the classroom into

part of a global classroom environment” So, what has

been the impetus that has made online learning a

rapidly growing phenomenon?

Current practice • Most recent estimates of American public school

enrollments in online learning courses are as high as

328,000, the definition of enrollment does not calculate

students in full-time online schools and includes students

enrolled in dual-registration programs

Factors to online enrollments • scheduling issues in conventional learning environments

• unavailability of specific courses at registered school

• need for enrichment or remediation

• inability to attend conventional school because of illness

• commitment to sports or fine arts

• preference to learn using computer-mediated instruction

• disenchantment with conventional learning environments

Content Development

• Teachers have reported that creating online

courses is a considerable undertaking that

consumes a great deal of time, content

differentiation to accommodate diverse learner

needs has often been limited in online courses.

• A good instructional design will be established through

exploration and inclusion of internet resources and

that the World Wide Web can provide resources to

support teaching and learning.

• online course development has the promise to impact

conventional teaching and learning practice and build

capacity specific to information, communication, and

technology skills, but that content development cannot be

the responsibility of teachers.

• the models of content development must include

principles and strategies based on researched learning

theories that match with student needs.

Professional Development

The need for teachers to continually upgrade their

technology skills, ensure effective instructional

design practice, and keep up with the day-to-day

requirements of being a virtual school teacher

leaves little time for professional development.

Online courses can provide unique preservice

and inservice opportunities for teachers,

reflecting the anytime/anyplace structure of

online learning and learning theories that

demonstrate effective practice based on

research and evaluation.

These professional development opportunities also

build in a community of practice permitting a just-in-

time answer to questions that might arise, such that

strategies can effectively be implemented

and sustained.

Inherently built into content development initiatives

is the promise that teachers can learn

through the review of existing online courses and

can gain an understanding of online classroom

dynamics and provincial or state curricula. This is

unique to online learning and is not available

in conventional classroom settings because face-to-

face teaching is not recorded or shared with

colleagues.

Courses can be repurposed to include different strategies,

Internet links, and other content that

can be again shared with new teachers.

Postsecondary institutions are still wrestling with models that

can provide online teachers with

a practicum experience that permits understanding,

implementation, and evaluation.

Technology Requirements and Accessibility

Educators have long wrestled with hard and soft costs

associated with changing technology. The gathering,

retrieving, creation, and sharing of resources dictates

what technology requirementsand level of functionality

are necessary to engage and support online learning

and effectively integrate technology into conventional

teaching and learning practice.

Funding and Resources and Collaborative Learning Networks

Within the online learning context, collaboration has been difficult, and it continues to be so.

Many Canadian provinces and American states have created semi-marketlike environments, as

online schools and programs provide fee-for-service options outside of learners’ school districts.

Future Directions The greater global community is to varying degrees embracing online approaches, it is within the online learning environment that the greatest dissonance is being evidenced.

Many factors contribute to this dissonance, including: 1. ecology that supports maintaining the program

2. models of content development and

professional development

3. technology requirements and issues of accessibility

4. funding

5. the establishment of collaborative learning

networks and research

1. Student achievement within online schools and programs

should be a prioritized research focus to ensure that positive

outcomes are being realized, documented, and used

to support future practice.

2. Schools and school districts that have teachers creating

online content should build in mechanisms that would permit

teachers to work exclusively on the creation of online

resources without the added responsibilities

of teaching and learning.

Recommendations

3. Commercially produced or licensed content should be

customizable so as to meet diverse learners’ needs.

4. Intellectual property rights and copyright issues require

ongoing research and develop-ment to inform policy.

5. Teachers should be provided with appropriate models of

professional development that build on a community of

practice and include both technologicaland

pedagogical components.

7. Policies at provincial and state levels should be created

to support collaborative learning networks, reduce

redundancy in efforts, and realize cost efficiencies.

8. Ongoing and consistent research must also inform policy

and practice and should be funded by all levels of

government and within school districts to facilitate,

enhance, and direct effective practice.

6. School districts should be provided with added funding

from federal, state, or provincial governments.

9. Postsecondary institutions should reassess and review

existing preservice options and include approaches

specific to online learning.

10. Postsecondary institutions, school districts, and

governments should include online learning within

their business plans and incorporate outcomes,

strategies, measures, data, and performance

targets as part of these plans.

In conclusion, in every chapter of this book it is evident that

great progress has already been made in online teaching and

learning. It will simply get better and better in the future.

Steady growth in online learning and the realization. It is vital,

today, that we improve the efficacy of online teaching and

learning policy and practice, because tomorrow starts the

next phase of our communities’ evolution, a phase in which

the future will be celebrated because the promise of

ubiquitous, technology-enhanced teaching and learning is

finally realized.