Monday, October 8, 2012

Are Online Schools More Effective for Children with Health and Educational Needs?


I examined a study by Thompson, L.A. et al., (2012) Online /schools and children with special health and education needs:  Comparison with performance in traditional schools.  The objective of this study was to describe the demographics of US online school participants and compare student achievement of online and traditional schools.  The study was conducted through an online parental survey and thus concluded the children in that demographic did not mirror state specific school populations.  Most of these children were white females with college educated parents.  These children were also high achievers and independent learners.  Findings also concluded that children with special health and educational needs as well black children reported significantly lower grades in online than in traditional schooling.

According to these writers, online learning has yet to become beneficial for students that are suffering health and educational disadvantages.  I believe that the availability of online programs is a benefit in itself.  The mere fact that there is an alternative for students that are at risk, whether it is health or social disadvantage, they still have options. Although they may not be able to fully take part in lesson going on at the school during a convalescent period, children suffering from health issues, can keep up with the lessons being covered at school.  Online lessons also give disadvantaged learners more time, under less pressure, to comprehend the lessons being taught.  I may even be a method of bringing undereducated adults into the online learning domain. Parents that, may be intimidated by their lack of education and ,thus, unwilling to interact with educators are more likely to attempt remote instruction through the internet.  These parents are naturally curious about technology but are afraid to show it publicly.
The study is also indicative of the type of households most successful online students come from.  Characteristically, successful online students come from better educated households, the same advantage is true for successful students enrolled in traditional brick & mortar institutions.  When children are brought up in a household that values education, it can be assumed that those children will hold educational values in higher esteem and they have a more sophisticated audience to engage with.


Thompson, L. A., Ferdig, R., & Black, E. (2012). Online Schools and Children With Special Health and Educational Needs: Comparison With Performance in Traditional Schools. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 14(2), 15. doi:10.2196/jmir.1947

Friday, October 5, 2012

Fast Trac

Having a Slow Start



The success of My Institution in the development of online learning programs is detrimental to the improvement of our remedial education.  The College will participate in the Achieving the Dream initiative, with a primary goal of improving student success. This initiative will focus efforts on identifying under-performing groups/populations such as Learning Support students and developing strategies to support their success ( this is called the Learning Support redesign project).  Cohorts will be tracked over the three year period to determine where interventions are most needed.  My Institution   needs to increase the number of degree earning students and to improve upon the graduation and retention of successful students. 
 
Judging our program against the Blacsich Criteria, we have a long way to go to insure success.  Our program is new and is in an experimental stage; however, the usability of the system has impaired my objectivity for immediate success.  This system was executed before he necessary alterations to the infrastructure had been put I place.  No additional money was allocated for the project.  Subsequently, our procedure is plagued with technical issues; mainly connectivity. For successful connectivity there will have to be improvement in the transport and content delivery networks—to make this happen additional money will have to be spent.

These issues have been the largest obstacle to up starting the online program. When server issues cause the programs to run slow, freeze up and time out it can be very frustrating.  It is even more frustrating when individuals are not tech savvy and do not understand what is happening.  Users sometimes unfamiliar with computer freeze repeatedly hit keys not knowing that that increases the load that is meandering through limited bandwidth.   An initiated session plagued by such problems makes computer novices long for traditional resources such as book, paper and pencil.

Additionally, our purveyor was chosen as the contractor to provide these courses throughout the Technical College System to help improve and redesign remedial courses.  This contractor accepted this indenture without sufficient or available data communication resources to support so many programs simultaneously. Hence, their server is also freezing. 

But, on a much more positive note, our staff has embraced this initiative and are knocking down barriers and overcoming challenges while they maintain a confident composure to assure students that we “know” what we are doing.  We have strong leadership in our Learning Support Coordinator who is forward thinking and is eager to deliver success in the program.  Our Coordinator is empowered by a vision that this program will create independent life–long learners and her positive attitude has contagiously spread through our entire staff.  Finally, we have been convinced convinced us that our standards will be achieved and that there is no failure is not an option.  Our Student Success is Everyone's responsibility.  We are 21st Century Learners and will embrace the educational pathways to future learning models.

Quality, Benchmarking and Success Factors for Virtual Colleges and Schools
by
Paul Bacsich
Code
Factor name
Critical Success Factor
(level 5 statement)
Relevance
(1-5)
Score
(1-5)
Reasons
R4
Usability
All systems usable, with internal evidence to back this up.
5
1
Usability is of low quality; Proper infrastructure not in place.
R6
e-Learning Strategy
Regularly updated e-Learning Strategy, integrated with Learning and Teaching Strategy and all related strategies
5
N/A
Our program is new and I expect we will update in the future as our program identifies problems and better ways to accommodate students.
R7
Decisions on Projects
Effective decision-making for e-learning projects across the whole school, including variations when justified.
5
1
Proper individuals not in place for effective decision making
R10
Training
All staff trained in virtual school system use, appropriate to job type - and retrained when needed.
5
1
Staff are not properly trained professionals.  Responsibility fell upon available individuals
R12
Costs
A fit for purpose costing system is used in all departments for costs of schooling both face to face and virtual.
5
1
Cost has been passed on to students who are primarily of low income.
R13
Planning Annually
Integrated annual planning process for the virtual school department integrated with overall school and course planning.
N/A
2
Program is new.  Planning remains to be seen
R16
Technical Support to Staff
All staff engaged in the virtual school process have "nearby" fast-response technical support.
5
1
No technical support experts are available.  Program relies upon online support from the contractor
R19
Decisions on Programmes
There is effective decision-making for new virtual school courses across the whole school.
5
5
Program choices are excellent.
R22
Leadership in e-Learning
The capability of leaders to make decisions regarding virtual schooling is fully developed at departmental and school level.
5
1
Administration blindly makes decisions with no virtual knowledge.
R29
Management Style
The overall school management style is appropriate to manage its mix of educational and business activities
5
1
School is run with doctorial style where all employees are afraid to challenge administration.
R35
Relationship Management Upwards
The school has effective processes designed to achieve high formal and informal credibility with relevant government and public agencies overseeing it.
5
1
The governing body lends a blind eye to what is happening at this institution.
R53
Reliability
The virtual school e-learning system is as reliable as the main systems students and staff are used to from their wider experience as students and citizens,
5
2
We will have to wait and see
R58
Market Research
Market research (to assess demand for virtual schooling) done centrally and in or on behalf of all departments, and aware of e-learning aspects; updated annually or prior to major programme planning.
5
3
Since I don’t know how this decision was made I cannot comment on what research went into this decision
R60
Security
A virtual school system where security breaches are known not to occur yet which allows staff and students to carry out their authorised duties easily and efficiently.
5
5

R91
Pupil Understanding of System
School pupils have good understanding of the rules governing assignment submission, feedback, plagiarism, costs, attendance, etc. and always act on them.
5
5
Students are given an Orientation before they participate in the program.
R92
Pupil Help Desk
Help Desk is deemed as best practice.
5
1
The proper criteria for help desk are not in place.  Students rely on tutors and random persons to assist with challenges.
R94
Pupil Satisfaction
Frequent (ideally annual) Pupil Satisfaction survey which explicitly addresses the main e-learning issues of relevance to pupils and their parents.
N/A
N/A
N/A


Monday, October 1, 2012

I'm a Facilatator



Currently I am in the position of a facilitator.  The Learning Support Center at the Technical School where I work recently implemented a Fast Trac Program.  This program is designed to assist those students who failed the entrance exam within 3-5 point margins, in English and Math respectively.  Taking part in Fast Track could help these students to eliminate having to take remedial courses.  The Fast Trac program begins with a pre-diagnostic test that will identify the areas of weakness that the student has displayed.  From that, a set of customized study modules will create a learning path for that student.  Within those modules are online lectures, tutorials and videos. 
The program facilitators, me and six other individuals, are available after the diagnostic test to assist students.  We assist students in program registration and technical adaptations.  Depending upon the subject matter, we are there to answer questions, give examples as well as assist with computer technical quirks.  As the lead Facilitator, I administer a short orientation to explain the program to students and allow them to ask questions.  I then have them sign documentation acknowledging that the program has been thoroughly explained and to approve a new test date (which is within a 3-week period).
Our program has gotten off to a rocky start.  Originally we suffered load problems with our institution not having enough bandwidth to support the various programs that had been put into effect. At the same time, the contractor was having server problems because of the numerous programs they rolled out for fall semester and the number of registrants logging on simultaneously.  When we overcame the bandwidth issue, we realized that the math module (the most prominent of the required subjects) did not work.  Throughout this process, our facilitators have maintained a straight face and kept students assured that these were just minor complications that come along with any new program. 
I believe most of us are objective about the changes of the Learning Support Format and will do what is best to assure that the program is successful.  A lot of the program success depends on our attitudes and the assistance and encouragement we give our students.  We rolled this program out on September 10 of this year.  I will keep you informed as the program progresses.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Create Your Own Digital Portfolio


This semester I began instructing the students in our Early Childhood Education Program in the creation of Digital Portfolios. This module will teach the students how to build a portfolio or wiki using Google Sites. Google Sites is a free and easy method of creating webpages and wikis which is especially beneficial to those students in programs such as Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Education, Barbering and Cosmetology. For students of those programs, it is crucial they can maintain a running manifesto of their accomplishment as well as a visual record of their successes. Google Sites are an easy way for those individuals to share current information about their skills and experiences. Not only is the electronic portfolio portable but it parallels the professional growth of the creator.  We used Google Sites for this task.  Click here to find instructions to create your own Digital Portfolio.

iNACOL Promotes Asychronous Learning

Asynchronous Learning is Applied Using iNACOL Standards


The iNACOL standards for virtual education are designed as a guideline for online schools to follow as they meet the needs of the learners in their community.  They are designed as a guide and not as rules that should be followed indiscriminately. This document begins by explaining its mission.  It boasts a set of quality guidelines for online course content and goes on to define the dimensions of blended learning models. Asynchronous learning is a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources to facilitate information sharing outside the constraints of time and place among a network of people.

The Standards of iNACOL are:

A: Content-The course provides online learners with multiple ways of engaging with learning experiences that promote their mastery of content and are aligned with state or national content standards.  Asynchronous course content should be a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources to facilitate information sharing outside.  It has been developed with specific goals in mind based upon the intended audience.

B: Instructional Design-The course uses learning activities that engage students in active learning; provides students with multiple learning paths to master; the content is based on student needs; and provides ample opportunities for interaction and communication — student to student, student to instructor and instructor to student.  Built upon the constructivist theory, asynchronous course design is that which users will access at leisure but still remain a part of a learning community.

C: Student Assessment-The course uses multiple strategies and activities to assess student readiness for and progress in course content and provides students with feedback on their progress. Asynchronous interactions promote learning, and can be used to facilitate learning in traditional on-campus education, distance education, and continuing education

D: Technology-The course takes full advantage of a variety of technology tools, has a user-friendly interface and meets accessibility standards for interoperability and access for learners with special needs.  The online learning resources used to support asynchronous learning include email, electronic mailing lists, threaded conferencing systems, online discussion boards, wikis, and blogs. Course management systems such as Campus Cruiser LMS, Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, and Sakai, have been developed to support online interaction, allowing users to organize discussions, post and reply to messages, and upload and access multimedia.

E: Course Evaluation and Support-The course is evaluated regularly for effectiveness, using a variety of assessment strategies, and the findings are used as a basis for improvement. The course is kept up to date, both in content and in the application of new research on course design and technologies. Online instructors and their students are prepared to teach and learn in an online environment and are provided support during the course.  
 
Reference

iNACOL Offers New Standards for Online Learning. (2011). Electronic Education Report





Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Online Learning is Here to Stay



The reason online learning is such an important subject is because these courses are been introduced the entire educational spectrum at a rapid and intense rate.  In this era of recession and consistent budget cutting, school systems are using technology as a more efficient way to deliver instruction.  These courses are being integrated into learning at every level of instruction and are providing individualized programming that diagnoses’ the weaknesses of the learner while it customizes learning modules that are appropriate for that learner. Hence, the learner can work at his own pace in lessons that will assist him in building the skills that he lacks while it allows other classmates to work in their target specific areas synchronously.  Students are not conscious and insecure about the abilities of others.

In determining which is best, I believe that would depend upon the student and the subject.  More ambitious individuals with high intellect and little need for social interaction would probably excel in this type of an environment.  A student who is having difficulty in certain areas and need additional practice in order to grasp a stronger foundation of the subject would also benefit from this type of learning environment.  But there are others who excel in an environment where there is competition as well as those who depend upon their peers to answer questions they may feel insecure about asking the teacher
.
I am of the opinion that these programs can improve upon student outcomes and no further justification is needed for the expansion of these programs into education.  I just do not believe, however, that they should be thrust upon all learners because we have finally come to a realization that learning and learners develop differently and there are many styles of learning that are pertinent to educating our society.  Although these programs are individually customized for the learners, they can be tedious and boring.  There is no replacement for a lively class discussion or having an understanding teacher take time out to make simple a problem a student has been trying to figure out for hours.
References


Ferdig, R.E. (2010). Continuous quality improvement through professional development for online K-12 instructors. Lansing, MI: Michigan Virtual University.
Davis, M. R. (2012). New Laws, Programs Expand K-12 Online-Learning Options. Education Week, 32(2), S3-S5.
Arora, R. (2009). The K-12 Online Evolution. Multimedia & Internet@Schools, 16(6), 16-19.