Virtual Learning

Distance education has evolved quite a bit over the years as described in the text, Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).  The writers describe “the most recent generation of distance learning” as virtual learning.  This virtual learning is a combination of teaching and learning online, while attending “classes” and universities using Internet technology (pg. 23).

This blog entry is a 3-2-1 post--3 things that impressed me, 2 things that surprised me, and 1 question I still have regarding virtual learning.  While reading and viewing the material for the topic of virtual learning, there were several points that I found interesting.    First of all, I was impressed that the State of Alabama became the 2nd state in the country to create an online learning requirement.  This program is called ACCESS.  Our state often falls to the bottom of the list in many national polls, so it is a nice change to be one of the “firsts”.  

Another factor that impressed me was learning that some schools have full time virtual teachers--that is all they do.  Most of the schools and virtual programs I am familiar with are taught by classroom teachers who have virtual classes in addition to their regular workload.  If teachers were able to focus strictly on their virtual classes, they would be more likely to treat their virtual students as face-to-face students.  In fact, some virtual teachers do try to treat their virtual students the same as their face-to-face classroom students. This was the third idea that impressed me about virtual learning.    Several virtual teachers make efforts to visit their virtual students in their “home” schools.  For example, if a virtual teacher has several students at one school, she makes an effort to visit the school to meet the students face to face.  This is an example of the “humanizing” factor described in chapter 6 of the text.  Humanizing occurs when virtual teachers emphasize the importance of Students as individuals and encourage group rapport (Moore & Kearsley, 2012, pg. 137).  

There were also points regarding virtual learning that surprised me.  One of these was that several schools have had little interest in virtual school in lieu of coming to class.  The schools who offered this as an option were larger schools attempting to lower their class sizes.  One would think that students would jump at the chance to not go to school.  The virtual teachers believe that students see school as a social event, and do not want to miss seeing their friends.  I tend to agree with them.

I was also not aware that so many states have operational online K-12 schools.  According to the information provided in the module, 11 of the 16 Southern Regional Educational Board states have K-12 online schools, while there are 6 states with absolutely no public virtual schools.  I know that there are virtual programs available in our state, and that online programs have become increasingly popular for post-secondary education, but I did not know that so many states have online programs for K-12 schools.   With the current amount of technology usage in our society’s day to day activities, I find it difficult to believe that there are still states without public virtual schools.  Operational online schools can provide many opportunities for K-12 students that might not be available otherwise.

Many still have questions regarding virtual schools.  One question I still have is how are virtual classes and/or virtual learning opportunities used in the elementary grades?  Most of the information in the module discussed how virtual learning is used in upper grades, particularly eighth through twelfth grades.  I also wonder if any states have current models including the use of virtual programs in the elementary school.  I have a few ideas for how virtual learning programs can be used in elementary grades.  I have included these ideas in the infographic below.  

The use of virtual learning programs is an interesting topic.  Many states are still working toward implementing these types of programs.  Although our society is technology-rich, the idea of using technology in K-12 schools is still fairly new.  

References

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2012).  Distance education: A systems view of online learning.  United

States: Wadsworth, Cenage Learning.