Education
is constantly changing. As educators we
consistently seek out more effective and efficient ways to meet our students’
ever-changing needs. One of the up and
coming methods to provide for our students' individual needs is virtual
schooling.
The State of Alabama is joining the
virtual schooling realm. While ACCESS
has been provided for students in Alabama schools since 2005, school districts
will be required to provide students in grades 9-12 with a virtual education
option to be in place by the 2016-2017 school year. As of 2015, five states have required
students to take at least one online course as a graduation requirement
(Samuelsohn, 2015). According to Moore and
Kearsley (2011) students will need to have knowledge of “digital literacy” in
order to be able to function in an Information Age society. Digital literacy refers to the knowledge of
input and output of computers, phone, or other electronic devices (Moore &
Kearsly, 2011). Requiring/taking online
courses is a method for incorporating digital literacy into the curriculum.
While some schools in Alabama have developed a virtual school policy,
many are still in the process. The
district in which I teach is one of those schools. A virtual school policy has not yet been
developed, but has been discussed. As of
now, the plan for developing a virtual school plan will begin with
research. Other school policies will be
reviewed, and our district plan will most likely be developed using Best
Practices that best fit our district needs.
The next step for my district in
regard to virtual schooling would be to develop an outline for the policy. We need to review the state requirements for
the policy to ensure the district policy meets all requirements for virtual
schooling—scope and delivery, student eligibility criteria, requirements for
monitoring and testing, and attendance requirements. Requirements for participation in
extracurricular/athletics should also be taken into consideration when developing
the policy. The district should also
choose an LMS, so students will know at home requirements in advance.
The way we teach and learn changes
with our society, but it also changes due to economics. “As the cost of electronically transmitting
information has been falling, the cost of conventional education and training
has been rising” (Moore & Kearsley, 2011, pg. 275). Virtual schooling is another resource to
provide educational opportunities for our students as effectively and
efficiently as possible.
The Dabbs Family, a military family, uses a virtual schooling option.
References:
Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G.
(2012). Distance education: A systems view of online
learning. United States: Wadsworth, Cenage Learning.
Samuelsohn,
D. (2015). Virtual schools are
booming. Who’s paying attention?
I agree that we can meet the individual needs of students through virtual schooling. After reviewing several policies in the state of Alabama, I did not find anything regarding students with IEPs. The Alabama State Code Act 2015-89 does not specify clear guidelines for including students with an IEP in virtual school options. According to Florida State Code 1003.57, based on student and parent rights, students have the option to attend district virtual programs and the Florida Virtual School. Students who have an individualized education plan (IEP) may be eligible for virtual classes. Coy (2014) explains that many factors must be considered when creating an IEP, including the use of technology. Many IEPs include direct instruction in a small group setting. This can be accomplished through a virtual setting through synchronous interactions via microphones, video cameras, chat boxes, whiteboards, and shared desktop capacities. It seems like the possibilities are endless. Schools new to virtual options should explore other state policies to determine what strategies will be effective.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I've noticed in some of the policies I've seen is that some schools don't seem to address the digital divide. Rose and Blomeyer (2007) point out that a lot of schools assume that all of their students have reliable, high speed Internet at home, but that's not always the case. Even today some students have dial up or use thier phone's data plan while it lasts, and a lot don't have anything. And I one from experience that even students who don't have Internet at home have a hard time getting to the library or even to McDonald's or Jack's to get free wifi there.
ReplyDeleteRose and Blomeyer (2007) write that school systems have a responsibility to make sure students who don't have Internet access or don't even have their own computers are accommodated in a virtual school seeing.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/iNACOL_AccessEquity_2007.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiLx47Yy_vLAhXH4iYKHcBPCtQQFgguMAU&usg=AFQjCNGDmzs1RmwDniso5mHjUJ7Pwnu3Wg&sig2=Q5PPtLVNmIOu83ZOXJ13cg
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