Module 2: What is the Online Learning Movement?

What is the Online Learning Movement?  

According to Archambault & Kennedy (2013), virtual schooling made its debut in the mid 1990's, following many forms of distance learning in the preceding century.  Virtual schools, such as Florida Virtual School, began the movement by offering high school courses to it's students. Full high school curriculum was offered a few years later, and by 2014, there were over 740,000 online course enrollments  in state virtual schools alone. Virtual schools represent just one of many different forms of online learning. 

Online learning is essentially classified within 3 main types:  those that supplement regular brick & mortar courses, those that are fully online, and those that are a hybrid or blended version of both online and traditional courses. Online learning can incorporate a variety of different interactions to lead to learning, such as learner-learner, learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner management system.  Suppliers are the operational entities that deliver online courses, content, instruction, technology tools, and other related products such as the learning management system.  While suppliers are an integral part of online learning, they are not responsible for student's academic activity and performance (Germin & Pape, 2017).

Online learning opportunities continue to show rapid growth, 30% annually, as a method of instructional delivery due to additionally resources being available and the ability to meet student's needs.  As the video "What Does the Typical Online Student Look Like?" mentioned, there is no one typical online student.  If anything, the one thing they have in common is that they all have individual needs.  Online education is unique in the fact that it can meet the needs of a medically home-bound student, an academically advanced student, a struggling learner, and a student with specific needs due to ADD or anxiety all at the same time.  Online learning offers flexibility in time & location, using a variety of resources, while still supporting the social needs of human interaction and discussion to achieve high levels of learning. 

Check out this short video highlighting some of the benefits to online learning:

Fairfax County offers online courses during the school year as well as during the summer.  Additionally, it offers many courses for teachers to take for professional development and teacher recertification.  These options increase the ability to offer equity and access to a quality education to to all learners.  I personally took advantage of the offerings by completing FCPS Academy online teaching course in order to qualify for a job teaching Online PE.  This past summer, I was hired to teach Online PE-9, and saw first hand how the course was taken for various reasons - some wanted to free up their schedules for extra electives, while another was repeating the course for graduation requirement, and another was taking the course because the format met their individual needs due to social/emotional issues.

While online learning is great for many, it is not for everyone.  Students do not have an innate digital cognition, it is one that is learned. As discussed in the video, "Digital Natives", a term coined by Prensky, do not exist. Online learning is best for students who are organized, intrinsically motivated, personally responsible, have a good attitude, and the ability to self-regulate their learning (Archambault & Kennedy, 2013).  This Online Readiness Rubric developed Michigan Virtual is a great tool to use when deciding if online learning is right for you. 

This Popplet has additional links and information explaining further details of the Online Learning Movement from this weeks reading. 

Archambault, L., & Kennedy, K. (2013). Making the Choice to go Online: Exploring Virtual Schooling as an Option for K-12 Students. A Handbook for Researchers, Policy Makers, Practiitioners and Journalists, 1–20.
Germin, B., & Pape, L. (2017). Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning, 63. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59381b9a17bffc68bf625df4/t/593efc779f745684e6ccf4d8/1497300100709/EEG_KP20