Statistics for May

As of this afternoon at 4:00pm (EST) there have been 5187 hits to this blog. At the end of April it was sitting at 4820. This is an increase of 367 hits over the past two months.

According to my Statcounter, there were 282 unique visitors to this blog in May, 233 of which were first time visitors and 49 were returning visitors. This is an average of 9 per day, but also an increase in my returning visitors by another dozen, after an increase of more than twenty people last month.

Just over 50% of these visitors this month came from the United States, I also had visitors from Canada and Viet Nam.

They came to read:

• Who Are We Trying To Serve?
• Adressing Virtual Schooling Concerns
• Virtual Schooling in the News
• Virtual Schooling in the News
• It Was Only A Matter Of Time

Finally, outside of the "Next Blog" feature that Blogger has, it appears that this month Yahoo has surpassed Google as the search engine that has provided me with much of my new traffic this month.

Tags: blog, blogging, blogs, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Adressing Virtual Schooling Concerns

A colleague on mine here in Georgia, Cool Cat Teacher Blog , has posted some Concerns about virtual high schools that she has. Specifically, she states:

"Yes, plaigarism may be a concern, but I think the greater concern is parentarism."

She then goes on to ask:

• Who is going to ensure that these children are truly being educated?
• Who will verify the identity of the person doing the work?

My initial response would be to ask the people involved in long standing virtual schools, such as the Florida Virtual School or the Virtual High School. Both of these organizations have been offering courses for a decade now and, to date, I have yet to see much in the media about this being a problem. I know for a fact that I have not read anything in the practitioner or academic literature about this issue.

There have been valid concerns about the issue of who is doing the work and in some regards, some of those have never been addressed. I do know that virtual schools have gotten very good about creating more authentic forms of assessment that allow for students to be unsupervised (i.e., it doesn't matter if they have access to their notes and a textbook). I also know that through the use of on-going assessments, discussion forums being a good example of this, virtual teachers can get a good idea of who is on the other end of the keyboard - which is important when other writing assignments are submitted, because the teacher now has an on-going sense of the students writing style and voice.

Many virtual schools also have their teachers call their students on the telephone or use various synchronous software to interact with their students in real time, which is another avenue that allows a virtual teacher to ensure that the student is the one with the knowledge.

The reason I'm not as concerned about this as a used to be is because of the movement by virtual schools towards these more authentic forms of assessment. The use of these kinds of assessments is a move away from the discrete knowledge that is required by the standardized multiple-guess tests that are so popular with conservatives these days. Students will still do well on these multiple-guess items, because they know and understand the material well - they have to in order to perform well on these authentic assessments. But it fosters a movement away from teaching to the test - which is always much easier for a parent to complete anyway.

Tags: virtual high school, Insight School, Vicki A Davis, coolcatteacher, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Who Are We Trying To Serve?

Okay, so this came across my inbox via the ASCD SmartBrief service:

Proposed Mississippi curriculum to include online component Mississippi schools chief Hank Bounds will ask the Legislature to fund a $20 million revamped curriculum that includes self-paced, online courses for students desiring to graduate early or make up work. The proposed program revamps computer classes for students in grades 7 though 9 and offers training in seven career paths for 10th- through 12-graders. eSchool News (free registration) (5/22)

Not that remarkable I suppose, given that in Michigan they are still wrestling with how to ensure that all high school graduates have completed at least one online course (see Virtual High School). But is this part of a bigger trend?

Follow me here for a moment, last week I asked the question Who Are Virtual Schools Most Needed For? Which I happen to think is a very worthwhile question, particularly in light of this attitude that seems to be out there that if we have the ability to do it, they we should do it (e.g., we have the ability to offer online courses so let's make everyone take one because it will be good for them or let's spend millions of dollars trying to get rid of these kids earlier).

Now don't for a minute think that I am against providing opportunity, but I wonder in a time when resources are scare if we could do a better job of targetting that funding to provide opportunities to those who really need it, not simply to anyone simply because we can.

I mean when I read blog entries such as Lawmaker hopes to expand state's 'virtual schools' plan, First online high school in state planned for fall, MRDP Media Release, and Online high school to become state's first to offer diplomas - Associated Press, I have to be honest and say that I do have some Concerns about virtual high schools (granted this piece isn't entirely fitting to this entry, but does raise some interesting issue, some ofwhich I plan to return to in a future post).

I suppose thisall goes back to a question similar to the one I asked last week, what are we trying to achieve with virtual schooling? Or maybe a better way to ask it is who are we trying to serve? If there is more than one answer to that second question, how do we prioritize the groups that we have listed, because in the end we only have enough funding to cater to some of them while others will be left out in the cold.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, homeschool, charter school, high school, education

Virtual Schooling in the News

From my Yahoo news alert for virtual school.

Group pushes Fremont charter school
Casper Star-Tribune Sat, 20 May 2006 1:12 AM PDT

LANDER -- A proposal to create Wyoming's fourth charter school has been presented to the school board here, and supporters are touting the plan as a way to provide an educational alternative in Fremont County without detracting from the existing public school system.

Controversy aside, state embraces charter schools
Wisconsin State Journal Sun, 21 May 2006 8:11 AM PDT

School used to be a struggle for seventh-grader Justin Fobes, who said he was getting "straight F's" before enrolling at the River Crossing Environmental Charter School in Portage last fall.

Virtual-classroom summer work offered at Jessieville schools
Hot Springs Village Voice Tue, 23 May 2006 6:13 PM PDT

Jessieville School District will offer summer classes through the Arkansas Virtual School, said superintendent George Foshee.

CHARTER SCHOOLS: Information sessions set
York Daily Record Wed, 24 May 2006 4:27 AM PDT

The Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School is holding several information sessions across the state to help tell people about the school, curriculum and books and to show demonstrations of the programs.

Lawrence Virtual School Expects 750 Students for Fall
KCTV 5 Kansas City Thu, 25 May 2006 10:06 AM PDT

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- A school that only exists in cyberspace will open its doors this fall with more students than many brick-and-mortar ones.

Online enrollment soars
Lawrence Journal-World Thu, 25 May 2006 4:04 AM PDT

Up and up and up. That’s what has happened to the Lawrence Virtual School’s enrollment since the school’s inception.

District considers online academy
Fergus Falls Daily Journal Thu, 25 May 2006 9:27 AM PDT

A desire to pair online education with an outdoors-based learning environment was the basis for the Virtual Outdoors Academy, proposed to District 544 Monday.

And from my Yahoo news alert for cyber school.

Grad requirements will get tougher for Class of 2010
The Observer Sat, 20 May 2006 4:11 PM PDT

Ninth-graders at Rio Rancho Mid-High this fall will have four years in which each must take and pass a cyber class, a concurrent enrollment course, or an advanced placement (AP) course to be eligible for graduation in May of 2010.

A cyber school for Boyertown?
Pottstown Mercury Wed, 24 May 2006 0:28 AM PDT

BOYERTOWN -- Boyertown Area School District administrators are researching the costs of establishing a new school.

Titusville school board approves tentative budget
The Derrick Tue, 23 May 2006 8:42 PM PDT

Tax will increase due to gas and fuel costs, cyber school tuitions and pension funds. TITUSVILLE - Titusville school directors tentatively approved a 2006-07 budget calling for a 2-mill tax increase for Crawford County residents during a special meeting Monday evening.

Online enrollment soars
Lawrence Journal-World Thu, 25 May 2006 4:04 AM PDT

Up and up and up. That’s what has happened to the Lawrence Virtual School’s enrollment since the school’s inception.

And the Google Alert for cyber school seems to have continued this week...

Buffalo Township property owners face 6-mill school tax hike
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

... Board members blamed unfunded state and federal mandates, such as cyber school funding and No Child Left Behind requirements, for much of the spending increases ...

Franklin seeks ways to curb spending
News-Herald - Franklin,PA,USA

... Superintendent Ronald Paranick received the board's approval to continue investigating a cyber school option through the Beaver Area School District, which ...

The High School Cyber Defense Competition
Technology News Daily - Scottsdale,AZ,USA

... It's all part of Iowa's first High School Cyber Defense Competition. The competition that started at 7 pm Friday, May 19, at Iowa ...[See all stories on this topic]

Buzz builds for Bioscience High
Arizona Republic - Phoenix,AZ,USA

... The other two schools are Cyber High, which opened this year, where all student work is done on computer, and a school opening next year for kids interested in ...

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Who Are Virtual Schools Most Needed For?

This is not an unusual topic for me, but it is usually themed around homeschooler or charter schools. This time I'd like to go back to a larger look on this topic - who is the primary audience for virtual school opportunities? Or more along my lines of thinking, who should the primary audience be for virtual school opportunities?

The last time I posted an entry that looked at this froma broader viewpoint was almost a year ago (see What Are Virtual Schools For?). As bring up this topic again because I have seen a number of entries come across my Bloglines recently about designing virtual school for different groups of students, as examples see:

• Online high for high achievers from joannejacobs.com
• District Considers Online Teaching For At-Risk Students - WCPO, Cincinnati from Online Learning Update
• District considering six charter schools from Distance-Educator.com's Daily News

Just from these entries, we can see that at least some people think that the best and the brightest is the answer to my original questions, others would say those who are at-risk, while another group would claim that it should be for speciality areas.

For the record (and as I have said in the past), I am personally bias towards students in rural schools who are disadvantaged because their schools aren't able to attract teachers qualified to teach specialized courses or they simply don't have the enrolment figures to justify allocating a teacher to so few students. But that's just me.

What do you think? Based on the virtual school opportunities that are currently available, who is the primary audience for virtual school opportunities? Also, who should the primary audience be for virtual school opportunities?

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, homeschool, charter school, high school, education

It Was Only A Matter Of Time

Well, after virtual classes what comes next if you want to simulate a school environment?

• University of Miami Online High School Introduces 'Virtual Clubs' from Online Learning Update
• Online High School Introduces 'Virtual Clubs' from Teaching and Developing Online

I guess it was just a matter of time, but I would be quite interested to see another piece on thesein about a year's time to see how they actually worked (both in terms of the mechanics and in terms of the success) and what might be next in the list of trying to provide the complete schooling experience online.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Virtual Schooling in the News

Okay, this is kind of odd - but my Google news alert service just started again this week. So, the Google news alert for virtual school...

Mo. Lawmakers Vote for 'Virtual School'
TMCnet - USA

... The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which would oversee the virtual school, expects it to start with about 500 students and a $2.6 million ...

Missouri poised for online high school classes
The State - Columbia,SC,USA

... Missouri, according to Education Week’s annual Technology Counts survey, would join 22 other states that provide a public virtual school. ...

Janesville students plug in to virtual school
Janesville Gazette - Janesville,WI,USA

... Wisconsin. It's a virtual high school. He's ... join them. They hope to offer their own virtual school, starting as soon as January 2007. ...

VIRTUAL SCHOOL IN SC

The State - Columbia,SC,USA

... exams. Sometimes, online chats, e-mail exchanges, telephone conversations and even home visits are part of a virtual school program.

Basehor Virtual School plans to graduate 30 students this year
Basehor Sentinel - Bonner Springs,KS,USA

Since 1998, the year the Basehor-Linwood Virtual School was founded, 52 students have received their high school diplomas. This ...

Missouri lawmakers vote to create virtual school
USA Today - USA

... The "virtual school" would begin offering courses during the 2007-2008 school year under legislation given final approval by a 136-20 House vote. ...

Chalk it up: ‘Virtual school’ proposal sent to governor
Columbia Missourian - Columbia,MO,USA

... The “virtual school” would begin offering courses during the 2007-08 school year under legislation given final approval by a 136-20 House vote. ...[See all stories on this topic]

Mother and daughter to graduate together
Winona Daily News - Winona,MN,USA

... She worked at the Virtual School of Winona, a nonprofit organization facilitating technology in the classroom. “It was an amazing job,” Bea said. ...

Open enroll costs Monroe
Monroe Times - Monroe,WI,USA

... In addition to students choosing non-traditional alternatives like the virtual school, Bauer and O'Neill said some of the students are going to be home-schooled ...

Online schools moving forward
The State - Columbia,SC,USA

... Mark Sanford is to sign today. The virtual-school bill stops short of authorizing a virtual school students statewide can attend entirely online. ...

A dubious virtual voucher
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg,FL,USA

... With all the attention on Opportunity Scholarships, the "K-8 Virtual School" slipped quietly through the Legislature this year, placing into law an experiment ...

Bill opens door to virtual schools
The State - Columbia,SC,USA

... A charter school bill Gov. Mark Sanford is to sign Wednesday would allow for a statewide virtual school so students can learn online. ...

When teacher turns into a mouse
Times Online - UK

... each day? It will be only a few years before the “virtual school” will be accessed from a child’s bedroom. Has any politician ...

I am still receiving my Yahoo news alert for virtual school.

Group pushes Fremont charter school
Casper Star-Tribune Thu, 18 May 2006 1:07 AM PDT

LANDER -- A proposal to create Wyoming's fourth charter school has been presented to the school board here, and supporters are touting the plan as a way to provide an educational alternative in Fremont County without detracting from the existing public school system.

Ahead of his time IHS graduate earns diploma after only three years of high school
Ionia Sentinel-Standard Thu, 18 May 2006 0:31 AM PDT

IONIA - For the first time in Ionia High School's recent history, a student will graduate after only three years of high school. IHS Principal Ben Kirby said he couldn't find any record of another student graduating as early in their high school career as Ryan Jackson will this year.

At 13, she's ready to start college in the fall
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Wed, 17 May 2006 6:05 PM PDT

Fiona Manzella's passion is playing cello, but the 13-year-old didn't have to pull strings to win admission next fall to Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va. For three years she has been schooled at home in Maplewood by her mother, Teresa Manzella, and has earned high-school credits through Minnesota Virtual Academy, an online education service in Houston, Minn. She was admitted to Baldwin based

I also received my Google Alert for cyber school.

Districts doubt charter schools’ effectiveness
The Citizen's Voice - PA,USA

... taxpayers. Under state law, school districts must pay charter and cyber schools a budgeted amount per student for the year. The ...

The cyber school option
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

... Cyber schools come under the charter school law of 2002. ... Cyber school teachers communicate with students primarily through computers in their home. ...

Internet schools growing
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

... Lynn Rodden, family coordinator at the online school's Pittsburgh Mills mall office, says the cyber school doesn't work out for all students. ...

Tax reform + school budgets = headaches
Pottstown Mercury - Pottstown,PA,USA

... "It’s hard enough to predict what will be coming next year, when you have charter school costs and the cyber school issue, special education numbers that are ...

Connecting to charter
Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Fort Wayne,IN,USA

If Indiana’s first charter cyber-school opens next fall, even as the small pilot program intended, it’s bound to be scrutinized even more closely than ...

MOSS to offer online classes this summer
Gateway Newspapers - USA

... a school. The school's first foray into cyber school started with an accelerated geometry program for two students. Paying a geometry ...

Cuts needed to avert 4.48-mill hike in school district property ...
Gateway Newspapers - USA

... students are being bused to 80 private schools within 10 miles of the community, the district is forced to pay for cyber charter and charter school tuition and ...

Chronically ill girl takes flight with Angel
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

... Nonetheless, she had been well enough to attend school until recently, when her symptoms weakened her immune system. She now attends a cyber school from home. ...

KD Investigates: PA Cyber School
KDKA - Pittsburg,PA,USA(KDKA) MIDLAND

It's called the Midland miracle -- a cyber school that brought new life to a struggling Beaver County steel-town. ...[See all stories on this topic]

School board eyes 4.887-mill hike
Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro,PA,USA

... from last year's budget can be blamed on rising special education costs, fuel, utilities, health insurance costs and cyber charter school tuitions, Dean said. ...[See all stories on this topic]

Saltsburg residents testify against consolidation
Blairsville Dispatch - PA, USA

... Donna Smith advocated that option, indicating her daughter is slated to graduate from a cyber school this June, having already earned 44 college credits. ...

Cyber schools impact district budgets
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

... The law requires local school districts to pay cyber schools for each student from the district enrolled in the cyber school. The ...

And the Yahoo news alert for cyber school.

Charter schools all about choice
Scranton Times-Tribune Mon, 15 May 2006 1:05 AM PDT

Spanish classes starting in kindergarten. Fourth-graders acting in Shakespeare plays. A 200-day school year, instead of the state-mandated 180.

Grad requirements will get tougher for Class of 2010
The Observer Thu, 18 May 2006 7:22 AM PDT

Ninth-graders at Rio Rancho Mid-High this fall will have four years in which each must take and pass a cyber class, a concurrent enrollment course, or an advanced placement (AP) course to be eligible for graduation in May of 2010.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Being Successful

Okay, this is something that I have played around with in my head for a while now - how does a student become successful in a virtual school environment?

On my AECT blogtrack blog (Virtual Schooling), I posted an entry a few weeks back entitled The Greatest Challenge for the Virtual High School. In that entry, I argued that the greatest challenge facing virtual schooling was opening up access to a greater variety of students - i.e., creating virtual school opportunities that would be available to more than just the AP kids. In thinking a great deal about that topic, I wonder if I may have been looking at this from the wrong side of the coin - do we need to create virtual school opportunities that are accessible or do we need to work with our students to ensure that they have the skills to access virtual school opportunities?

It is an interesting perspective, do we tackle the way that we design and delivery virtual schooling or do we go to the source and tackle the aspects (e.g., knowledge, skills, and aptitudes) that the students may be missing?

I got to thinking about this again from this perspective because of a couple of things that have appeared in my Bloglines recently. For example, the Allied Online High School Blog had an entry about How to Succeed as an Online Student and E-Learning & Online Teaching posted an instrument used by Peg Roblyer to Predicting Success of Virtual High School Students.

I guess my biggest concern with putting the focus upon the student and working from the assumption that they are missing something that we need to provide them with, we run the risk of using the students' ability or lack thereof as a screening mechanism to keep this opportunity from them. And let's face it, this is the kind of system that we have now. I mean how many virtual schools have a survey up front that is titled something along the lines of Is Distance Learning Right For You? And in the current system, when we don't screen students up front, we run into the problem that has consistently been an issue in distance education, particularly at the K-12 level - High drop-rates / High-demand Web courses have high drop-rate.

What is even more troubling are headlines like this - Futurist: Students unprepared to succeed in technology

So maybe it should be a two pronged approach - we focus upon both creating virtual school opportunities that are acessible to all learners and while we are doing this we do a better job of giving students the skills that they need to be successful in this type of learning environment.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Virtual Schooling in the News

From my Yahoo news alert service for virtual school...

Mo. Lawmakers Vote for 'Virtual School'
ABC News Tue, 09 May 2006 12:11 PM PDT

Missouri Lawmakers Vote to Create 'Virtual Public School' Linking Students, Teachers by Computer

Mo. Lawmakers Vote for 'Virtual School'
San Francisco Chronicle Tue, 09 May 2006 1:14 PM PDT

Missouri students who are home sick, home-schooled or in need of a different approach to education could soon find their teachers on the Internet. State lawmakers voted Tuesday to create a "virtual public school" that would link students to teachers...

Mo. Lawmakers Vote for 'Virtual School'
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune Tue, 09 May 2006 1:09 PM PDT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri students who are home sick, home-schooled or in need of a different approach to education could soon find their teachers on the Internet. State lawmakers voted Tuesday to create a "virtual public school'' that would link students to teachers and textbooks by computer starting in 2007. Gov. Matt Blunt supports the idea but is reviewing the legislation before

Mo. lawmakers vote for 'virtual school'
Victoria Advocate Tue, 09 May 2006 12:35 PM PDT

State lawmakers voted Tuesday to create a "virtual public school" that would link students to teachers and textbooks by computer starting in 2007. Gov. Matt Blunt supports the idea but is reviewing the legislation before deciding whether to sign it, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Missouri lawmakers vote to create virtual school
Kansas City Star Tue, 09 May 2006 11:27 AM PDT

Missouri lawmakers approved the creation of a new public school Tuesday that would link students to teachers and textbooks by the computer instead of a traditional classroom.

Mo. Lawmakers Vote for 'Virtual School'
AP via Yahoo! News Tue, 09 May 2006 11:56 AM PDT

Missouri students who are home sick, home-schooled or in need of a different approach to education could soon find their teachers on the Internet.

Virtual high school offers real diplomas
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Mon, 08 May 2006 10:51 PM PDT

Starting this fall, earning a high-school diploma will be only a mouse click away.

A dubious virtual voucher
St. Petersburg Times Tue, 09 May 2006 5:00 AM PDT

The state Constitution and bully politics finally caught up with the signature school voucher plan of the Jeb Bush era, but the indiscriminate push to privatize education is better illustrated by a computer modem and a pot of gold.

Finkbeiner starts online high school
King County Journal Tue, 09 May 2006 3:40 AM PDT

BELLEVUE -- Sen. Bill Finkbeiner will go from the statehouse to the schoolhouse, but his new educational endeavor comes with a twist: He'll run a for-profit company that's an online public high school for full-time students statewide.

Missouri lawmakers vote to create virtual school
USA Today Tue, 09 May 2006 4:17 PM PDT

Missouri lawmakers approved the creation of a new public school Tuesday that would link students to teachers and textbooks by the computer instead of a traditional classroom. The "virtual school" would begin offering courses during the 2007-2008 school year.

US lawmakers vote in favour of virtual school
Independent Online Tue, 09 May 2006 11:03 PM PDT

Missouri students who are homesick, home-schooled or in need of a different approach to education could soon find their teachers on the Internet, state lawmakers have said after voting in favour of a "virtual school".

Missouri lawmakers vote to create virtual school
Kansas City Star Wed, 10 May 2006 10:45 AM PDT

Missouri lawmakers approved the creation of a new public school Tuesday that would link students to teachers and textbooks by the computer instead of a traditional classroom.

Missouri lawmakers vote to create 'virtual school
'CNN.com Wed, 10 May 2006 7:12 AM PDT

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (AP) -- Missouri students who are home sick, home-schooled or in need of a different approach to education could soon find their teachers on the Internet.

A School With No Walls
ABC News Wed, 10 May 2006 3:27 AM PDT

Online School Set to Open for Washington State Students

Virtual school bill sent to Blunt
Jefferson City News Tribune Thu, 11 May 2006 4:40 AM PDT

Missouri lawmakers approved the creation of a new public school Tuesday that would link students to teachers and textbooks by the computer instead of a traditional classroom.

And from Yahoo for cyber school...

Virtual high school offers real diplomas
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Mon, 08 May 2006 10:51 PM PDT

Starting this fall, earning a high-school diploma will be only a mouse click away.

KD Investigates: PA Cyber School
KDKA Pittsburgh Tue, 09 May 2006 4:17 PM PDT

The Pennsylvania Cyber School teaches home-schoolers on the internet but a KDKA investigation questions whether millions of your school district's tax dollars are being funneled into a network of other organizations to fund lavish trips, unrelated construction projects and the promotion of other cyber schools out of state.

Dept. Of Education To Probe Cyber Schools
KDKA Pittsburgh Wed, 10 May 2006 5:17 PM PDT

There are strong reaction and promises of action after a KDKA investigation into possible misuse of tax dollars at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

And finally from my ASCD SmartBrief.

Washington state to open its first online high school

The private Portland-based firm Insight Schools will team up with Quillayute Valley School District to offer Washington state's first fully online high school this fall. The company will provide laptops, Internet access and a printer to students, who'll be able to choose among 140 courses ranging from remedial to Advanced Placement. The Seattle Times (free registration) (5/9)

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Virtual Schooling "Not Just" for Homeschoolers

I'm sure that Annette is winding up to take a swing at me now, but I just had to post this entry that I found...

Online courses aren't just for home-schoolers anymore - Kate Moser, Christian Science Monitor
By Ray

Once considered the domain of home-schooled students, K-12 online learning is a fast-growing option for public school students in rural, urban, and suburban areas. Michigan lawmakers are likely to pass legislation soon that will require high school students to take one course online before they graduate. "What happened is Michigan beat everyone to the punch," says Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the North American Council for Online Learning, a nonprofit based in Alexandria, Va. Ms. Patrick says more states will follow Michigan's lead as they realize the importance of online literacy in the 21st century.

Afterthough: I came across this entry, Online courses aren't just for home-schoolers anymore, are Darren's Teaching and Developing Online after posting this entry - so I wanted to add it as it is along the same theme.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, charter school, homeschool, high school, politics, education

Virtual Schooling in News

This week's entry frommy Yahoo news alert service.

Change Text Size
Mount Vernon News Fri, 28 Apr 2006 8:08 PM PDT

MOUNT VERNON — It’s your senior year in high school, and you suddenly realize you don’t have enough credits to graduate with your classmates. What can you do?

Janesville students plug in to virtual school
Gazette Extra Sports Sat, 29 Apr 2006 9:40 PM PDT

Jordan Kohl often sleeps late, but he's never late for school. That's because he decides when school begins.

Janesville charter school would enroll at-risk students
Gazette Extra Sports Sat, 29 Apr 2006 9:41 PM PDT

A virtual school is one of two new schools that Janesville School District officials are planning.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL IN S.C.
The State Tue, 02 May 2006 0:11 AM PDT

Cyberschool: New charter school legislation would allow such schools to offer courses online. Legislation is needed to define virtual schools and how they would be regulated.

Bill opens door to virtual schools
The State Tue, 02 May 2006 9:26 AM PDT

South Carolina students might not have to go to school to get a public education in the future. They could go to cyberschool instead.

RRPS fine arts director collapses, dies at meeting: Kristin Rauch had been a driving force in promoting arts at the
The Observer Tue, 02 May 2006 11:21 AM PDT

The show must go on. At least that's how Dr. Kristin Rauch would have wanted it. Rio Rancho Public Schools' director of fine arts since August 2003 died last Thursday while at a meeting at the Cyber Academy.

MOSS to offer online classes this summer
Murrysville Star Wed, 03 May 2006 3:22 PM PDT

Mother of Sorrows School will blast off into cyberspace this summer. Starting in June, the Murrysville Catholic school will offer 16 online programs for students interested in enriching their education, trying new courses, catching up in some areas or just having fun with learning.

Bill could enable online education
The Myrtle Beach Sun News Wed, 03 May 2006 6:30 AM PDT

S.C. students might not have to go to school to get a public education in the future. They could go to cyberschool instead. A charter school bill Gov. Mark Sanford is to sign today would allow for a statewide virtual school so students can learn online.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education

Updates from the AECT BlogTrack

As I mentioned earlier, I'm involved with a group of researchers at the University of Georgia in an AECT BlogTrack. At the beginning of each month, my intention is to alert my Virtual High School Meandering readers of the entries that have been posted to the BlogTrack over the past month.

Also mentioned in the previous entry, the feed site for all of our blogs is available at:

AECT BlogTrack Feed - http://ugaonlinelearning.suprglu.com/

My own contribution to the BlogTrack can be found at:

Virtual Schooling - http://mkbvs.edublogs.org/

This past month, some of the entries that have been posted dealing with virtual schooling include:

• My Background in Virtual Schooling
• The Greatest Challenge for the Virtual High School
• Social Presence in Virtual Schooling

See you again at the beginning of June for another update from the AECT BlogTrack. Until then, feel free to follow along over at AECT BlogTrack Feed or Virtual Schooling, and also feel free to post comments and interact with us over there as well.

Tags: AECT 2006, AECT, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education