Virtual High Schools

Practicalities & PossibilitiesBy Robin D. Smith

The Virtual High School Movement

CONSIDERATIONS• What populations do we serve?• What are our purposes for using virtual

learning?• What resources are we willing to commit?• How can we use this to improve

educational design and delivery in all of our courses?

The Virtual High School Movement

CURRENT TRENDS• K-8, high school, college, and university• Varied structures for specific needs and

populations• Public and private consortiums• Hybrid courses improve educational

design and delivery in all courses

The Virtual High School Movement

ISSUES• Effectiveness • Online learning as transformation• Payment • For profit or not • Oversight

• State accountability tests and NCLB

The Virtual High School Movement

CONCERNS• Resources• Opportunities for meaningful

interaction • Training for teachers

The Virtual High School Learner

• What students are served by the VHS? Special NeedsNon-traditional Home-schooledIsolatedAmbitiousUnskilled

Characteristics of the Successful VHS learner:

Self-regulating and self-motivated

Tolerant of change and new technology

Possessing textual communication skills

BUT

•Good preparation and mentoring can help students develop these skills and habits.

The Current State of the Art: Questions about Programs & Courses

• How is the program being financed? • Who is designing the program of studies? • Does the program meet state and national

standards?• Are the platform and basic navigational setup

user-friendly?• Do the learning activities include scaffolding,

real world application, and interaction?

Benefits, Issues, and Concerns

• To Institutions• To Learners• To Curricula• To Teaching

Institutional Considerations

• Opportunities for Collaboration• Opportunities for Sharing Resources• Opportunities beyond Geographical

Limitations• Need for Retraining Staff• Need for Redirecting Funds• Potential Fund-raising and Pubic Relations

Problems• Potential “Third-World” Higher Education

Learner Considerations

•Easy Access•Evens Playing Field Economically & Geographically•More Individual Attention•Lose Experience of “Scholarly” Environment •Lose Opportunity for Civil Socialization

Curricular Considerations

• Interdisciplinary Cooperation• More Varied Curricula without More Cost• Courses of Study and Programs May Devolve

into Individual Courses without Input of Entire Department

• Market Forces May Interfere with Instructional Goals If Institutions Establish for-Profit Components

Teacher Considerations• Improves Pedagogy • Provides More Options for Effective Instruction• Creates More Vertical Alignment• Produces Emerging Roles for Teachers• Encourages Flexibility • May Diminish the Status of Teachers: Higher

Education Could Lose Research Component, Need for Post Graduate Content Degrees Lessens, and Instructors Spend More Time with Students but Lose Full-time Status and Salary

Biggest Concerns

• Select and train staff adequately.

• Select or develop robust, instructionally appropriate courses.

Questions to ask about a course:

1. Does it accomplish our objectives?

2. Does it effectively utilize instructional technology?

3. Does the course design encourage good mentoring, scaffolding, real world applications, and interaction?

Recommendations

Commit Staff, Training & Resources

Value Participants’ Time and Commitment

Select Virtual Courses/Programs Wisely

Remember: Virtual learning is not for every student or every teacher, but this initiative will revitalize and provide new focus for all instruction in our system system.