Education, how does it is achieved really matter anymore? In the past, students only options for attending high school was to physically go to a brick and mortar structure, sit in a classroom with other students, learn according to the teachers tempo, eat lunch at a designed time, and follow a regimented schedule that was unwavering and set forth by the ringing of bells. There is a new venue out there that is providing a quality education equivalent to traditional schooling and anyone can enroll. In this highly technological world, children now have choices of where, when, and how an analogous alternative education can be obtained. Children can have flexible schedules and customized lessons taught by highly qualified teachers. Reform in the educational world is being reviewed and challenged to help improve the entire teaching profession. This new opportunity available through the unconventional pathway of education is in the clouds, so to speak, known as virtual learning or online schooling. Schooling choices are expanding in the twenty first century and making a difference in the world of education.
“An (Updated) Primer on Virtual Charter Schools: Mapping the Electronic Frontier,” by Gregg Vanourek and updated and extended upon by Evergreen Education Group, and “Laboratories of Reform; Virtual High School and Innovations in Public Education,” by Bill Tucker, are very similar articles that expand upon the benefits of virtual schooling or online learning. It will be very obvious that both authors are in agreement that virtual learning is a wonderful opportunity for many children and teachers alike.
Several questions may come to mind when trying to grasp exactly what this new online educational concept is all about and th...
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...ort to see that all students, choosing this path, will be well educated and equipped, upon their high school graduation, to either further their education, if they so desire, or head directly into the corporate world.
Works Cited
Tucker, Bill. "Laboratories of Reform; Virtual High School and Innovations in Public Education." EducationSector Report. 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. http://www.educationsector.org/sites/default/files/publications/Virtual_Schools.pdf
Vanourek, Gregg, and Evergreen Education Group. “Authorizing Matters, An (Updated) Primer
on Virtual Charter Schools: Mapping the Electronic Frontier.” National Association of Charter Schools Authorizers Cyber Series. 2011. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. http://www.qualitycharters.org/assets/files/images/stories/publications/Issue_Briefs/NACSA_Cyber_Series_EvergreenIssueBrief.pdf
One of the most pressing issues facing the United States today is its failing educational system. While many solutions have been proposed, the idea of charter schools has been both popular and controversial. The topic of charter schools is being debated in as many places as local school board meetings to state supreme courts. Though on the surface, charter schools seem like an exciting and promising step for the future of education in America, they are not the answer to this country’s ever-increasing educational problems. Charters will drain already scarce funding from regular public schools, and many of the supposed “positives” surrounding them are uncertain and unpredictable at best.
As Robinson stated in this week’s TED talk, “education needs to be revolutionized.” Education is offered online and there’s comprehensive one on one learning with grades 1 through 12 and personalized learning beyond that.
Ripley, Amanda. "A Call To Action For Public Schools. (Cover Story)."Time 176.12 (2010): 32. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
The first issue discussed is money. Virtual schools are for-profit. The schools receive money based on the number of students enrolled in their program. Many states
In conclusion, many frustrated teachers, parents, and other stakeholders believe that government is not in a position to provide solutions to improve education because the traditional government structures and mandates are, they believe, a large part of the problem (Chubb & Moe, 1990). A real solution, they offer, is to reinvent the system by which we provide and run public education; a reinvented system of choice, flexibility, and accountability that includes the creation of charter schools. Communities are invited to create new public schools with high levels of autonomy to be innovative in ways that may or may not embrace traditional educational structures. These schools are invited to take new and uncharted paths, but also are held responsible for ensuring that these paths lead to educational success for students.
Charter schools represent the most pervasive and accepted educational policy reform to promote community driven learning. In order to understand how this learning can be promoted, however, it is important to first understand how charter school laws differ from those of public schools. America’s public school system is one that is focused on creating uniformity amongst its schools, and this is accomplished by establishing a number or rules and regulations designed to limit school autonomy and decision-making flexibility. Some of these obstacles include “intrusive elected school boards, stringent teacher certification requirements, collective bargaining agreements, and rules regarding curriculum and other facets of school activities” (JSTOR).
States embarked on partnerships with virtual school providers because due to the expectation that the lack of physical infrastructure needed, this will reduce costs and meet the demands of reduced education budgets. However, virtual education providers, like K12, lobbied legislatures for increased funding because virtual charter schools end up cost relatively the same as traditional, brick-and-mortar schools (Glass 7). For instance, Florida Virtual School (a K12 school) costs $4,800 per student; this is only around $700 less than the standard per-student spending in the state (Glass 8). In spite of the arguments over whether or not virtual schooling saves money, several state legislatures were successfully lobbied by K12 to require online courses in traditional school districts (Glass 10). In 2007, Florida required all school districts to give students in grades kindergarten to eighth grade access to virtual courses. Alabama and Michigan require all high schools to take one online course to graduate. And by 2008, in South Carolina, three full-time virtual charter schools opened “their doors” (Glass 10-11).
This article discusses the use of the Internet in the classroom and how it can be used to personalize education. The effectiveness of the Internet in the classroom is evaluated at the Henry Hudson Regional School in Highlands, New Jersey. A faculty member at the school explains that the Internet was introduced to their classrooms to expand limited electives, advanced placement, and foreign language offerings. The use of the Internet allows small schools to provide an education that would not be economically possible without it.
Over the years society has changed in many different ways. In particular, technology has been the largest change that has occurred over the year. Only a few years ago the iPhone came out and it has forever changed the way people view their phone. Internet has also become very assessable resource. There are places everywhere to access a computer or free Wi-Fi. These changes have led to the alteration of the accessibility and use of technology in the education setting. The changes made to technology in the education setting have led to many positive outcomes that have allowed many types of people access to education that could not get it prior. There are however, many critics that refute these changes and say that virtual education can be biased and expensive. Although, there are many critics that do not agree with technology in education, have this can give access to many students with disabilities as well as people who have limited time or ability to further an education.
Ash, Katie. Competency-Based Schools Embrace Digital Learning. Education Week, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
School has been in our lives for the longest time and it has always been a positive experience. It sets students on a path to achieve their education goal and stepping stones to a career! Now with all the advancements in life, students have the opportunity to do online classes. This is useful if the pupil is not able to attend school or their school does not offer some classes that they would like to take. Experiencing both of these ways of schooling, I have an understanding of the differences between the two. The major differences between online school and traditional school are the flexibility opportunities, the communication with the teachers, and the time management/discipline from the learner.
There have been many critics that strongly advocate against the use of distance learning in elementary schools. With the increased availability and choice of new technology, comes many new concerns about the quality of instruction and the threat it may pose to the already established methods of teaching. Many believe that this new teaching method may replace the existing classroom all together, and won’t give students the adequate face-to-face contact they need. Most critics fear that “ineffective face-to-face teaching methods could be made even worse when they become technology based” (Truell, 2001, p46). The computer and internet have become dominant distance learning technologies, and hold the potential to take away from the human aspect of learning, so students do not learn the proper social skills they need to develop early on. Children need to learn to interact with one another, and function properly in a social setting, they learn this primarily within the classroom, and if these classroom settings are altered by distance learning, then they will no learn how to function in the normal social school setting. Many critics also say that all schools do not have the appropriate technological support and infrastructure to make distance learning programs effective for students. Since all schools do not have the tools and financial means needed to establish and support effective distance learning programs, they would not be able to keep up with the advancing technology in education, and therefore their students would not receive the same advantages as other students in the schools around them (Ravaglia & Sommer, 2000). Greenwood (1998) states that schools using distance learning are just contracting out their educational responsibilities and that such courses result in the elimination of teaching jobs. He feels that by using distance learning to teach students, they are minimizing the teacher’s job of actually teaching the students and designing lesson plans, and therefore slowly eliminating the need for teachers in the classroom at all. It is thought that there is more emphasis being placed on teaching than learning, and as a consequence schools are using distance education as merely a means to extend the classroom walls . While the critics of distance learning feel that this is just a way for schools to educate students, and relieve themselves of their responsibilities, there has been even more substantial evidence that these programs improve the elementary curriculum, rather than replace it altogether.
Clark, T. (2001). Virtual schools: Trends and issues: A study of virtual schools in the United States. Retrieved October 18, 2003, from http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/virtualschools.pdf
Many people think online education can be more expensive than a traditional school setting. Previous generations did not have the option for online learning experience, so why should we start now? An interesting point about online education is that LeBaron (2010) states, “The largest school in the U.S. is the University of Phoenix Online, with a whopping 380,232 students. That’s over 5x more than the largest public school, Arizona State University, which has 68,064 students” (para. 7). Despite the cost effectiveness, distance education is becoming the educational model of the future.
People have a lot of options in educating themselves online in today’s time and technology. Online education has improved a lot in the past twenty years. Even though it has had its setbacks, it continues to show promising results. Online education has many benefits with little to no disadvantages. It provides flexibility in scheduling and offers various options in educational online programs. In the past decade, education has evolved into a more technological-driven world.