scholarly journals Digital divides: K-12 student profiles and online learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Mann ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Kevin Besnoy
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
K 12

Online learning for primary and secondary students has expanded significantly in the United States during the last two decades. In addition to the sustained growth of online learning, many schools and districts used online learning to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. As school leaders and policymakers move more students into online courses, they need information about which students succeed and struggle online. We examine the relationship between student traits and academic success in a statewide online learning program. We find that students identified with specific exceptionalities, students who identify as male, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and students from cities or fringe rural areas were more likely to struggle in their online courses. This information comes at a vital time as school leaders seek to determine the effects of widespread online learning, make decisions about the support students will need after the pandemic ends, and develop the best online learning approaches when in-person schooling returns.

Educational Transformation through Online Learning: To Be or Not to Be

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G Picciano ◽  
Jeff Seaman ◽  
I. Elaine Allen
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Instructional Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Education ◽  
Institutional Mission ◽  
Educational Transformation ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Student Access ◽  
K 12

The purpose of this article is to examine online learning at the macro level in terms of its impact on American K-12 and higher education. The authors draw on six years of data that they have collected through national studies of online learning in American education as well as related research to do a critical and balanced analysis of the evolution of online learning in the United States and to speculate where it is going. Their collection of data represents some of the most extensive research examining online learning in the totality of K-20 education. Issues related to the growth of online learning, institutional mission, student access, faculty acceptance, instructional quality, and student satisfaction are explored. Of particular importance is an attempt to determine if online learning is in fact transforming American education in its essence and to speculate on the future.

Blended and Online Learning in Virtual K-12 Schools

2015 ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
The United States ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Academic Impact ◽  
School Year ◽  
Learning Instruction ◽  
K 12

Since 2000, there has been an increasing rate of online learning directed toward K-12 schools in the United States. The need for online courses has become evident as schools are searching for ways to meet student's learning needs. Online and blended courses provide options for schools with limited curricular offerings, scheduling conflicts, or find it difficult to provide highly qualified teachers. In the 2010/2011 school year, it was estimated that approximately 1.5 million students in K-12 schools across the United States were enrolled in an online course (Wicks, 2010). However, a literature search indicates that not much is known about K-12 blended and online learning instruction in virtual K-12 schools. Various issues such as types of instructional delivery, optional management skills, current trend of blended learning, the academic impact on K-12 education are critical areas for teachers and administrators to consider (iNACOL, 2011). This chapter seeks to demonstrate the growing trend of blended and online learning in the United States, analyze instructional implications of blended and online learning to students, discuss major obstacles to blended and online learning in K-12 schools, address possible solutions, and provide recommendations for further studies.

The Impact of Online Learning on Global Intellectual Property Issues

2017 ◽  
pp. 279-311
Author(s):  
Pamela A. Lemoine ◽  
P. Thomas Hackett ◽  
Michael D. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Income Dispersion

Intellectual Property (IP) has long been an issue of debate among higher education institutions in the United States and other countries. However, determining ownership and the income dispersion of creative works is still a relatively new phenomenon which compounds delivery of education in a virtual world that knows no boundaries. Intellectual Property (IP) issues are numerous and often complex in higher education because colleges and universities are major suppliers and consumers of online learning, particularly in a global context. Many higher education institutions claim ownership of the materials created by faculty for online courses, and often the courses themselves; many more are plagiarized or used without the author's permission as a result of teaching in an online environment. In addition, global copyright laws are very unclear regarding the ownership of works created in an electronic environment. In the past, instructors created materials have been considered the intellectual property of the creator. The potential economic value of multimedia and online course materials has raised the stakes for higher education institutions and prompted them to critically examine how online learning has opened old wounds regarding the ownership of intellectual property.

Practical Guidelines for Creating Online Courses in K-12 Education

2016 ◽  
pp. 507-529
Author(s):  
Wayne Journell
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
University Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Online Pedagogy ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Formally Trained ◽  
K 12

Online learning is the future of K-12 education. However, few online K-12 instructors have been formally trained in online pedagogy. This chapter describes best practices in creating online courses for K-12 students. Many aspects of online learning are the same regardless of the age of the students taking the courses, but adolescents often experience online instruction differently than university students or adult learners. Although far from comprehensive, this chapter describes basic guidelines and offers recommendations for K-12 educators wishing to create engaging online learning opportunities for their students.

Trends and Issues of Virtual K-12 Schools

2011 ◽  
pp. 1898-1901
Author(s):  
Belinda Davis Lazarus
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virtual Schools ◽  
Virtual School ◽  
Virtual High School ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Rapid Pace ◽  
K 12

Increasingly, K-12 schools are delivering instruction via Internet courses that allow students to access course content and complete assignments from home. According to a recent survey conducted by Education Week, 27 states in the United States have spent public monies to establish virtual public or charter schools. For example, over the past 5 years, the Florida Virtual School has spent $23 million and offered 62 online courses to over 8,000 students. Kentucky Virtual High School, which offers approximately 40 courses and enrolls approximately 750 students annually, has a budget of about $400,000 per. The Michigan Virtual High School is funded for $15 million for start-up costs with $1.5 million allocated annually for operational costs. And the Virtual High School International, a nonprofit collaborative of 200 national and international schools with a budget of $10 million, offers 160 courses to students in 16 countries. In spite of declining budgets, the growth of K-12 virtual schools continues at a rapid pace (Park & Staresina, 2004).

Sex Segregated Schools to Challenge Gender and Racial Bias

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Herr ◽  
Kathleen Grant ◽  
Jeremy Price
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
The United States ◽  
Segregated Schools ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Gendered Stereotypes

Sex segregated schooling in the United States is one of the fastest-growing movements in education in the 21st century. The current movement toward single-sex schooling is embedded in a national discourse of school choice and an adoption of market principles in education. This framing espouses that when schools compete for educational consumers, the needs of those currently underserved in U.S. schools will be better served and their academic performance will improve. Scholars argue that there are three main rationales typically put forward for sex segregated schools: they will eliminate distractions and harassment from the other sex; they can address the espoused different learning styles of boys and girls, and, finally, they can remedy inequities experienced by low-income students of color. Many of the single sex schools have large proportions of low-income youth of color. In general, while the sex segregated structure of these schools seems to offer opportunities to disrupt gendered stereotypes, there is little evidence that this occurs. Instead, as society’s conceptualizations of sexuality and gender evolve, single-sex education upholds a largely heteronormative and cisgendered understanding of gender and sexuality. Much of the research documents a reinforcement of gendered stereotypes and heterosexism. The literature on single-sex schools for boys also presents a puzzling mix of academic success for some boys, and no significant difference for others. There is little attention to the accomplishments and current experiences of girls in single-sex schools at the K–12 levels. Research shows that successful schools, whether they are single-sex or coeducational, tend to have factors in common like creating strong mentoring relationships and keeping smaller class sizes. In sum, research would indicate that the rationales noted earlier to justify the development of sex segregated schools are not much realized in the research.

scholarly journals The Role of Rural School Leaders in a School-Community Partnership

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Sarah Zuckerman
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Partnerships ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Community Partnership ◽  
School Community Partnership ◽  
Rural Principals

Rural schools play central roles in their communities, and rural education scholars advocate for rural school-community partnerships to support school and community renewal. Across the United States, including in rural areas, formal models for school-community partnerships have been scaled up. The literature on rural principals highlights their roles in developing school-community partnerships, yet questions remain as to how school leaders engage in such partnerships. Using boundary-spanning leadership as a theoretical lens, this descriptive study examines the role of district and school leaders in a regional school-community partnership, including as founding members, champions of collaboration, cheerleaders for the partnership, and amplifiers of often excluded voices.

scholarly journals Cyberethics: Identifying The Moral, Legal And Social Issues Of Cybertechnology In K-12 Classrooms

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
David S. Brown ◽  
Tao Wang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Past ◽  
American Students ◽  
Ethical Choices ◽  
Cyber Crimes ◽  
K 12

Two computer viruses that have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage over the past four years are the Melissa and the Sasser virus. In March of 1999, the Melissa virus first appeared on the Internet and spread rapidly throughout computer systems in the United States and Europe. The virus made its way through 1.2 million computers in the United States alone. On December 9, 1999, David Smith pleaded guilty to state and federal charges associated with his creation of the Melissa virus (Vamosi, 2003). Reasons for writing the viruses; boredom, the challenge, and thats what Im good at, what I like to do. In May, 2004, the Sasser virus was released by an 18 year old in Germany (Williams, 2004). The arrest made on this script kiddie was the first which used Microsofts $5,000,000 fund, even though millions has been offered for information on other viruses. Unfortunately, young virus creators are unwilling to turn one another in, claiming they write viruses because they have nothing else to do or because they just want to see what happens. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, this paper will describe the extent of Internet/cyber use by American students. Second, this paper will present data from a resent research project showing the large amount of cyber crimes are secondary students are aware of and are participating in. Finally, this paper will present scenarios which might help the reader understand why ethical choices of todays script kiddies are not as black and white as the reader might think.

scholarly journals Accountability for Students in K-12 Online Learning: Perspectives from Michigan Stakeholders and Beyond

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanna Archambault ◽  
Kathryn Kennedy ◽  
Joe Freidhoff
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Online Course ◽  
State School ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Virtual University ◽  
National Organizations ◽  
Learning Research ◽  
K 12

Policy surrounding K-12 online learning continues to evolve as the field grows exponentially. In Michigan, Section 21f of the State School Aid Act enacted in 2013 strengthened parents’ and students’ ability to request online courses: “A student enrolled in a district in any of grades 6 to 12 is eligible to enroll in an online course as provided for in this section.” The passing of 21f raised concerns around accountability in a choice environment. Examples of such concerns included a pervasive belief about the lack of rigor or quality in online courses, an aversion to another district educating a student for one or two courses yet remaining responsible for that student’s growth, and uncertainty about how mentors and teachers would be evaluated on their online students. Consequently, a legislative directive was issued to the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, the research arm of Michigan Virtual University that centered on accountability. In response to that directive, Michigan stakeholders, as well as experts from other course access states and national organizations, were interviewed to better understand the conversations surrounding accountability in K-12 online learning in Michigan and beyond and to make key recommendations for moving the field forward in an informed way. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Implications for research, policy, and practice are shared.

Lessons from K-12 Distance Education in the U.S.A., 1986-2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Cavanaugh
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
The United States ◽  
Virtual Schools ◽  
Effective Practices ◽  
School Students ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
K 12

<p>Distance education for elementary and secondary school students in North America has grown and evolved over a century from mail-based correspondence courses for small numbers of geographically dispersed learners to the millions of learners now using online courses in virtual schools. This article focuses on effective practices emerging from the modern electronic generation of K-12 distance education programs existing in the United States between 1986 and 2008.</p>

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