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

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.

Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-270
Author(s):  
Amy J. Catalano ◽  
Bruce Torff ◽  
Kevin S. Anderson

PurposeThe novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which emerged in 2019 and quickly spread to the United States, resulted in widespread closure of PreK-12 schools and universities and a rapid transition to online learning. There are concerns about how students in high-needs school districts will engage with online learning, given the limited access many disadvantaged students have to Internet and computers. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to determine teacher perceptions of students' access and participation to online learning, as well as concerns about educational outcomes among different groups of learners.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 300 K-12 teachers in NY state about the tools and accommodations they employed in their online teaching, whether their students were participating in the online learning and the reasons for their lack of participation.FindingsRespondents reported that nearly 30% of all of their students were not regularly completing their assignments. Students in high-needs districts were significantly more likely to not complete their work. Teachers reported being very concerned about their students' educational outcomes, particularly students with disabilities (SWDs) and English language learners (ELLs). Respondents also provided suggestions for improving educational access to online learning in the future.Originality/valueNo published research has yet examined student compliance in online learning during an emergency and, in particular, during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic and months-long stay-at-home orders.


Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah

Several questions need to be asked about how the applications of learning theories in online learning and how it impacts student learning. Online learning has the ability to promote rapid growth of student academic performance using instructional strategies such as differentiated instructions to meet the specific needs of students. However, less is known about the integration of learning theory and online learning in K-12 schools and its impact on student learning. This chapter seeks to demonstrate the integration of learning theories, online learning and its effects on student academic performance. In this chapter, researchers trace the trend of online learning in K-12 schools, discuss how instructional models are used to promote online learning in K-12 education, and provide discussion on the prospects and challenges facing online learning in the United States. Recommendation for future studies and conclusion are discussed.


1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W Guthrie

Recent U.S. economic instability has had a significant but unanticipated policy consequence for education. Unusually high rates of inflation in the late 1970s and a subsequent recession did not lead to serious erosion nationally in resources allocated for education. The decentralized manner in which education is financed in the United States and enrollment declines buffered schools and colleges more than most other social service sectors. By 1985 both K–12 grade school systems and postsecondary institutions had generally recouped financial support. However, persistent economic uncertainty fueled by continuing conditions such as high federal deficits, nagging unemployment, foreign trade imbalances, and growing overseas borrowings has evoked intensified public faith in education as a means for regaining U.S. economic vitality. Current reform efforts intended to make education more rigorous and productive are one of the outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Mann ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Kevin Besnoy

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Arnesen ◽  
Shea Walters ◽  
Michael K. Barbour ◽  
Jered Borup

In this study, we analyzed a subset of uncited or low cited articles from the data reported in Arnesen, Hveem, Short, West, and Barbour  (2019), who examined the trends in K-12 online learning articles from 1994 to 2016. We identified 62 articles that had 5 or fewer citations, and analyzed them for trends in authorship, publication outlets, dates of publication, and topics that could help explain their low citation numbers. We also analyzed topics to see what contribution they might have made and can still make to the field of K-12 online learning. We found that the majority of these articles had been published in many different, less well-known journals.  We also found that these articles may have attracted fewer readers because they addressed topics that seemed to have a narrow focus, often outside of the United States. The articles were also authored by  both well-known researchers in the field as well as a number of one-time authors. What we did not find were articles that were uninteresting, poorly researched, or irrelevant. Many of the articles described and discussed programs that grappled with and overcame some of the same challenges online learning still faces today: issues of interaction, community, technology, management, etc. Some of the early articles gave interesting insights into the history of K-12 online learning, especially as it involved rural learners and programs. Others addressed less mainstream but still interesting topics such as librarians in online learning, cross-border AP history classes, policies that helped or hindered the growth of online learning, and practical considerations of cost and access.


Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah

Several questions need to be asked about how the applications of learning theories in online learning and how it impacts student learning. Online learning has the ability to promote rapid growth of student academic performance using instructional strategies such as differentiated instructions to meet the specific needs of students. However, less is known about the integration of learning theory and online learning in K-12 schools and its impact on student learning. This chapter seeks to demonstrate the integration of learning theories, online learning and its effects on student academic performance. In this chapter, researchers trace the trend of online learning in K-12 schools, discuss how instructional models are used to promote online learning in K-12 education, and provide discussion on the prospects and challenges facing online learning in the United States. Recommendation for future studies and conclusion are discussed.


The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education brings together preeminent scholars to craft a comprehensive survey and assessment of the study of religion and education in the United States. Religion has been inextricably entwined with education in the United States since the days of colonial British America. Beginning with mothers schooling their children at home from the Bible, to the first establishment of Harvard College in 1636 with the principal mission to prepare clergy, the place of religion—and more to the point, whose religion and for what purpose—has been vigorously contested for nearly 400 years. This handbook aims to examine the current state of religion and American education from homeschooling to private religious schools to public schools to religious institutions and on through the range of public and private higher education. The book is organized into five sections: Frameworks; Lifespan Faith Development; Faith-Based K-12 education; Religion and Public Schools; and Religion and Higher Education. Within these sections forty leading scholars in the field of religion and education review these topics in thirty chapters. The contributors offer an in-depth synthesis of major issues within the field, while contributing to lively debates about the links between landmark research contributions and contemporary research agendas. Designed for an interdisciplinary audience, the Oxford handbook serves as a legacy project for leading scholars who are critically shaping the future direction of the field of religion and American education.


Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah

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.


2018 ◽  
pp. 62-79
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah

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.


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