Through my review of sample school district policies and other literature that provided details on online learning, I learned and was surprised about 3 things: (1) Alabama has a fully accredited online school within the Athens City School district, (2) there is an actual state law,(https://web.alsde.edu/legislativebills/2015Regular/SB0072_ENACTED.pdf ) that school districts must have a distance education program, (3) and students are able to take an online class for credit in their respective districts but may be taught by teachers from another school district.
Athens City School district, in response to the legislature that was passed, created a fully online school for students K-12. This school was developed for students throughout the entire state that may want a more flexible option for school. I was surprised in learning that this was designed and implemented in school year 2016-2017. In learning about this, I created an infograhic that briefly describes how Athens Renaissance School , https://www.k12.com/content/fts/athens/en.html, was developed: (see below)
Creating an online & blended public school by Jessica Bynum Continuing on with my reflection, there were two things that I was concerned with regarding online learning, (1) some school district school policies were not very specific or defined, and (2) how/ when course would be evaluated and how often programs would be reviewed for effectiveness. "Policy development and implementation is an important topic to be addressed when an organization considers distance courses and programs" (Simonson et al, 2015, p. 287). I was concerned in reading some policies that did not completely outline their mission and purpose and not enough specifics in student/ parents responsibility. They were written in accordance to the passed legislature but not specifics for the district. The text states the following areas should be covered in a distance education policy:
- "Governance and Administration of the Distance Education/ Online Learning Program
- Academic Policies
- Quality Control
- Faculty-Related Issues
- Student-Related Policies
- Fiscal Issues
- Legal Issues
- Library Policy
- Policy on Acceptable Use of IT Resources" (Smaldino et al, 2015, p. 290).
In addition to those areas I learned, and those that were concerning, there is one question I have regarding virtual learning. Will all districts receive the same type of funding, technology, and resources statewide? I think this will be important for schools to maintain, sustain, and grow as technology continues to advance and be used in virtual learning. "Distance education is expensive", (Simonson et al, 2015, p. 296), and something I think administrators should consider as they continue to plan for future online learning.
Resources:
Alabama SB72: https://web.alsde.edu/legislativebills/2015Regular/SB0072_ENACTED.pdf
Athens City Schools: https://www.k12.com/content/fts/athens/en.html
Resources:
Alabama SB72: https://web.alsde.edu/legislativebills/2015Regular/SB0072_ENACTED.pdf
Athens City Schools: https://www.k12.com/content/fts/athens/en.html
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc..
I have no idea why my infographic is so large......
ReplyDeleteWhen you embed the infographic within the blog ... you can decrease the length and width. My infographic was way too big for my blog, and I decreased the width number and length number and then it fit perfectly.
DeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that some school districts did not have detailed virtual course policies. I completely agree. In my opinion, the districts with basic online school policies were just putting something together to say they met the requirements required for state legislation ACT 2015-89. If these districts want to have successful virtual schools, they will have to make a larger commitment to their online school program. Simonson, Smaldino, Zvacek, (2015) state that barriers to distant education included organizations that resist change, lack of a vision, and have trouble at keeping pace with technological changes. It sounds that the districts with vague virtual learning policies struggle with the above barriers.
I loved how you found a school system that implements virtual learning at a young age. I know we have talked a little about how I feel about virtual learning in an elementary school setting and how I am for it. I do like how you have mentioned to me in a previous post that it may be harder for k-8 students to manage a course because they may not have learned the skills and need to be in a traditional setting to learn those skills. Simonson, Smaldino, and Zvacek (2015) stated instructors of virtual classes should help students with readiness skills of time management, self-discipline, and commitment by providing personal interviews and self-assessment tools. So maybe the instructors can also help these younger students, too?
ReplyDeleteSimonson, M., Smaldino, S., Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th Ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.