|
|
|
World Future Society
SUMMARY: Over the past 10 years the education industry has come to recognize the value of online learning through virtual schools. The question remains, Which model of virtual schooling is most effective, and how can traditional institutions easily include the benefits of online learning in their existing programs? Over the past three years Intelligent Education, Inc., a fully accredited 9-12 virtual high school and curriculum content provider, has researched and developed such a model. Used effectively in a variety of settings, this model can easily be applied to any school wishing to enter the realm of online learning.
The course curriculum for all the case studies was supplied entirely online by IEI (Intelligent Education, Inc.) and delivered via the eCollege learning management system. The course curriculum is constructed so that it incorporates the latest in curriculum development techniques. They are built around Gagne’s Instructional Events that prompt the necessary conditions for learning to occur, and Bloom’s Taxonomy to encourage learning on all 6 levels of thinking. Courses also focus on all three learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic/tactile. Throughout the course, all six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and 3 different learning styles are built into each content item of every lesson. Mosquero, New Mexico (NMVS) (Team-Teach Model) Elements:
Results:
Benefits:
In January of 2000, the state of New Mexico instituted the New Mexico Virtual High School. Mosquero High School, under the direction of Janice Green, participated in the NMVS who registered more than 600 students their first semester. Janice Green is a certificated teacher who acts as the onsite mentor and operates the school technology lab. A master IEI online teacher, Amy Quirouet of Atlanta, GA led the course by meeting with the students on a weekly basis in the virtual classroom to facilitate questions, to review concepts and encourage student participation in group projects. Janice Green, a certificated Language Arts Teacher and the onsite mentor, was also online at the same time with the students who were all together in a classroom in Mosquero, NM. This enabled her to direct their attention to the necessary elements and to make certain they were on task, turning in their assignments on time. All assignments were submitted online, and Ms. Quirouet reviewed, graded, and posted grades, as well as made regular email contact with each student to make suggestions for improvements and to answer questions. At the end of the 18-week course, the results of this team teaching were that 100% of the students completed the course with a passing grade. The average grade was 82%. Elk Garden, West Virginia Virtual School (Team-Teach Model) Elements:
Results:
Benefits:
In February of 2001, Elk Garden High School in Elk Garden, West Virginia enrolled 6 students in Algebra 1 and 5 students in Pre-Algebra through Intelligent Education. Curriculum content was provided by Intelligent Education, Inc. and delivered via the eCollege infrastructure. The Algebra 1 course was taught and facilitated by Mr. Allan Jones, a Math teacher with a Master’s Degree in Education, of Intelligent Education in Atlanta, GA, and Pre-Algebra, by Mr. Michael Townsend, a college professor, and a master online teacher from Mississippi. Both classes were scheduled back-to-back so that one onsite mentor, Ms. Donna Lynn Lambka, could monitor each class in the school computer lab in Elk Garden. Although Ms. Lambka was not a mathematics teacher, she was able to monitor and ensure the students were available for class and turned in their assignments on time. Mr. Jones and Mr. Townsend met with the students online twice a week (this was on block scheduling) to discuss course content, answer questions and encourage students to participate in conversation, group projects, and interactive discussion. The end result was that the school was able to facilitate 2 additional courses for which they did not have the appropriate teaching staff. There was 100% participation and completion, and the average grade for the students was 89%. Preston High School, Kingwood, West Virginia (Team-Teach Model) Elements:
Results:
Benefits:
A class similar to that at Elk Garden, VA was held at Preston High School in Kingwood, West Virginia for German 1 and German 2 to a total of 21 students. The curriculum content was provided by Intelligent Education, Inc, via the eCollege infrastructure, and the students were taught online and facilitated by Mr. Michael Daily, a certificated and experienced German teacher, employed by IEI. The onsite mentor, Catherine Drown, was also a German teacher but felt unprepared to teach an upper level German course, and so had asked for assistance. Mr. Daily was able to teach the course with the assistance of Ms. Drown who was onsite to assist in answering questions and work with the students in aural practice of the German language. Mr. Dailey also helped to arrange German pen pals and did a considerable amount of vocabulary and literature work that assisted Ms. Drown in preparing for future courses. All discussions in the virtual classroom were done in the German language and the end result was a 100% participation rate and an average grade of 86%. The students were also able to move through the entire 2nd half of German 1 and the German 2 class with the aid of their online and onsite instructors, finishing by the end of the school year. Birdville, Texas Virtual High School Pilot Project (Team-Teach Model) Elements:
Results:
Benefits:
During the Summer 2001 session, Birdville High School in Birdville, Texas enrolled 12 students in an Algebra 1 course. Seven of the students were completing the first half of the course, and 5 were completing the 2nd half of the course, which they had previously failed during the traditional school year. The online curriculum content was provided by Intelligent Education, Inc., via the eCollege infrastructure, and the course taught by an onsite instructor, Ms. Ronda Schaeffer. Mrs. Schaeffer was paired with an experienced online instructor, Mr. Alan Jones of Intelligent Education. All students were brought together one Thursday evening to receive their textbooks which had been ordered and shipped previously by Intelligent Education, Inc. The students and their parents were invited to meet the onsite instructor and at the same time arranged a conference phone call with IEI staff to answer technical questions over the telephone. Students were instructed how to log on to the website, and userids and passwords were distributed and tested to be certain students understood the logon procedure. Students were also instructed as to the expectations and requirements for the course. They spent approximately one hour learning to navigate the course infrastructure. By the end of the evening they were comfortable with the orientation course, course requirements, and knew how to enter and meet in the virtual classroom. The course met 3 days per week, for two hours each day, in the virtual classroom. Ms. Schaeffer led the discussion under the guidance of Mr. Jones, who was available in the virtual classroom to mentor Ms. Schaffer and the students.. An additional 4 hours per week of resource room time was available to the students to get questions answered. Ms. Schaeffer, new to online learning, became familiar with the infrastructure, and through Mr. Jones’ assistance was able to master the art of online teaching. The end result of the 6-week session was an 83% completion rate (2 students had dropped out) with an average grade of 82%. Typical Online Curriculum Delivery Methods: After reviewing other online content provider methods and the manner in which courses are taught, there are a variety of virtual school models. These include:
In Conclusion: Recommended Model = Level 5 The following is a list of implementation strategies based upon lessons learned:
For further information about
course content, please contact:
|
ver the past 10 years the education
industry has come to recognize the value of online learning through virtual schools. The
question remains, "Which model of virtual schooling is most effective, and how can
traditional institutions easily include the benefits of online learning in their existing
programs?" Over the past three years Intelligent Education, Inc., a fully accredited
9-12 virtual high school and curriculum content provider, has researched and developed
such a model. Used effectively in a variety of settings, this model can easily be applied
to any school wishing to enter the realm of online learning.