Journal 8

Virtual Schooling
By Niki Davis and Dale S. Niederhauser
This article explains the advantages and experiences of virtual schooling. Virtual schooling is offered through digital communication technologies and is very well established in the K-12 education. It is most popular in the high school level. In the 2005-06 school year, the number of students enrolled in virtual schooling increased by an amazing 100% from the previous year. “The national educational technology plan emphasizes the potential of VS to individually personalize schooling and help schools respond to No Child Left Behind legislation. Recommendations included providing every student with access to e-learning opportunities and every teacher with access to e-learning training.” This is a great way for students to take classes and experience something new. Every student learns differently and I know I do so well with virtual learning rather than in class learning. In the virtual classroom, there is a teacher and groups of students who are distributed among two or more distant schools. They all communicate by using email, video conferencing, and a learning management system. “At each remote school, an on-site facilitator liaises with administrators and parents to support students in each school, and an instructional technology coordinator supports students’ technical needs.” There are so many different tools to be used in technology and I feel this one is a great accomplishment. At CSUSM we use Webct in many of the classes offered which happens to be one of the technologies that create a series of activities that reflect high quality teaching.
What is a huge benefit Virtual schooling provides?
Virtual schooling is an amazing system that can be used in cases where a normal classroom is not accessible. “For example, Florida Virtual schooling provided free course enrollment to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina-including students in Louisiana.” This is a great tool when disasters occur. Students are still able to maintain an education when things go bad.
Is virtual schooling a requirement or an option?
In 2006 virtual schooling actually became a requirement, “Michigan became the first state to require an online learning experience for high school graduation. The goal is to introduce high school students to the benefits of VS so that they will be more likely to seek out online learning experiences throughout their lives.”