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March 8, 2005 - Vol. 6, No. 10
TechLearning News
- More than one-third of U.S. public school districts have students enrolled in distance learning courses according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics.
- Georgia's Governor Sonny Perdue got his way last month when the Georgia legislature passed his plan to expand the state's virtual high school program.
- School districts are finding that posting clickable surveys on their Web sites is a powerful way of gathering community input.
- The 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools ended with both governors and industry leaders making a strong commitment to transform the American high school.
Distance Learning Is Hot
The National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education, has released the first ever, comprehensive overview of distance learning in K-12 schools. "Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03" reports that one-third (36%) of public school districts and 9% of public schools had students enrolled in distance education courses in 2002-03. The driving force behind distance learning is the desire to offer courses not otherwise available at their schools, cited by 80% of responding school districts. Half cited distance learning as very important in making advanced placement or college-level courses available to all students. According to the report, in 2002-03, there were an estimated 328,000 enrollments in distance education courses, defined as courses taken for credit and where the teacher and student are in different locations. Not surprisingly, rural districts, challenged by low enrollments and big distances, lead the way, with nearly half (46%) offering distance learning options compared to 23% of urban districts. High schoolers are most likely to be participating in distance learning, accounting for 68% of total enrollments. Overall, 38% of public high schools offered distance education courses, compared with 20% of combined or ungraded schools, 4% of middle or junior high schools, and less than 1% of elementary schools. Seventy-two percent of districts that already have students enrolled in distance education courses plan to expand these offerings.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
GA Gets Virtual High School
Georgia's Governor Sonny Perdue got his way last month when the Georgia legislature passed his plan to expand the state's virtual high school program. The legislation creates the Georgia Virtual High School, an internet-based public high school housed in the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) that will give students in any region of the state access to Advanced-Placement (AP) courses, summer school courses, and other advanced science and math courses. Georgia already offers online courses to about 570 students statewide through partnerships with teachers working in the metro school systems that offer online learning. But the state has reached its limit and can't expand that program. The start-up of the Georgia Virtual High School is expected to cost almost $2 million. The DOE has more than 60 virtual high school courses prepared for this summer's program launch, including more than ten AP courses. Initially, state officials say they will have space for up to 2,000 students. Those students could take up to six online courses a year at no cost as long as they took them as part of the regular school day. If students want to take additional courses or summer school courses, then a nominal fee will be charged, as is the case with additional coursework offered by public schools. Students taking a course from the Georgia Virtual High School will work with a fully certified and highly qualified teacher via email and telephone. The virtual courses will count as a class credit toward graduation, but the virtual school will not grant diplomas. Legislators and education leaders believe that the Virtual High School will be especially beneficial to students in rural communities who might not otherwise have access to courses they need for either college or workforce preparation.
Source: Catoosa County News
Schools Turn To Online Surveys
School districts are finding that their Web sites offer a powerful way of gathering community input. Using a variety of commercial software products and homegrown tools, districts and schools are fielding clickable surveys on their Web pages to gather input from parents, students and community members. Districts are asking for feedback on topics ranging from the quality of their administrative services to satisfaction with cafeteria menus. Web-based surveys are relatively easy to develop and provide instant feedback, often in the form of charts and graphs. Answer formats typically include single- or multiple-choice questions, yes-or-no questions, and scales that let participants select a range of intensity, such as from 1 to 5. Online surveys have another advantage: they appear to garner higher response rates than traditional paper-based formats. The Queen Anne's County (MD) School District surveys its parents twice a year. It gets about a 30% return, compared to 5% or 6 % on paper surveys sent home.
Source: Education Week
Governors Pledge High School Reform
The 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools ended with a strong commitment to transform the American high school. Six foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, committed $23 million to help states implement strategies designed to boost high school graduation and college-readiness rates. The money will fund a grant program to be administered by the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices. State will compete for the grants and will be required to match their grants on a dollar for dollar basis. Thirteen states, which educate more than a third of U.S. students, also announced plans to form a new coalition committed to transforming high schools. States joining the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network have committed to four actions: raising high school standards to the level needed for success in college or the workforce; requiring all students to take a rigorous college- and work-ready curriculum; developing tests of college and work readiness that all students will take in high school; and holding high schools accountable for making sure all students graduate ready for college and work, and holding colleges accountable for the success of the students they admit. The ADP objectives go a long way toward realizing one of the governor's summit objectives — to restore value to the high school diploma. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates kicked off the two-day meeting by telling his audience that the nation's high schools are obsolete and need radical restructuring. "Our high schools were designed 50 years ago to meet the needs of another age," said Gates. "Until we design them to meet the needs of this century, we will keep limiting, even ruining, the lives of millions of Americans every year."
Source: National Governors Association
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