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Embarking on a virtual school |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 19 January 2008 |
Over the past two years I have been working with online teachers in delivering virtual classes to students in our school division and throughout the province of Saskatchewan. This year we have experienced over a 110 percent increase in enrollment. As a consultant I manage these classes and plan for future growth within our division. We have changed the philosophy of classes offered to seats filled. Our goal is to maintain a minimal 16 students to 1 teacher ratio so that we offer a sustainable economic feasible model for education. Currently we are operating at over 25 to 1!
Teachers involved in virtual schooling are experiencing a new model of practice which is significantly altering the experience of schooling. Our online teachers are personalizing the learning experience for students and extending the traditional school day beyond the normal hours. The virtual school option is filling the curriculum gaps for students who do not have access to certain courses or who are looking for a new way of learning. I have had many discussions with our online teachers, some I will share:
In one case a student was having problems with attendance in the face-to-face class so this student was placed in an online class. The flexible times allowed the student to attend when it was suitable. This student excelled in course and was very successful.
Students outside the school division who were involved in high performance athletics and knew they would eventually be in Moose Jaw started taking online classes in the division. These flexible course options allowed the students to travel and learn at the same time.
A student with ADHD that had trouble functioning in the traditional classroom and was being home schooled. The online course offering allowed the student to take a course from home and achieve over a 90% in the class.
We have had several students’ successfully complete courses in a significantly less amount of time than in a traditional classroom.
Teachers have the flexibility of teaching online; however the workload for teaching online is more than in a traditional class. Individualized instruction and assessment along with communication increases the workload of the online teacher. Teachers and students experience much more one-to-one intensive learning environment. This type of leaning environment is significantly influencing their classroom-based teaching.
In talking with one of our online teachers, she has changed her thoughts about re-wrights, exams, and the number of questions students do in the learning process. In her words “kids are in more control over learning”. In a project which I propsed to our online teachers I asked them to think about merging the virtual learning environment with their face-to-face classrooms. This blended learning environment would have the following characteristics:
- the heart of the class would be virtual
- the face-to-face component would still exist and be used if a student needed the time; or if the student was not following an individualized time-line.
- students would not need to attend the face-to-face class
- students would be working on an individualized learning plan
- the virtual environment would be structured in a way to encourage collaboration and peer support; however it would encourage individual growth and independent learning
Some current research I am reading about supports what I have been discussing with the online teachers: “teachers generally reported that after teaching online, their practice supported increased student participation..greater emphasis on independent learning, [and] more effective use of questioning strategies. Teachers participating in the survey also believed than an “increase in individualization from online communications can support broader improvements in teaching and learning practice..”
I am now working on a virtual school plan for our division. I would like to see a standalone virtual school which centralizes the online course offerings. It’s budget time which I am now working on. I am finding that the virtual school’s expenditures differ than the traditional school. No sub-costs if the teacher is sick, no physical building costs, and no transportation costs. We use the provincially funded Blackboard course management system as well as open source Moodle software for learning-management software. So far it’s much cheaper to run. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 30 June 2008 )
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