So you want to start an online school? Background of Online Lear

1. Background: Online Learning
Dr. Rob Darrow / Dr. Kelly Schwirzke
#Iste12
June 2012
http://iste12.wikispaces.com

2. Big Question:
What do you have to do to
create an effective and
sustainable online or blended
learning program? (Demystify
the myths, know the landscape,
create a plan)

3. Background – National Trends
 Two educational trends challenging
traditional education:
** Charter Schools **
Enrollment increases
11% - 20% per year
** Online Schools **
Enrollment increases
30% per year

4. One Other National Trend:
Static Dropout Rates

5. The Challenge for the Nation
Three out of every ten students do not graduate from high school.
About half of those who graduate are not college- and work-ready.
Source: EPE 2007; Greene 2002

6. Research and Dropouts
“Lack of school success is
probably the greatest single
cause which impels pupils to
drop out of school.”
– Ayres (1909). Laggards in our schools.

7. Online School History and Policy
 1994 – 1997 - First K-12 online schools:
– Utah Electronic School
– Virtual High School – Massachusetts
– Florida Virtual School
 2007 – Number of states with online programs / online
legislation: 42
 2007 – Number of online charter schools:
– 173 in 18 states
– 92,235 students (Center for Ed Reform, 2008)
 2008 – Online course enrollments grew by 65% from
2002-03 to 2004-05 (Means, 2009)
 2009 – More than a million K-12 online school students
(Picciano and Seaman, 2009)

8. Defining Terms
 Traditional Learning
– attend courses daily in face-to-face setting
 Online Learning
– attend courses online where 70% instruction
is online (may also have face to face interaction)
 Blended Learning
– attend courses online where 30% instruction
is online
 Charter School
– independently operated public schools of
choice

9. Definitions:
Online School Enrollment
 Part-time Online Students
 Take one or two online courses in
addition to attending traditional school
 One student in one course per
semester counts one
 Full Time Online Students
 One student attending the school
counts one
Watson, Gemin, Ryan & Wicks (2009). Keeping pace with
K-12 online learning.

10. One Example: Florida Virtual School
One student in one course for one semester

11. Definitions:
Counting Online School Enrollment
Standards in Some States (Florida, Idaho, Michigan)
 Part-time online students not officially counted,
except as an estimate in response to a
researcher’s survey
 Full time online students counted if they attend
an online charter school
 In California, public school students, including
charters, are counted each October via
California Basic Educational Data System
(CBEDS)

12. Types of Online Schools
A. National Companies – individual online charter
schools in different states (K-12, Inc.
Connections Academy, Insight)
– Primarily charter schools
B. Statewide – run by state agencies
– Some charters, some not
C. District / County – run by school districts or
county educational offices
– Some charters, some not
?? How many here in each category??
Watson, Gemin, Ryan & Wicks (2009). Keeping pace with
K-12 online learning. http://www.kpk12.com/

13. State/organization Full-time or 2007-2008 2008-2009 Annual
supplemental enrollment enrollment increase
Florida Virtual School Supplemental 120,000 154,125 25%
Idaho Digital Learning Supplemental 6,619 9,646 46%
Academy
Alabama ACCESS Supplemental 18,955 28,014 48%
Michigan Virtual School Supplemental 11,000 16,000 45%
Minnesota (state) Both 23,722 28,332 19%
Colorado (state) Full-time 9,238 11,641 26%
Ohio (state) Full-time 24,011 27,037 13%
Arizona (state) Both 15,000 23,000 24%
Connections Academy Full-time 13,000 20,000 54%
(across U.S.) charter
K12, Inc. Full-time 39,500 56,000 42%
(across U.S.) charter
Watson et al, Keeping Pace. http://www.kpk12.com/

14. Online Learning and Student Achievement
 Meta-analysis have found that overall,
student achievement in online schools is
the same or better when compared with
traditional schools
– Means et al. (2009), Cavanaugh et al. (2004)
 Emerging Research
– Online student interaction in discussion
boards / forums (Lowes, 2007)
– Student success / student attrition in
online courses (Porta-Merida, 2009; Roblyer, 2008)

15. Contact Information
Rob Darrow, Ed.D. Kelly Schwirzke, Ed.D.
Director of Member Services Instructor, Oasis Independent Study /
Coordinator of Online Learning
iNacol
Alternative Education Programs
559-838-6151
Santa Cruz County Office of
rdarrow@inacol.org
Education
www.inacol.org
P 831-466-5655
Rob’s Wiki:
C 831-359-1778
http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com
kschwirzke@santacruz.k12.ca.us
http://iste12.wikispaces.com