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ONLINE ARTICLES
Online Learning: What We Know Right Now
By Bambi Betts 01-Feb-12
It is ubiquitous. You cannot encounter an article, book, blog, workshop, or even a conversation these days that does not mention the touchy issue of online learning. And for good reason. It threatens to revolutionize learning, forcing the school industry to face the possibility that traditional brick-and-mortar schools may lose their status, ordained over the past 120 years, as meccas of learning. So what precisely is it? As is typical in the education world, definitions abound. Keeping Pace, a watchdog organization, sums it thus: “Online learning is instruction via a web-based delivery system that includes software to provide a structured learning environment. It may be synchronous (communication in which participants interact in real time, such as online video) or asynchronous (communication that is separated by time, such as email or online discussion fora). It may be accessed from multiple settings (in school and/or out of school buildings).” There are now dozens of providers supporting the online learning environment, and it works something like this (from Edutopia): a teacher is assigned a group of students with whom he or she engages directly online, teaching lessons and coordinating assignments using interactive software applications, chat, and email. Students view lessons on the screen, which the teacher often conducts in real time by showing slides or videos; the teacher talks directly to the students through the computer, and students respond by voice or text chat. Much of the lesson material—articles, graphs, videos, practice questions, and so on—is available online to students at any time, and they are encouraged to email or “call” their teacher as needed. For the moment, online learning comes in three flavors: -Hybrid, or blended, learning, where face-to-face and online learning are combined (classroom time and online time). -Brick-and-mortar based, where face-to-face and online are combined within a supervised school setting. -Online only, where learners access all learning through online technologies. According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), over four million K-12 students have participated in a formal online learning experience to date. What reasons are most often given by schools for implementing online options? In short, offering courses not otherwise available; offering Advanced Placement (AP) or college-level courses; and “credit recovery,” to make retakes possible. The Evergreen Education Group reported in November 2009 that 27 states in the USA have state virtual schools, and 24 have full-time, statewide online schools. In all, American 45 states and the District of Columbia have a state virtual school or online initiative. In a recent poll of international schools, 75 percent reported using some form of online learning tools! Why those who love it, love it Many in and outside of the profession are enamored of the notion. Sticking with advantages to learners (not organizations), what they cite most often is: -Anytime access. Learners can learn 24/7, wherever they have access to a computer and the internet. -Freedom to fail. Online learning allows for failure more often, without penalty or embarrassment. -Personalized learning. Online platforms give control to the learner in a way that classroom learning does not. -“Recycling.” Online learning allows students to access the learning or lesson again and again. -Independent learning. Most schools now set “learning how to learn” as a major goal. Supporters say online learning does this best. -The gaming effect. Many online learning platforms are designed for immediate feedback. For some learning outcomes, this is better. -Better preparation for university? According to multiple sources, one in four students at the tertiary level has had a formal online learning experience as of 2010. Why those who don’t, don’t Whether based on experience or conjecture, not everyone is a fan. Here are what the naysayers list as the down-sides: -Depersonalization. Students miss out on essential non-verbal communication skills. -Artificial and incomplete feedback. According to researchers such as John Hattie, the type and timing of feedback are critical in learning. -Learning how to learn? Online approaches rely heavily on the student doing this for him/herself. -Undermining the relationships. Teachers have less opportunity to directly engage with learners, which is often central to learning itself. -Technical issues. Slow or unreliable internet connections can render the whole learning experience pointless. -It is not a panacea. Some things have to be learned in person, and we run the risk of sidelining important skills if online learning becomes the norm. Does it work? Who knows? Someone has to fund the requisite studies, and that is not happening systematically enough. According to one of the few major studies, conducted by the U.S. Office of Education (and revised in 2011), “Few rigorous research studies of the effectiveness of online learning for K-12 students have been published.” “A systematic search of the research literature from 1994 through 2006 found no experimental or controlled quasi-experimental studies comparing the learning effects of online versus face-to-face instruction for K-12 students ... A subsequent search that expanded the time frame through July 2008 identified just five published studies meeting meta-analysis criteria.” Skeptics of K-12 online learning are already touting this as a major reason to wait—no Steve Jobs mentality here! Without a few risk-taking leapers however, we will never know. The few major studies that have been completed address only the obvious questions. The most notable of these is the study referred to above by the U.S. Office of Education, and the full report is available—you guessed it—online. But the most quotable results, seen all over the net, are apparently corroborated by other similar, if smaller, studies: -Students using online platforms performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material face-to-face. -Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage, relative to purely face-to-face instruction, than did purely online instruction. -The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad, across content and learner types. Naysayers and cheerleaders alike agree on one thing: there is a clear need for new assessment tools here. But even with relatively little to go on, there are plenty of influential “believers” who are running with what we have, like Peter Cappelli, Director of the Center for Human Resources at The Wharton School: “The fact that online learning is so much easier to do and so much cheaper than face-to-face delivery means that the only thing holding it back would be if the learning outcomes between this approach and the classroom were hugely different. They are not.” What the youngsters say At the recent iNACOL Virtual Schools, a panel of students explained why they preferred learning online: “I can sleep in.” (Readers may recall the research on adolescents, sleep, and the timing of school.) “I can pursue my passion.” “I can focus on my work without distractions from my classmates.” “I can move at my own pace.” “I do not have to compete to share my thoughts and ideas.” “I can take more interesting classes.” “I can learn on a schedule that meets my needs.” “I can learn despite health issues that might get in the way in a traditional setting.” And, “I can easily communicate with my teacher/classmates when I need to.” What next? A fundamental rule of curriculum design is to start with what you want the participant to learn. So far in this discourse we have lumped all learning into one giant e-box, and we need to modify the question. It should be, “Under what circumstances and for what types of learning is online learning more effective?” Let us get better at aligning the type of learning with the type of delivery, so that learning for everyone becomes more efficient and enduring. Re-thinking “school” What is best learned (or maybe only learned) in a fixed, physical space, with others present? And why do we really want or need our children there? Is it to learn social skills? That is dubious. Do we value having our children occupied for six hours a day the most, or can we truly make the case that certain things are better learned in that environment? The eventual answers to these questions will determine the role of school as we know it. Given that in the current, traditional learning environment, and by all accounts (McKinsey & Company, Stronge, Marzano, and so on), the quality of teaching is the most essential element in student learning, online learning begs another question: What is the role of the teacher, both in the online and physical platforms? We know that teachers are no longer sole sources of knowledge, so why do we need them to be with children in a physical space? To set the agenda? Ask the questions? Personalize the feedback? How must the profession morph to remain an essential catalyst for learning—or will it? One thing is certain. Love it or not, online learning is a reality. Whether we in the profession will be catalysts or casualties remains to be seen. l Bambi Betts is Director of both the Principals’ Training Center (PTC) and the Academy for International School Heads (AISH); she is a regular contributor to The International Educator.
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Comments
03/31/2012 - John Mikton
Thanks you for sharing this overview of Online Learning, really informative. I agree with you in that schools are at a critical juncture in having to engage with the questions you have posed. I think an important point was brought up in your article, " One thing is certain. Love it or not, online learning is a reality. Whether we in the profession will be catalysts or casualties remains to be seen" I believe if schools do not concretely address this issue, many systems and traditional learning environments will become obsolete long term. There is more and more evidence that companies like Google, Apple, Pearson, and others are investing and creating more personalized learning environments where anywhere anytime learning is available with powerful online content creation tools. These virtual environments and content creation tools are fast becoming a viable alternative option for learners to build their own skills and professional learning outside the context of the traditional school walls and sometimes for free!
