I've had a few grand realizations about what virtual schooling is this week. My views on online schools and schooling have definitely become more clear. Reading and discussing the three meta-analyses helped me realize that:
1. Virtual schooling has many strong features as a format on its own. Comparing it to f2f settings may provide some useful starting points to understanding how to improve both teaching formats; however, the comparison doesn't completely answer the question. It may be time for some well-funded, extensive qualitative studies on virtual school to really show their strengths, weaknesses and complexities. Are there some available? I've discovered this week how new this field of research is, especially compared to the amount of studies done on f2f schooling, which still has many weaknesses in need of solutions.
2. Virtual schooling, in its current format, will not serve elementary school students and their learning needs well. Its current strengths depend too much on students already having many levels of computer and digital literacy skills, including how to discern information online and read, analyze, synthesize information and comment to peers. In addition, young students don't yet have the developmental capacity to organize their time, their work, online resources, and the many interactions that take place online. Many cannot even read well or comprehend what they are reading.
3. A focus on process and allowing students to reflect on what they are learning (metacognition) is a very important part of online learning. If curriculum units leave this element out, the students' educational experiences may not be as optimal. Plus, regular access to metacognitive practice usually doesn't take place in a f2f classroom. I suppose that it could, but an instructor would have to get very creative and not short-change this activity if something else came up during very limited class times.
4. Could requiring students to take more online courses make them spend more time "in virtual class" and on school work? I don't think this is a bad thing, especially if it helps students learn more and even better (though no study has proven this yet). For those of us who love school, I think all of the extra activities and access to resources are wonderful. While policy makers occasionally propose lengthening the school year to provide extra skill practice, if it were shown that online schools actually provide that practice and time, could this be the solution instead? Instead of a longer school year, how about blended f2f & online schooling year round? What would this do to summer vacation schedules? Would nature camps have to provide wi-fi to campers so they could complete their required schoolwork? What if future studies show that online learning is the most effective, rewarding and enriching way to learn? The mind reels at the possibilities and problems at what could be a vast overhaul of the educational system as we know it.
5. I keep coming back to the access problem. If online schooling becomes the norm, how do we provide access -- really solid broadband+ access -- in areas not wired and with few computers and little current software and no teachers to teach? This fast push towards online schooling as a cost-cutting measure is completely misdirected in this financial aim, and may leave more students far behind their super-wired and technologically fluent peers.
On another note: Thinking about our curriculum units from last week, the team-based approach to creating them seemed vital to the process. When I think back on all of the email exchanges, Google doc sessions, and Skype calls that Deepa and I had, much important work happened in these digital conversations. Our collaboration and idea sharing made our unit better than if we had done them individually.
