Guest Commentary: Digital Technologies Must Change Failed Public Education Model

Nick Trombetta is the founder and chief executive of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, the state's largest virtual charter school. James Barker is the former Erie, Pa., schools superintendent who is now the executive director of the Pennsylvania Digital Learning Network, an organization that offers Pennsylvania school districts educational programs and services delivered online or digitally. Together, they wrote an essay, "Digital Technologies Must Change Failed Public Education Model" that calls on educators to "embrace the digital age." "Only a break with the past and an embrace of the present will give us the public education system we all need and want -- and our children deserve," they write. "To take full advantage of this opportunity, everyone with a vested interest in public education (and really, isn't that all of us?) must set aside self-interest, honestly and comprehensively appraise current conditions, and work collaboratively to foster -- and hasten -- the development of that emerging model," they added. "Technology, while no panacea, is creating an environment in which this level of cooperation is not only possible, but unavoidable." Click here to read the entire article.

Guest Commentary: Should Blended Learning Be Treated Differently from Online Learning in Policy?

Amy Murin is part of the Evergreen Education Group, the Colorado-based firm that represents and consults with some of the nation's leading online learning organizations. Murin has more than 15 years of education, nonprofit management and tech experience. She started her career in AmeriCorps as a corps member and then the program manager. Murin then spent six years at eCollege, first working with K-12 and higher education clients to launch and grow their online programs, and then managing their administrative product line. She recently posted an article in the "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning" Blog that asked a provocative question: should blended learning be treated differently from online learning when it comes to public policy? "There are at least two ways to approach this question. The first is to explore whether blended learning can be defined and perhaps regulated as its own category in terms of data tracking, instructional requirements, and other regulations," Murin wrote. "The second issue is whether blended learning should be encouraged and supported." Click here to read her complete post and feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

Michael B. Horn: How Educators Can Manage Innovation

Recently, I was the keynote speaker at Cue Live! 2011. This gathering in Palm Springs was the annual conference of CUE (Computer-Using Educators), a California nonprofit that promotes technology in education. The group serves as a resource for educators and teachers. After my speech, I was interviewed by Chris Wash of the CUE Communications Committee. We talked about embedded assessment, online credit recovery programs, whole school redesign and a slew of other topics that are part of the virtual education movement. We also touched on blended learning and why I believe that blended learning is going to be the learning platform for 90% of our childing in the future. We covered a lot of interesting ground. Click here to see a video of my talk with Chris. Click here for a video of my keynote speech. And click here for a link to see the Cue Live! 2011 video interview of my colleague and fellow Liberating Learning blog contributor Tom Vander Ark.

Guest Commentary: Converted to Online Learning

Bill Carozza is the principal of Harold Martin Elementary School in Hopkinton, N.H. He is very blunt about his view of virtual education. "I have struggled with the value of online learning for years," he writes. "Yet, I am now a convert." Carozza adds that he realizes that for students who digital natives, creating a personalized learning environment that fits "into their multi-tasking existence just fine." Click here to read his complete post from his blog "Principal Reflections."

Tom Vander Ark: A Few Thoughts From CUE Live 2011

If you don't know about CUE, you should.
CUE stands for Computer-Using Educators and is a California nonprofit that promotes technology in education. It serves as a resource for educators and teachers.
The group just held its annual conference in Palm Springs and I was there and was interviewed by Chris Walsh.
It was a wide-ranging discussion in which we touched on my belief that 2011 is the year of blended learning.
We talked about what the high school of the future will look like (a mixture of playlists and projects; a world where every students has a learning experience customized for him or her).
I also predicted that next fall will see widespread introduction of the $200 computer tablet in many schools and the expansion of broadband.
Click here to see the video of this interview.
And stay tuned for the posting of my Liberating Learning blog contributing colleague Michael B. Horn's video interview at Cue Live 2011.

Guest Commentary: Rural Education and Technology

Jesse Ward is a policy analyst for the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association and recently wrote a report on the status of digital learning in rural America.
"Rural Education and Technology" focuses on how educators are incorporating digital tools into the classroom.
In a report on Ward's speech to the Organizations Concerned About Rural Education, Rural Community Building, a division of the American Farm Bureau Federation wrote, "There are many benefits to online learning, according to the NTCA data collected. Not only does this type of learning appeal to student needs, but it allows for customized instruction for all types of learners and opens door that might not be accessible, particularly to rural students. Schools can offer online courses for AP classes, foreign languages, math and science and many electives to satisfy students’ needs or interests.
"Using broadband," the report on Ward's presentation continued, "teachers from rural areas can work from home to teach classrooms far removed from their geographical location."
Click here to read more about Ward's presentation and the NTCA report.

Christina Martin: Will Oregon's Legislature Help K-12 Education Get Online?

Oregon's legislature is again considering several bills that would affect K-12 students' access to online education. While virtual charter schools (public schools operated by non-profit organizations that provide a full-time online education for K-12 kids) are valuable and worth protecting, it seems that our elected officials are missing the forest for the trees.
The most exciting potential for online education to advance K-12 learning is not in the full-time online education model, although that is an essential option. Rather, part-time and the blended learning approach hold the greatest promise to rapidly improve Oregon's education opportunities.
Part-time learning allows students enrolled in a regular brick-and-mortar public school to enroll in one or more online courses. Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching with online curriculum.
Click here to read more on the three online education bills the Oregon House Education Committee has heard testimony about this year. Oregon's kids deserve more options, not fewer. Creating more effective online educational opportunities does not require increased spending, but it does require smarter spending and flexibility.

Tom Vander Ark: Around the Corner--Choice vs. Coherence

Let me take a minute to define blended learning: it's an intentional shift of instructional mode responsibility to an online environment for at least a portion of the student day designed to produce learning and operating productivity.
My advocacy for choice to the course level comes from a sense of urgency that we need to quickly expand access to quality options particularly for students that have not been academically successful and particularly in gateway subjects like math.
Click here for more of my thoughts on why I believe blended learning is the best road for education to take.

Guest Commentary: A Look at Schools of the Future from Education Next

The Rocketship vision.
Combing "face-to-face" education in a specific place with online instruction. That's the Rocketship vision. It is remarkably successful.
Rocketship Education is a non-profit elementary charter school network dedicated to eliminating the achievement gap by using a hybrid education model. Rocketship uses the term "hybrid"
which is interchangeable with the more common term "blended learning."
Rocketship is building a model in which kids learn much of their basic skills through online technology. This leaves classroom teachers free to focus on critical-thinking instruction and to provide extra help where kids are struggling.
Teachers are able to “prescribe” online attention to specific skills. Part of the model involves providing teachers with a steady stream of data that will help them adjust instruction to kids’ specific needs, and to guide after school tutors.
In an article in the Summer 2011 issue of Education Next, Jonathan Schorr and Deborah McGriff, partners at NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm that supports entrepreneurial innovation to improve public education for low-income children,
report the rise of blended learning is coming at a time when the public is increasingly open to online learning.
One example in the growth of acceptance to virtual education the authors cite is a speech, by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He noted that a loss of housing valuation meant that
education funds are down sharply and aren’t coming back anytime soon. In the spirit of never wasting a crisis, he said he hoped the difficult financial straits would help bring an end to “the factory model of education” and an increase in productivity in schools. He
said, “Our schools must prepare all students for college and careers—and do far more to personalize instruction and employ the smart use of technology.”
Click here to get a sneak peek of Education Next's "Future Schools: Blending face-to-face and online learning."
Click here to read Liberating Learning blog contributor Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker's guide to the landscape in their 2011 paper, “The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning.”

Tom Vander Ark: Barriers to Innovation

A reader wrote about the challenges of teaching, “Most high school teachers have between 120 and 150 students who they see every day. The fact that people think this is an okay reality is beyond me. Who would take this job? If someone were to pay me $100,000 a year to go back to teaching high school English full time, I might consider it and then use $50K to hire people myself to help me in the classroom. It’s the shape of the job that makes it impossible.”
I believe the secondary teaching job, as defined today, is difficult with most teachers having lots of preps and big loads. Blended learning can help change this.
Click here to why I believe this. I also list the four federal barriers I believe are hurting innovation in education.

Michael B. Horn: Utah Pushes Forward Toward Student-Centric Learning

Those who have been following this blog know that Utah's SB 65, also known as the "Statewide Online Education Program," got off on the wrong foot.
But last night, Utah seized its chance to leapfrog the rest of the nation and transform its education system to a more student-centric one when the House passed the bill.
For passage to occur, four changes were made to the bill, all of which seem reasonable.
Click here to read more about the changes and why I am supportive.
Ultimately this bill still aligns to the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning outlined in Digital Learning Now, and as such, represents a bold move away from the monolithic, factory model schools of our past and a big step forward toward a more student-centric future that allows students to have personalized options for their learning based in their distinct needs.

Christina Martin: Expand Charter School Rights in Oregon

The Oregonian painted the picture of what happened in Salem on March 8: "As virtual charter school families rallied on the state capitol steps, the Oregon House was due to vote on House Bill 2287, which would expand charter school rights.
"But just before the bill was debated on the floor," the Oregonian report continued, "Republicans and Democrats requested a caucus meeting."
The upshot: Debate, and any vote, on the bill was delayed. The Oregon House is scheduled to take up the issue again on March 14.
HB 2287, which has bipartisan support, would create consistent guidelines for school districts to follow when they decided whether to accept or deny a proposed charter school. The measure also prohibits districts from imposing bureaucratic obstacles that are intended to delay a proposed charter school from moving forward.
These changes would benefit virtual charter schools. In 2009, the state legislature narrowly passed and created restrictions on virtual charters. The bill placed a two-year moratorium on the growth of existing schools by restricting them to the student counts enrolled on May 1, 2009. HB 2287 would help in the expansion of existing virtual charters and ease creation of new virtual charters.
In February, I testified before the House Education Committee about the need for passage of HB 2287. Click here to read my testimony.

Guest Commentary: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Backs Lifting Cap on Virtual Charter Enrollment

"Virtual schools aren't for every child, but they can be helpful for some students. And there is no logical reason to cap enrollment," states an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The leading newspaper in Wisconsin did not agree with everything in Gov. Scott Walker's education reform proposal, but the newspaper's support for parts of his plan is significant. What's more, the stand may sway a few minds.
The impact of lifting enrollment caps, according to an article in the newspaper, are not clear. "Several elements could hamper an enormous jump in choice enrollment, at least initially. First, capacity is limited at existing charter schools and private schools that now accept voucher students, and many popular schools have waiting lists to get in," according to the article.
Click here to read the Journal Sentinel's editorial.
Click here to read the news story on Gov. Walker's plan and its potential impact on Milwaukee Public Schools.

Guest Commentary: A Kid's View of Online School

Adora Svitak has written two books and both have been published. She has taught at more than 400 schools and her public service efforts have been recognized by national and international organizations.
Not bad for a 13-year-old.
In a recent column for the Huffington Post, Svitak wrote about her experiences with online classes and her hopes for the future of digital education.
"Every school district should have an online learning framework, so that 'blended learning' (partially online, partially in-person) can be an option for students," she wrote. "Students could read more of the fact-based lesson material online, so that when they came to class in-person, time could be used on higher-order thinking skills like experiments, projects, and the like. A lot of excellent learning takes place when students are face-to-face with each other and a teacher, yet there are situations where students may not always be able to make it to class. Should students not be able to continue doing any of their work simply because of a school flu epidemic, school staff on strike, snow days, or absences? "
"By shifting more content online," Svitak continued, "we could cut some of the spending that would go toward giant reams of paper and industrial-size printers and copiers."
Click here to read more of her essay.

Tom Vander Ark: Idaho Students Do Come First With Luna's Plan

I have been a long-time advocate for innovation in education. While superintendent in Washington, we created one of the first virtual schools in the country and introduced laptop programs in our secondary schools. We did this to create quality options for students and families.
That was 15 years ago. We will have big achievement gaps. We know more than ever that great teachers make a world of difference but we struggle to staff our urban and rural schools. We face the worse fiscal crisis in generations.
With this backdrop, it was particularly disheartening to recently learn that SB 1113, was sent back to the Idaho Senate Education Committee. Some say this important education reform measure does not have a chance for a vote by the full legislature this year.
This bill is part of State Superintendent Tony Luna's "Students Come First" plan. It creates options for students, teachers and schools.
We need to invent ways to do more with less. Tom’s plan is a series of steps in the right direction.
Online education has proven to be a success across the country, and particularly in Idaho. Students are able to receive individualized attention and work at their own pace, giving them the opportunity to spend more time on troublesome subject areas.
Online education can be more cost effective than traditional brick and mortar programs and can help smaller, rural schools offer a comprehensive curriculum.
I have no skin in this fight. I just want Idaho, and America, to better prepare young people for the world they will inherit.
Click here to read the complete open letter I sent to the people of Idaho on why I believe SB 1113, and Luna's plan, deserve a chance.

Michael B. Horn: Utah Legislature Swings, and Misses

Utah’s state senate missed a first opportunity to kick start the transformation of its education system to a student-centric one and leapfrog the rest of the nation when it failed to pass Senate Bill 65 (SB 65), also known as the "Statewide Online Education Program."
Thankfully the Senate is likely to resuscitate the bill this legislative session and get another swing at it, as the bill does some critical things for Utah’s education system, including allow any Utah student anywhere in the state to have access to the best online courses and teachers and push the online providers to compete on quality by withholding a large chunk of payment until a student successfully completes the course.
In the next couple of days, hopefully Utah's legislators will see the bigger picture and potential to create a whole host of quality options for students anywhere from providers who will be literally invested in the success of students they serve and pass SB 65.
Click here to read my complete post, which includes suggestions on how to make sure the fiscal impact of the measure is not too high.

Tom Vander Ark: Oregon's Wrong Turn

If you read the expert report Digital Learning Now and decided to do the exact opposite to block any semblance of progress in Oregon, you would write SB 927.
The state government would effectively control online learning from course selection to distribution and everything in between. It shuts down virtual charters, restricts student access and eliminates choices.
Oregon SB 927 creates the misnamed "Oregon Option Consortium." It should be called "Oregon in Reverse."
Click here to read the rest of my post and to find a link to the bill.

Guest Commentary: Competition Best Way to Provide Students Online Opportunities

A Florida House committee was recently treated to a high-level discussion of digital learning that included the likes of former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise and national education reformer and Liberate Learning blog contributor Tom Vander Ark, but the showstopper came from a different duo with a jaw-dropping accord.
The policy director for the nation’s leading public virtual school and the president of a leading private virtual education company told lawmakers that competition is the best way to give students new online opportunities.
No, we’re not making this up.
Sitting around that committee room table were Holly Sagues, chief policy officer for Florida Virtual School, and Barbara Dreyer, president and CEO of Connections Academy. Florida Virtual is far and away the nation’s most successful public virtual school, whose 213,926 courses last year represented three times the rate of the next closest state. Dreyer and one of her own private competitors, K-12 Inc., have found common ground with Florida Virtual on a plan that would introduce statewide private providers for all forms of online learning.
Click here to read the rest of a post and discussion that education policymakers should note.