Guest Commentary: Online Eduction Vital to Improvement

An op-ed article written by Darrel Deide, chairman of Idahoans for Choice in Education, has been getting a lot of traction in that state.
Little wonder.  Idaho has been the scene of one of the most hotly-contested and debated edtech-center reform plan in the nation. And there's no doubt the debate will continue through 2012. A referendum that would repeal most of the education reforms won earlier this year, is on the ballot.
That may be why Deidre's article hit a nerve.
"According to the leaders of the Idaho Education Association, Idaho’s education labor union, online education is wrong for Idaho students. If you have followed the testimony offered at the public hearings recently held around the state, you might have come away with the same belief," he wrote.
"In reality, the union’s objection to digital learning has nothing to do with the quality of education. It has everything to do with the union’s desire to maintain its monopoly," he continued.
"Why should the education union block our kids’ access to technology that they will need to use to be competent, successful and well-rounded for post-secondary education or a career? It simply makes no sense," he added.
Click here to read the complete article.

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.

Guest Commentary: Breaking Down the Digital Divide--The View from Idaho

Briana Leclaire of the Idaho Freedom Foundation states the facts bluntly: "Online school isn’t coming - it’s already here. So why are Idaho’s policymakers even slightly reluctant to offer kids more choices from among the thousands of course offerings provided by states, universities, for-profit and non-profit companies? Are we going to ride the online learning tidal wave, or is it going to crush us?"
She's right. With all of the ups and downs the virtual education movement has experienced in Idaho, the state still is among the nation's leaders in virtual education.
That said, the fight over virtual education continues and is as fresh as this morning's headlines.
Leclaire is worried. She believes the ongoing battles over online education could hurt Idaho."We could continue to let states embracing educational choice pass us by," she writes. "Stop letting the schoolhouse door be the digital divide."
Click here to read the entire post.