The graph below depicts a graph of K-12 distributed learning (DL) participation in British Columbia, Canada's most westerly province. (Source: BC Ministry of Education)
With the arrival of the internet and elearning there has been a rapid increase in enrollments in DL courses in BC. In 2008 almost 1 in 7 high school graduates had taken at least one course by DL. This change in educational practice did not happen by itself. The change is in part a demand for flexible access to courses - for example by students living in remote areas who want to take Spanish or Calculus but there is no teacher for those topics in their local school. This access benefits other students who may be home bound and not able to attend face-to-face school, and it benefits students like athletes who are always traveling to competitions, or BC students who might be living in other countries.Distributed Learning would not work if there were no support from parents and students.
It should be noted that this demand is in part created by the population demographics of BC, where the overall population is aging and there are about 2000 fewer K-12 school registrations each year. As communities age and the number of students decrease, there is less tax base to support local schools. This starts with fewer teachers, then it is fewer schools, and eventually if the school closes, the community dies and it is almost impossible to attract young families. Distributed Learning offer an opportunity to keep schooling happening in small communities - especially those that might be hit by a downturn in the resource economy. Thus, a political decision has been made by the school districts and the Ministry of Education to support DL through a policy that provides funds to hire teachers, to provide training and to buy equipment to make it work. the policy also sets out rules for running courses, including financial and academic accountability.
The other part off the picture is the enabling technology. DL via e-learning is only possible because there is a technological infrastructure to carry the messages. There are high bandwidth connections to most schools and homes in BC. The DL policy is not just about e-learning for high school; in many sites broadband video is used to share teachers between small schools. There seems to be an unlimited number of computer companies and consultants ready to help schools implement distributed learning and DL is part of the marketing strategies of high tech companies who seek to increase their customer base and perpetuate an on-going revenue stream to support DL.
Despite what looks to be a win-win situation in BC, the research on the long term impact of this process for both learning, student success and teacher training is slim. Distance delivery is being implemented all over the world - sometimes as the main approach to delivering education, and sometimes (as in Korea) as a supplementary support or after-school activity to encourage academic achievement.
The goal of this course is to take a close look at the use of technology for K12 education, and to develop a critical understanding of the relationships of the partners in K12 DL, the implementation models, the pedagogy and the results of research. As this is a global phenomenon, we will be looking at examples from around the globe. Finally, this course culminates in a group exercise around planning or trouble shooting a real or theoretical DL implementation.
With the arrival of the internet and elearning there has been a rapid increase in enrollments in DL courses in BC. In 2008 almost 1 in 7 high school graduates had taken at least one course by DL. This change in educational practice did not happen by itself. The change is in part a demand for flexible access to courses - for example by students living in remote areas who want to take Spanish or Calculus but there is no teacher for those topics in their local school. This access benefits other students who may be home bound and not able to attend face-to-face school, and it benefits students like athletes who are always traveling to competitions, or BC students who might be living in other countries.Distributed Learning would not work if there were no support from parents and students.
It should be noted that this demand is in part created by the population demographics of BC, where the overall population is aging and there are about 2000 fewer K-12 school registrations each year. As communities age and the number of students decrease, there is less tax base to support local schools. This starts with fewer teachers, then it is fewer schools, and eventually if the school closes, the community dies and it is almost impossible to attract young families. Distributed Learning offer an opportunity to keep schooling happening in small communities - especially those that might be hit by a downturn in the resource economy. Thus, a political decision has been made by the school districts and the Ministry of Education to support DL through a policy that provides funds to hire teachers, to provide training and to buy equipment to make it work. the policy also sets out rules for running courses, including financial and academic accountability.
The other part off the picture is the enabling technology. DL via e-learning is only possible because there is a technological infrastructure to carry the messages. There are high bandwidth connections to most schools and homes in BC. The DL policy is not just about e-learning for high school; in many sites broadband video is used to share teachers between small schools. There seems to be an unlimited number of computer companies and consultants ready to help schools implement distributed learning and DL is part of the marketing strategies of high tech companies who seek to increase their customer base and perpetuate an on-going revenue stream to support DL.
Despite what looks to be a win-win situation in BC, the research on the long term impact of this process for both learning, student success and teacher training is slim. Distance delivery is being implemented all over the world - sometimes as the main approach to delivering education, and sometimes (as in Korea) as a supplementary support or after-school activity to encourage academic achievement.
The goal of this course is to take a close look at the use of technology for K12 education, and to develop a critical understanding of the relationships of the partners in K12 DL, the implementation models, the pedagogy and the results of research. As this is a global phenomenon, we will be looking at examples from around the globe. Finally, this course culminates in a group exercise around planning or trouble shooting a real or theoretical DL implementation.