PDF EDUCATION WEEK

EDUCATION WEEK

American Education's Newspaper of Record ? Volume XXI, Number 35 ? May 9, 2002 ? ? 2002 Editorial Projects in Education / $6.00

E-Defining Education

How Virtual Schools and Online Instruction Are Transforming Teaching and Learning

Technology Counts 2002

With Support From the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Contents

8 E-Defining Education

Cyber schools, online teaching and testing, and other e-learning initiatives are changing the landscape of education. ? E-Learning Survey of the States / 10

13 E-Learning Goes to School

Educators seek to balance the benefits and drawbacks of online teaching and learning. A special look at one high school's experience.

19 Students Speak Out

Pupil course evaluations from one of the nation's most prominent cyber schools show the strengths and weaknesses of e-learning.

27 Higher Ed.'s Online Odyssey

K-12 schools have much to learn from higher education's successes and failures in the world of online education.

31 The Virtual Teaching Life

Full-time online educators say teaching in cyberspace is rewarding, but it's not suited to everyone.

37 Sizing Up Online Content

Schools across the country are evaluating Web-based curriculum to see if it can deliver as much as it promises.

41 E-Training Offers Options

Educators are turning to online courses to upgrade their professional skills in a variety of areas.

47 One State's Digital Quest

A host of new technologies are making South Dakota a breeding ground for e-learning initiatives, such as a state-sponsored online testing program.

53 Tracking Tech Trends

Student access to computers continues to improve, but serious concerns remain about how technology is used. ? Access to Technology / 58 ? Capacity to Use Technology / 62 ? Use of Technology / 64 ? Sources and Notes / 96

68 State of the States

Snapshots of what each state is doing in the area of e-learning and how the states are using technology to improve schools.

98 Index to Advertisers

COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALLISON SHELLEY ON THE COVER: Students from George Mason Senior High School in Falls Church, Va.

[ 4 ] TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2002: E-DEFINING EDUCATION

TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2002: E-DEFINING EDUCATION

EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Virginia B. Edwards

MANAGING EDITOR

Gregory Chronister

PROJECT EDITOR

Kevin Bushweller

PROJECT DIRECTOR

Kathryn M. Doherty

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

Greg F. Orlofsky Ronald A. Skinner

Scott Spicer

SENIOR WRITERS

Julie Blair, Rhea R. Borja, Michelle Galley, John Gehring,

Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Andrew Trotter

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Patrick Flanigan, Robin Flanigan, Shari Metzger, Jo Anna Natale,

Myron Struck, Kathleen Vail

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Laura Baker

ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR

Gina Tomko

DESIGN ASSISTANT

Alyson Salon

PHOTO EDITOR

Allison Shelley

Technology Counts 2002 was produced with support from the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

[ 6 ] TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2002: E-DEFINING EDUCATION

EDUCATION WEEK

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E-Defining Education

CYBER SCHOOLS, ONLINE TEACHING AND TESTING, AND OTHER E-LEARNING

INITIATIVES ARE CHANGING

HOW SCHOOLS OPERATE.

T o appreciate how e-learning is changing the landscape of education, you need

only look at the numbers.

Already, 12 states have established

online high school programs and five

others are developing them, 25 states allow for the

creation of so-called cyber charter schools, and 32

states have e-learning initiatives under way,

according to a new Education Week survey of state

technology coordinators. Meanwhile, the survey

shows, 10 states are piloting or planning to

administer online testing. Oregon and South

Dakota are already using Web-based assessments. All those programs and policy changes are

opening the doors of online education to tens of thousands more students. In fact, "Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues," a report commissioned by WestEd--a research, development, and educational services organization--estimates that 40,000 to 50,000 K-12 students will have enrolled in an online course by the end of the 2001-02 school year. As it is, most of those youngsters are high school students. But the report points out that momentum is building to make online courses available to elementary and middle school pupils, too.

"The virtual school movement," the WestEd report says, is "the `next wave' in technology-based K-12 education."

Indeed, the e-learning bandwagon figures to become a crowded vehicle before long. After all, this new way of delivering education has the support of numerous state and local policymakers, education researchers, and business leaders.

Still, some educators, policymakers, and researchers are skeptical of what they see as exaggerated claims for online learning. And they worry about what is lost when students do not meet face to face with their classmates and teachers.

Alan Warhaftig, a Los Angeles high school English teacher who has earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, says he sees an "overall weakness to that notion that online schools can replace the school environment."

Others have similar concerns. For instance, "Guide to Online High School Courses," a draft report from a group of companies and education organizations, including the National Education Association and the National School Boards Association, expresses particular unease with the possibility that online education will filter down to the lower grades. "Our current understandings of the characteristics and needs of learners in earlier grades ... would

suggest we exercise great caution in the use of the online environment to deliver instruction to students prior to middle school," the draft report says.

Beyond such concerns, the report includes a daunting list of other issues that must be resolved: Are online courses aligned with state academic standards? Who is responsible for students' technological needs when they are taking an online course? Are online teachers trained effectively to teach via the Internet? Should parent approval be required before a child enrolls in an online course? Will students receive the same amount of credit for an online course as they would for a face-to-face class? And how will states ensure the quality of online courses, especially when students are taking them from teachers in other states or countries?

The questions go on and on. But because the phenomenon is largely a new one, education policymakers are still struggling to find appropriate answers.

To help educators better understand the benefits and drawbacks of e-learning, Technology Counts 2002--the fifth edition of Education Week's annual 50-state report on educational technology--examines

[ 8 ] TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2002: E-DEFINING EDUCATION

Clark James Mishler for Education Week

On sunny days in Palmer, Alaska, Becky Huggins, an online elementary school teacher, can do her teaching out in the fresh air. "[Online teaching] is too exciting to actually put into words," she says. "All you have to do is be around it ... and you'll be hooked, too."

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