November 2004 — Exclusive

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Guidelines for Selecting Quality K-12 Online Courses

By Dr. Patricia Deubel

According to Ruben Lopez, Florida ’s former chief technology officer, e-learning will become the cornerstone of how K-12 curriculum will be delivered in the future (Miller 2003). By 2006, it is estimated that a majority of high school students will have taken an online course before graduating (Fulton 2002). Whether these predictions become reality remains to be seen, but there is evidence to support the growing presence of K-12 online learning. The technology infrastructure appears in place with 99% of U.S. public schools having Internet access in the fall of 2002 (Kleiner and Lewis 2003). The number of high school students taking online courses is also on the rise. For example, The Center for Education Reform (www.edreform.com) in Washington , D.C. , estimated that 21,000 students were logging into their virtual classrooms from home in 2002, while state education officials said that about 30,000 students were attending 11 virtual charter high schools during 2003 in Ohio alone (Anglen 2003). Then in September 2003, a new first-of-its-kind group, the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL, online at www.nacol.org), was launched to focus solely on advancing K-12 virtual education by providing the research support for what has and has not worked so far in K-12 distance learning (Lott 2003).

The list of virtual schools at the Distance Learning Resource Network (which is in limbo now since its funding ended) offering courses for K-12 learners and at least some Internet- or Web-based credit courses is also growing. Courses are hosted by state-sanctioned, state-level virtual schools; university-based virtual schools; virtual school consortia; virtual schools operated by districts and schools; virtual charter schools operated by state-chartered entities; virtual schools operated by private school entities; and for-profit providers of courses, curricula, development tools and infrastructures (Clark 2001).

For the most part, current programs are targeted for secondary students, as younger students might not have the study skills, reading and writing abilities, and self-discipline to do well (Russo 2001). The National Education Association (Fulton 2002) has cautioned about the use of the online environment to deliver instruction to students prior to middle school due to the current understanding of characteristics and needs of learners in earlier grades. Nevertheless, at least one initiative, William Bennett’s K12.com (www.k12.com), is promoting online learning in elementary school.

Guidelines

According to the Virtual Schools Forum Report (Center for Digital Education and U.S. Education Department 2002), there are currently no nationally adopted quality standards for online courses in virtual schools.

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