I think that is the direction our district is taking. We have two levels of testing for knowledge of programs, for which teachers get technology to use (or in the case of less favored classes, old technology to try to use....). After that we are required to file a lesson plan that utilizes technology applications. I think the idea is that ten years down the road, high schools will be more like colleges, with some classes taken in person and some online. I'd like to see that online drama class, but then again, if my predictions hold out, performing arts and visual arts will be out of the schools by then. And I speak as an art teacher that has a vested interest in making sure they stay IN the schools. I wonder at what point athletics will have outlived its usefulness. Curious.
I am impressed, here in the wild west some of our school districts have 200 kids k-12 and this is a way for them to access classes they want, I believe Gerlach also uses some of the services.
It's an interesting phenomenon in that the cyber-school implicitly questions some of the basic assumptions that underpin public education the most notable being the geographic, i.e. district, orientation of public education.
I don't think home-schooling + cyber-schooling is necessarily the wave of the future though. The "kid warehousing" aspect of public education isn't without value from the point of view of parents and kids being aggregated into physical locations which exist for the purpose of learning also isn't without value. It's just that schools sized and located for the convenience of districts aren't likely to be optimal when the needs and requirements of the district no longer hold sway.
Cyberschools offer the possibility of sizing and placing schools much more flexibly then allowed by the limitations of a school district. The "Little, Red Schoolhouse" may make a reappearance in its modern guise in the local strip mall within easy walking distance of the family homestead.
Here in Missouri, the educators really PUSH this stuff on homeschoolers at curriculum fairs, etc., but *never* mention it to public school parents.
That's because it's technically public schooling. I'm wondering why they want to keep their current students in the buildings and unaware of this program. *Maybe* it's because once these kids get a taste of what it's like to do schoolwork outside of school, that they'll long for more freedom than these online schools will provide... and they'll be homeschooled completely.
We've seen some amazingly great educators over the years, but this "warehousing" of children is extremely over-rated. (I say that as the parent of two public-school children as well as some homeschoolers.) It will be interesting to see how all the funding works out, say, five years from now, and how many slots are available and to whom.
South Carolina is developing a fairly strong online high school course offering. The kids enjoy it and on the whole, the 'at-risk' kids are performing better academically in the courses.
The biggest foot-draggers in the process (in our district, anyway) are the high school guidance counselors, who complain about the 'extra work' it creates. Makes my head hurt.
I think that is the direction our district is taking. We have two levels of testing for knowledge of programs, for which teachers get technology to use (or in the case of less favored classes, old technology to try to use....). After that we are required to file a lesson plan that utilizes technology applications. I think the idea is that ten years down the road, high schools will be more like colleges, with some classes taken in person and some online. I'd like to see that online drama class, but then again, if my predictions hold out, performing arts and visual arts will be out of the schools by then. And I speak as an art teacher that has a vested interest in making sure they stay IN the schools. I wonder at what point athletics will have outlived its usefulness. Curious.
ReplyDeleteVegas has one at
ReplyDeletehttp://ccsdde.net/
I am impressed, here in the wild west some of our school districts have 200 kids k-12 and this is a way for them to access classes they want, I believe Gerlach also uses some of the services.
Piper
It's an interesting phenomenon in that the cyber-school implicitly questions some of the basic assumptions that underpin public education the most notable being the geographic, i.e. district, orientation of public education.
ReplyDeleteI don't think home-schooling + cyber-schooling is necessarily the wave of the future though. The "kid warehousing" aspect of public education isn't without value from the point of view of parents and kids being aggregated into physical locations which exist for the purpose of learning also isn't without value. It's just that schools sized and located for the convenience of districts aren't likely to be optimal when the needs and requirements of the district no longer hold sway.
Cyberschools offer the possibility of sizing and placing schools much more flexibly then allowed by the limitations of a school district. The "Little, Red Schoolhouse" may make a reappearance in its modern guise in the local strip mall within easy walking distance of the family homestead.
Here in Missouri, the educators really PUSH this stuff on homeschoolers at curriculum fairs, etc., but *never* mention it to public school parents.
ReplyDeleteThat's because it's technically public schooling. I'm wondering why they want to keep their current students in the buildings and unaware of this program. *Maybe* it's because once these kids get a taste of what it's like to do schoolwork outside of school, that they'll long for more freedom than these online schools will provide... and they'll be homeschooled completely.
We've seen some amazingly great educators over the years, but this "warehousing" of children is extremely over-rated. (I say that as the parent of two public-school children as well as some homeschoolers.) It will be interesting to see how all the funding works out, say, five years from now, and how many slots are available and to whom.
South Carolina is developing a fairly strong online high school course offering. The kids enjoy it and on the whole, the 'at-risk' kids are performing better academically in the courses.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest foot-draggers in the process (in our district, anyway) are the high school guidance counselors, who complain about the 'extra work' it creates. Makes my head hurt.
This would be a negative step for society.
ReplyDelete