Chantel Cunningham RDG 5410 Virtual Schools vs. Traditional Schools

W HY C HOOSE V IRTUAL S CHOOLS ? Virtual Schools are able to use online learning to increase options for a wide range of students (Brown, page 18) Virtual schools are becoming the alternative to a traditional public school, where teachers and students meet face-to-face According to the U.S. Department of Education, students in virtual schools performed better than students who went to a tradition school (Brown, pg. 3)

V IRTUAL S CHOOL I NFORMATION Alternative for students with varying issues Students at risk of dropping out Special needs Pregnant Gifted Rural area located students Home schooled students Credit Recovery Virtual schools can be operated by public schools, charter schools and private schools

A DVANTAGES OF V IRTUAL S CHOOLS Flexibility No peer pressure Personalized instruction Complete work at the students pace Convenience- don’t need to leave the house Teaches self discipline Virtual schools can receive federal funds through programs for low income families Funded through tax payers

S IX E LEMENTS OF V IRTUAL S CHOOLS (B ROWN, PAGE 12-15) 1) School Type- the category the virtual school falls in, whether it is a charter, private, magnet, or public schools 2) Operational Control- how the virtual school is organized according to personnel 3) Geographic Reach- where the students are coming from 4) Location- where students will complete their work 5) Comprehensiveness- overall structure of the program 6) Delivery- instructional method for students and teachers

E XPANDING V IRTUAL S CHOOLS There are more virtual schools available as time goes on: 86 schools in 13 states (in ) 173 schools in 18 states (in ) Currently about 1 million students are interacting with online learning (Lips, pg. 1) Florida has mandated that every public school district has a K-12 virtual school available for students Florida is the #1 state in the U.S. for online education Florida Virtual School- largest virtual school in U.S. 50,000 students currently take classes

V IRTUAL S CHOOLS O FFERED IN THE U.S. O NLINE S CHOOLING G ROWS, S ETTING O FF A D EBATE - N.Y. T IMES

S TUDENT P ERSPECTIVE Easy access to complete work Able to access work in most locations Some virtual schools offer college credit courses Make up previously failed classes P ARENT P ERSPECTIVE Tailored to the needs of their child Many parents who home school their children are turning to virtual schools Do not have to worry about transportation to and from school Can complete classes in a quicker manner

D ISADVANTAGES OF V IRTUAL S CHOOLS Question concerning the rigor of curriculum Questions regarding quality No face to face interaction with teachers and students No socialization skills Little research on the effectiveness of virtual schools Increase in plagiarism Isolation- independently completing work Students who attend have to take federal tests

D ISADVANTAGES OF V IRTUAL S CHOOLS Virtual schools are a cheap alternative Not as much money is needed to run these schools compared to traditional schools Do not need transportation Do not need multiple buildings No classrooms needed Many virtual schools receive around the same amount of money per student from the government as a traditional school would (Layton)

I MPORTANT I NFORMATION W HEN C HOOSING A V IRTUAL S CHOOL A S A N O PTION Authenticity- Identification needs to be verified correctly so the school can tell if the student or someone else is taking the classes and completing the work honestly (Layton) Accredited School- Make sure the school is accredited (Layton) Audits- Should be conducted to determine finances (Layton)

V IRTUAL T ECHNOLOGY OR D ISRUPTIVE ? Disruptive technology instead of useful Disrupting Class- book Clayton Christensen- author, who has written about disruptive technology Virtual schools are targeted at older students These older students don’t fit the “mold” of traditional school

B IBLIOGRAPHY Brown, R. A. (2009). The purpose and potential of virtual high schools: A national study of virtual high schools and their head administrators. University of Minnesota). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from Dagher, V. (2008, Nov 05). Virtual school chalks up gains. Wall Street Journal, pp. n/a-B.8. Retrieved from Dillon, Sam.(2008). Online Schooling Grows, Setting Off a Debate. New York Times. Gabriel, Trip. (2011, Apr 5). More Pupils are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality. The New York Times. Layton, Lyndsey. (2011, Oct 24). Study Raises Questions about Virtual Schools. The Washington Post. Lips, Dan. (2010, Jan 12). How Online Learning is Revolutionizing K-12 Education and Benefiting Students. Backgrounder- Published by the Heritage Foundation. Mellon, E. (2009, Aug 19). NEW WAY TO LEARN: Bell rings for virtual schools. McClatchy - Tribune Business News, pp. n/a. Retrieved from Simonson, Michael (2010). Opinion: Virtual Schools are a Critical Piece of Education’s Future. eSchoolNews.