VSS & NACOL

Welcome

International Perspective on Online Learning ◊China: 1.3 billion people ◊ 20 million 18 year olds ◊ 2.5 million college slots ◊ With online learning: increase educational opportunities to 100 million new students ◊India: ◊ Universal Access for K-12 Education in 10 years ◊ Need 200,000 more schools ◊ Shortage of good teachers ◊ “Leverage teachers using technology to bring to scale” ◊ Educomp Program digitizing learning resources (online content) in K-12 education ◊ View as export opportunity ◊Turkey: 10 million students in K-12 taking online courses ◊Middle East ◊ Start from scratch and rebuild K-12 Education systems

World Future Society Top 10 Breakthroughs Transforming Life over the next years Best forecast data ever assembled 1.Alternative energy 2.Desalination of water 3.Precision farming 4.Biometrics 5.Quantum computers 6.Entertainment on demand 7.Global access 8.Virtual education or distance learning 9.Nanotechnology 10.Smart Robots

High Speed Coming Soon: WiMax & 3G/4G ◊Internet access ◊ China: 4 million Internet connections in 1999 ◊ China: 137 million Internet connections in 2006 ◊WiMax: 50 km radius of high-speed, wireless, broadband Internet (100 Mbs), mid-to-end 2009 ◊3G/4G Wireless: 2010

“Using the Internet to deliver courses seems to contain great disruptive potential. It could allow a radical transformation to happen in an incremental, rational way.” - Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School

Exploring the Gaps in K-12 Education: National Overview ◊Spending on K-12 education ◊ Average: $9,969/per pupil in (more than any country in the world, except Switzerland) ◊International Rankings in Science and Math (PISA 2006): ◊ Science: US ranked #25 out of 30 countries ◊ Math: US ranked #21 out of 30 countries ◊U.S. Math curriculum: full 2 grade levels behind international counterparts by 8th grade

K-12 Education: Graduation Rates ◊High School Graduation Rates ◊ Average: 70% in 4 years ◊ Latino/Hispanic students: 58% ◊ African-american students: 55% ◊15% of high schools produce 50% of drop outs in country

K-12 Education: College-Readiness & Remediation ◊High school graduates accepted into college ◊ 43% of community college students require remediation ◊ 29% of public four-year college students required remediation ◊ Cost of $2.7 billion/annually ◊ American businesses spend $60B annually on education and re-education of workforce

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ◊U.S. shortage of students prepared for STEM ◊77 million engineers in the United States ready to retire ◊“We are going to rely on every child out there to fill the gaps.”

A History of U.S. Competitiveness: Internationally ◊In 1960s, the United States was #1 internationally in the adult population with a high school diploma ◊ 86% of adults had a HS diploma ◊In 2008, the US is 10th internationally ◊ 87% of adults in the US have a HS diploma ◊Compare Korea: ◊ In 1950s, 35% of adults in Korea held HS Diploma ◊ Today, Korea has 97% of adults with HS Diploma ◊In summary, other countries are moving faster.

Does every child in the U.S. have access to a world-class education today?

K-12 Online Learning: National Overview ◊The K-12 online learning market is growing rapidly at 30% annually ◊In 2007, estimated 1,000,000 enrollments in K-12 online learning in the U.S. ◊In K-12: ◊ 30 states with statewide virtual schools; 44 states with significant policies/programs (Watson, Keeping Pace, 2008) ◊ More than 50% of all school districts across the United States offer online and distance learning (Americas Digital Schools Report) ◊ 18 states with 100,000+ students enrolled in full-time virtual school programs (Center for Education Reform)

Blended Learning: “Best of Both Worlds” “Blended learning should be approached as not only a temporal construct, but rather as a fundamental redesign of the instructional model with the following characteristics: -A shift from lecture- to student-centered instruction where students become interactive learners (this shift should apply to entire course, including face-to-face sessions); -Increases in interaction between student-instructor, student-student, student-content, and student-outside resources; and -Integrated formative and summative assessment mechanisms for student and instructor.” - Educause, Blended Learning (2004)

Blended/Hybrid Learning ◊“Combining face-to-face with fully online components optimizes both environments in ways impossible in other formats” - Educause Research Bulletin, 2004 ◊ Digital content, curriculum, LMS, online assessments, data system, AI, simulations ◊ Shift in instructional model and training Self-direction, high engagement, (Less direct student support needed) Struggling student, low-engagement, (More direct student support needed)

Bridging the Gaps through Online Learning ◊E-learning: strategy for addressing school reform ◊ Teacher quality and shortages ◊ Access to a high quality, rigorous curriculum for every student ◊ Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) ◊ Foreign languages (Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Latin, etc.) ◊ AP and advanced courses ◊ Student engagement ◊ Engaging, multi-media, emphasis on writing and interaction ◊ Remediation for on-time graduation ◊ Core courses ◊ Online credit recovery and remediation ◊ Cost-effectiveness ◊Every state model is different and may include: ◊ Supplemental programs - State or district virtual school programs help meet the need for more middle grades and high school academic courses ◊ Full-time K-12 virtual schools - cyber charter schools help meet choice options for parents in 18 states ◊ Both or all of the above

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