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Lori Stevens and Ron Rollins Ms. Small CT 594 May 17, 2010

Online Learning Online learning and/or e-learning needs to be clearly defined and agreed upon before any “course” can be created and offered to learners. Derek Stockley defines e-learning as “the delivery of a learning, training or education program by electronic means. E-learning involves the use of a computer or electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone) in some way to provide training, educational or learning material.” (E-learning Definition Elearning, Online Training, Online Learning) With this definition in mind public schools can be begin to look at what they could offer as well as what they may be able to participate in. This type of learning environment must be considered as budgets continue to shrink and eat away at what schools can offer both to their students as well as professional development for their teachers.

E-learning has to be viewed as a resource that has both positives and negatives. These positives and negatives can be tied in general to three basic areas: student learning style, teacher training/ability, and equipment/software to be used. The positives of e-learning definitely outweigh the negatives.

Some of these positives for teachers are as follows: · Teachers have access to professional development opportunities that their schools would not otherwise be able to provide/offer · Teachers have the opportunity to "learn" a new way to teach · Teachers have the opportunity to accelerate their education · Teachers develop skills needed for the 21st century · Teachers are able to offer classes that might not otherwise be able to due to lack of enrollment · Often less expensive for the student as well as the institution/school

Some of these positives for students are as follows: · Students have the opportunity to learn in a new way · Students have access to course that they might not be offered in their school · Can help to eliminate scheduling conflicts for students · Students have the opportunity to accelerate their education · Students develop skills needed for the 21st century · Often less expensive for the student as well as the institution/school

Many of the negatives for teachers and students are the same. These negatives are as follows: · Must be self-disciplined and self-motivated · Plan and adjust your schedule around due dates · May feel isolated/lack of social interaction (face-to-face) · Wait time for feedback may be longer (time zones/different schedules) · Cost of equipment/internet · Technology skills · Unsupervised work (problem solve on your own).

These advantages and disadvantages are just a few of the reasons why we need to invest our limited resources and encourage our schools to move in this direction. The real reason however is to help our teachers and students become technologically literate and to possess 21st century skills. In the NCLB document it requires states to demonstrate that “every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability" (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). By providing e-learning activities, this pushes our teachers and students to begin to meet this requirement. Also according to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy there are six critical areas that students will need to be skilled in to be successful in the workplace. These areas are: · Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.). · Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats. · Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines. · Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice. · Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations. · Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21st century risks. (Kay and Honey, 2005)

In order for online learning to be effective it has to be engaging to the learner. It should be inquiry based learning that includes such things as exploring, researching, inventing, problem-solving, online observations, synchronous conferencing, simulations, robotics, interactive video and more. With these supports in place, e-learning can be very effective. In fact, a 2000 study commissioned by the Software and Information Industry Association, Sivin-Kachala and Bialo (2000) positive and consistent patterns when students were engaged in technology-rich environments. Students showed significant gains and achievement in all subject areas and improved attitudes toward learning and increased self-esteem. There are many more studies that have been done that support these same findings, so where do schools need to go from here for this use of technology to be successful in their schools?

Schools need to invest in equipment as well as the some type of online learning software that supports this type of learning environment. There are many expensive types of online software that can be purchased such as Blackboard (online course management system) and another common choice is the Adobe eLearning Solutions (real time training and collaboration). Of course, if your school is frugal than they may opt to use Moodle and host it on the school server. There are also RSU grants that are available to Maine schools that would allow for the purchase of "video conferencing equipment." This type of equipment allows schools to video conference with one or more other locations with this same type of equipment. This equipment also allows school to go on “interactive field trips.” This type of equipment is also a great way to share teachers because it allows a teacher to teach in more than one location at a time and still interact in real time with their students.

Online/e-learning learning has great possibilities in the field of education. Of course like anything else, it will only be as good as the teacher and/or educational facility offering the online/e-learning experience.