What is Online Learning How Effective is Online Learning?
The resources on this page will direct you to reports and articles about a variety of topics related to online learning. From guidelines for quality courses to information on using online learning for credit recovery and at risk students, the information found on these sites will help you gain a deeper understanding of the value of online learning.
Online learning has continuously grown in popularity since it began. Much research has been done about online learning and the results have been very favorable. Yet, there are still people who believe that online learning is less effective and rigorous than traditioinal face to face instruction.
Myths About Virtual Learning
Don't beleive everything you might hear about online learning or virtual schools. There are a lot of ideas out there that bear closer inspection. Much of the misinformation may come from the lack of understanding about what online learning really is. Many people think that it is just textbooks and pictures, digitized and put on the internet. But it is not. Many people think that it is a computer that will do the teaching and the goal is to replace our quality teachers with devices. But that is not true. Learning online is different thaat leanring in the face to face classroom, to be sure. It requires quality content and activities that students can do online. Teachers are needed to facilitate the lerning, provide encouragement and feedback, and help students through the difficult times. So it is not all that different from face to face learning.
Explore the Top Ten Myths About Virtual Schools (pdf) from the International Assoociation for K-12 for Online Learning (iNACOL). The article discusses the current myths about online schools. NACOL also published Fast Facts About Online Learning (pdf) from October 2013, which provides research, trends, and statistics that support the expanding options for online learning.
Connecting
Students to Advanced Courses Online US Department of Education, December 2007 Connecting Students to Advanced Courses Online highlights
six providers of academic coursework by delivering advanced
online courses to students through technology. The primary
audience is district and school decision-makers who are looking
for ways to give their students greater access to advanced
course work and see online courses as an enticing option.
Sorting
Through Online Learning Options: A Guide for Parents
International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), 2009
A guide for students, parents, and educators helps them sort
through the myriad of online learning options available.
Sloan
Consortium Survey Reports
The Sloan
Consortium
The consortium is a collaboration of institutions and organizations
committed to quality online education.
K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators
The research literature on online learning has grown significantly in the past decade. Many studies have been published that examine the extent, nature, policies, learning outcomes, and other issues associated with online instruction. This is one of the first studies to collect data on and to compare fully online and blended learning in K-12 schools.
K-12 Online Learning: A 2008 Follow-Up of the Survey of U.S. School District Administrators
In 2007, the Sloan Consortium issued a report on the extent and nature of online learning in K-12 schools. It was based on a national survey of school district administrators during the 2005-2006 academic year. The purpose of this current study was to replicate the original study in order to substantiate its findings and to examine what if any changes occurred in online learning in K-12 school districts.
Guide
to Teaching Online Courses
National Education Association, November
2006
A guide for policymakers, administrators, educators, and others
engaged in selecting, hiring, and training teachers that will
provide quality instruction online.
Report
on State Virtual Schools
Currently, 11 of the 16 SREB member states have online K-12 schools operated by the state. Others either provide resources for students and parents to find high quality online learning opportunities or no longer provide a state-level online school. These online schools offer courses that students may not otherwise have in their schools, and can help students make up credits and continue toward graduation.
Blended Learning Is Better than Instructor-led or Online Learning Alone
The accumulation of many research studies that compared learning in an instructor-led class to some form of electronic distance learning was the basis for a 2004 meta-analysis report from Bernard and colleagues. The team prepared the histogram of effect sizes shown below based on 318 different media comparison research studies.
"Blended Learning" More Effective than Face-to-Face
A report released by the US Department of Education, analyzed 46 studies comparing online learning to face-to-face education, concluded that "blended learning," or programs that include elements of both face-to-face and online learning, is somewhat more effective than either approach by itself. The study also found that, by itself, online learning was more effective at raising student achievement than face-to-face instruction exclusively.
The US Department of Education has information on its website about Online Diploma Mills and Accreditation. Please take a few minutes to review this information and check out your online school thoroughly before applying. The U.S. Department of Education has published the "positive list" of schools that are accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of Education. This is a list of postsecondary institutions and programs that have chosen to be accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
online learning resources for new hampshire
Online Schools
Schools in or near New Hampshire New Hampshire students have many options for
online learning. Some of the schools used by NH students include:
Schools in Other States Many states have established virtual schools. You can
easily visit the websites of schools in several states. Learn more. Here are
a few examples:
Other Programs
Don’t see what you need? Try searching
for online education programs from the Degree
Search database. This is a site to aid in searches for online
degree programs from trusted schools.
Online Open Courseware Many institutions have posted their online courses on the web. Open courses can be viewed free of charge.
MIT
Open Courseware
This was one of the first higher education efforts designed to
university course materials for free to the public.
iTunes
U and Mobil Learning
Apple recently partnered with several states to offer online content
through their iTunes content portal.
Open
Courseware Consortium
The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a collaboration of more than
200 higher education institutions and associated organizations
from around the world creating a broad and deep body of open educational
content using a shared model.
