7 keys to effective online learning

Carol DeFuria, President and CEO, VHS Learning — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 10:00:20 +0000

Online learning’s reputation has taken a hit in recent years amid reports of poor academic performance and concerns over lax regulation. While there is certainly some cause for concern, many of the problems center on for-profit providers who manage full-time virtual schools. The truth is that not all online learning experiences are of suspect quality. When done well, online learning can be highly successful—opening the door to numerous learning opportunities that students otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to, while providing very rich and rigorous instruction. In fact, students who take online Advanced Placement courses from VHS Learning consistently outperform national passing rate averages on AP exams. What are the elements that lead to high-quality online learning? They’re the same components that define high-quality learning in general. Here are seven key characteristics to look for in an online program. Qualified teachers At the heart of any effective learning experience is the teacher and his or her relationship with students. This is true for both face-to-face and online instruction. To ensure they are highly qualified, the teachers in an online program should be certified in their subject area. If they’re teaching an AP course, they should attend the College Board’s AP Summer Institute training. Teachers should be adept at inspiring wonder, giving effective feedback, and forging a strong connection with students. For us, online learning isn’t really about the technology; the technology is merely the conduit for building relationships between teachers and students. Still, teaching in an online environment is different than teaching in a face-to-face classroom. Online teachers should be highly skilled at teaching in a virtual environment, which is why all our teachers are required to successfully complete a graduate-level course in effective online teaching practices—where they learn how to facilitate online discussions and make sure students are fully supported throughout their experience. Engaging curriculum A high-quality online learning experience delivers highly engaging instruction in which students interact frequently with each other and with their teacher, not just with a piece of software. As in a traditional classroom, students should be completing hands-on, authentic tasks and projects and engaging in rich discussions about the material with their peers. Every assignment should have a clearly articulated learning objective, along with rubrics for measuring success. Assessments should include projects, labs, and other performance tasks, not just multiple-choice exams. And students should have opportunities to reflect on and revise their work, not simply turn in an assignment and move on. Sense of community One of the challenges involved in taking classes online is the sense of isolation that students might feel when they’re not sitting in a traditional classroom surrounded by their peers. Effective online learning solves this problem by establishing a strong sense of community among students, so they feel connected with each other and their teacher. This can be done by having students interact with one another frequently as part of their coursework. At the beginning of a course, teachers should assign “icebreaker” activities to help students get to know each other and feel comfortable interacting with their peers online. Clear ground rules should be established on how to interact and give peer feedback respectfully, so that everyone feels welcome within the online learning community. All students should have a voice and be active participants in their online classroom. Adequate structure

5 things you don’t know about K-12 virtual learning

Carol DeFuria, President and CEO, VHS Learning — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 07:00:04 +0000

Online learning has come a long way since its early champions saw it as a supplement to classroom learning. Skeptics initially questioned the viability of the new model, wondering if it would provide the right levels of support, curriculum, and engagement needed to ensure student success. And while online learning has more than proven itself to be both an alternative to and complementary offering for traditional classroom instruction, some misconceptions still persist.

For example, because virtual instructors aren’t physically present in a classroom, their qualifications and expertise can come into question. The subject matter itself—often thought of as “boring” or “unengaging”—is another area where myths persist. And finally, online skeptics are still talking about issues like lack of teacher support and low student success rates.

Dispelling the myths about virtual learning

To help dispel these myths and provide some insider knowledge on how online education really works, here’s a five-point list of things that you may not have known about virtual learning.

1. It hasn’t reached its peak yet.

Students of all ages are learning online—from the third-grader who wants to get a jump on her foreign-language skills to the college student who takes half of his credits online to the supply chain executive who wants to learn about the latest tech trends in her industry.

According to Stratistics MRC, the global e-learning market accounted for $165.21 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $275.10 billion by 2022, growing at a 7.4 percent compound annual growth rate during that time. Key drivers behind this growth include flexibility in learning, low cost, ease of accessibility, and increased effectiveness through animated learning.

2. Online teachers know their stuff.

Anyone who is teaching online coursework in public schools must have a teacher’s license. Online educators must meet the same education standards as their non-virtual counterparts, which means earning a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in teaching (depending on what grades he or she is going to teach).

The problem is that online courses offered by for-profit providers often have high student-to-teacher ratios, limiting the time teachers can spend one-on-one with students. This leads to issues ranging from boredom to an inability to understand material to students feeling like they’ve been left out in the cold and unsupported.

Carol DeFuria, President and CEO, VHS Learning, Author at eSchool News

7 keys to effective online learning

5 things you don’t know about K-12 virtual learning

Dispelling the myths about virtual learning