Week 5 Reflection

While reviewing the iNACOL standards, I noticed the changes that were made compared to traditional f2f teacher standards. I think more emphasis is placed on encouraging interaction and making a collaborative online learning environment. Additionally, prompt feedback as well as guiding ethical and safe usage were deemed important in the iNACOL standards. Although online contents should be more flexible in terms of teaching, I think the reality is that the teachers generally tend to follow rigid structure of course materials (e.g. K12, Inc. has a set curriculum and teachers don't deviate or use other materials as much as a f2f teacher using various supplemental materials in class).

I realize more and more that online teaching and f2f are really different even though it may look the same. Consequently, I think online teaching needs constant training and evaluation for quality assurance. There are more technology and resources available online and I think it's the teachers and administrators responsibility to implement and use them. I think that's where Chicago Virtual Charter School's "blended" learning method really would work well - using great K12, Inc. online curriculum and using various resources (e.g. doing a demo of a Google Map in a geography class in the f2f classroom) would really benefit the students. I'm really beginning to buy into the concept of the "blended" model - it has such a great potential and bring balance to f2f and online learning by utilizing the best of both worlds.

Week 4 Reflection

This week, I looked deeper into the two programs I have been researching - Alabama ACCESS and Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS). The biggest issue that I had was that Alabama state school did not have its demo session link working. I tried Google searching to search for a possible screenshot of ACCESS, but was unsuccessful. On the other hand, because CVCS was a virtual charter school, looking to draw more students, had more appeal and "open" sample courses and information. However, I did not like the feel that CVCS was a mere extension of K12, Inc. Browsing its website and comparing it to other schools like Utah Virtual Academy, they pretty much had the same look in different colors. However, I think K12 good job of making sure its online learning system adhered to the iNACOL standards.

In some ways, I think for-profit is better than state schools, at least in marketing itself. They have every incentive to attract clients and funding is not as big of an issue compared to state schools. I believe that state schools should be more proactive in promoting itself - just because its a requirement in some states that students take online classes or school does the marketing does not mean they can negate their "look" or appearance. One reason is because of the parents - they must get involved in the learning process of their kids or at least know what they are learning.

Week 3 reflection

This week, I researched Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS). It uses K12, Inc. curriculum which I had a personal experience. In Korea, representing the biggest educational technology company, a K12 Korea subsidiary manager came to talk to me about having our schools (F2F) and after-class programs use the program. Consequently, I had a chance to review their product, and although I didn't have a thorough look, it was very well done. On the other hand, for students who have not taken online classes, it may be challenging without support.

I believe CVCS is taking the right approach as they are doing a "blended" learning approach where the students go to a physical classroom once or twice a week and then take the rest of time studying online. I think this model gives the students better shot at succeeding because the teachers can get a sense of how students are following along F2F much better than in virtual classroom. I believe more schools are likely going to take this approach in the future, especially facing budget cuts and lack of quality programs & teachers in many areas (specifically low-income neighborhoods and rural towns). I also think TC can use this blended teaching method and be successful by utilizing the advantages of both physical on virtual classrooms.

Week 2 reflection

It was great to review a virtual school (Alabama ACCESS) and see the posts of everyone else to find out about more schools. Many states seem like they are really trying to get distance learning incorporated into school curriculum. The total number of students taking online courses, enrolling in virtual schools, taking classes or getting involved in discussions through online platform (e.g. Moodle) has been increasing in double-figure percentage over the past few years. It is only going to grow more as more technologies and methodologies become available in the nearest future.

I don't think virtual schools will take much away from F2F interaction. Afterall, technology that exist today, although very expensive like Cisco's HQ teleconference system to connect many offices around the world, will become more affordable and allow many students to connect with their teachers simulaneously which would be closest thing to a F2F interaction. I look forward to how technology will further integrate into education.