Online Learning - Equivalent or Improve Student Outcomes

Online Learning has a long history - one which far out dates the adoption of the Internet into our everyday lives.  I remember when I was in high school (the early 90's), I studied the Russian language using a program transmitted through our school's satellite.  It was dynamic - we met with a tutor every Monday on the phone to check our pronunciation, watched programming the rest of the week as a class, and twice a month were the "online class" who had to answer questions as part of the presentation.  I loved it - and still speak Russian, albeit poorly, whenever I get the chance.  The satellite, alas, did not fare so well - it current sits lonely in a courtyard, abandoned and deteriorating.

My delving into online learning, however, just continued to grow stronger.  In 2001, I started my graduate program at the University of Pittsburgh in Library and Information Science.  We were the first online cohort - both for the program and the university itself.  A wondrous success, this education allowed me to get an ALA accredited degree that I would otherwise have been unable to receive.  This accreditation offers me a plethora of career opportunities that an unaccredited degree would not.  My education was stellar at PITT, and I promote their program highly to anyone interested in a library degree.

As a teacher, I have now become engrossed in online learning for my students.  This is the fourth year that our district will offer online classes, as well as building capacity for truly blended learning in our middle and high schools.

I've shared my online experiences, because I've learned that history always becomes more meaningful when seen through your own memory, and aligned to your life.  It helps me focus and give a truly personal answer to our blogging topic - to make a case that K-12 online learning must achieve equivalent or improved student outcomes.

We often ask online learning to fill in a gap - a gap where we are losing students.  These students might have a special condition that keeps them from attending school, a unique circumstance (for instance, we have a snowboarder who must compete during the school year) or social reasons for not wishing to attend public school.  We have a duty, as educators, to ensure that students receive equitable education no matter how they are educated.  I believe that the Common Core will go a long way in bring equity in education in general, and in online learning specifically.

To be truly viable, online learning must offer equitable student learning outcomes.  The unique part of online learning is not what is taught, but the manner in which it is done - synchronous/asynchronous, on-site/off-site, etc.  While there are different attributes that make teachers more successful in one delivery mode than another, creating a supportive classroom environment, individualizing education for each student, and using different modes to assess student learning remain constant in any teaching format.

It would not be realistic to ask online learning to be the answer to every educational need, but as we take the best from online learning, mold it together with high quality brick-and-mortar learning, and take the lessons learned for both, I believe we build the potential for students to truly individualize their learning, and be more involved in their education.  However, we must keep checks and balances on any type of educating organization to ensure that quality education is taking place - common between them must be highly qualified teachers, rigorous curriculum, real world experience for students and the constant potential to grow through an educational program.