Journal# 8

“Virtual Schooling” by Niki Davis and Dale S. Niederhauser.

The article starts by saying that Virtual Schooling, in which K-12 courses and activities are offered mostly or completely through digital communication technologies, continues to expand at a rapid rate, especially at the high school level. The National Educational Technology Plan emphasized the potential of us to individually personalize schooling and help schools respond to No Child Left Behind legislation. A major reason students engage in VS is to get access to advance placement options. Flexible time and place benefits inherent in many VS courses make possible credit recovery that enables students from the other end of the spectrum to complete coursework and graduate from high school. A current challenge in U.S. education is to prepare teachers for VS. Preservice teacher education programs typically provide field experience during which students become immersed in the culture of schools and come to understand the complementary roles of educators within each K-12 school.

1. What are the three core roles in a VS system? Expand on it. They are teacher, designer, and VS site facilitator. Principals, school counselors, instructional technology coordinators and students’ parents or guardians support these key players. There’s considerable overlap in these roles, and individuals may take on multiple roles or a given role may be divided among a number of people.

2. How do I see online learning experience as a high school graduation requirement? The article mentions that in April 2006, Michigan became the first state to require an online learning experience for high school graduation. I agree with this idea because students should be allowed the opportunity to learn all that is related to technology so that they can succeed in their future careers. Only as a requirement, we can make sure that all students have that opportunity.