Did You Know? 

"Florida is a nationally-recognized leader in K-12 virtual education. Florida has the largest state virtual school in the nation and Florida school districts offer online schools, programs and/or courses for their students. Florida's virtual schools and programs provide high quality online instruction and curriculum that meet state and national standards and are held accountable for student and school/program performance."

http://www.fldoe.org/schools/virtual-schools/

In conclusion, I believe that virtual education can be a beneficial option for our future. With the correct formula, this is something that can be around for a long time. It is an option to our public school system for students who prefer learning online. I believe that this is not something that is going to slowly diminish over the years. I believe the exact opposite. I believe that virtual education is going to start growing, we just need to take the right precautions to make sure it grows into something great. I hope that course management systems will be organized and have a top notch web developer. This is the only way that they will be successful. 



I found a follow up article about the proposal for the virtual school in Maine. They met their quota for this project and it has begun. 

"Instead, these students will attend school in the comfort of their own homes as the first class of Maine Connections Academy, the state’s first free virtual public charter school."

I am very happy that this project was approved because it will be great to see how it works and affects the community. I like the management of this system because it allows students to work at their own pace, complete school online, but also get to meet with teachers in person if necessary. This is an incredible opportunity and when I am a parent I will look into it. 



http://leader.mainelymediallc.com/news/2014-07-25/In_the_News/Virtual_school_prepares_for_opening.html

Options Are Good 

This video is a great example of virtual education. It provides excellent feedback from students, parents, and teachers about the switch to virtual education. 

http://youtu.be/BKaSamR_oyc

Please take the time to watch this video. A few quotes said that really caught my eye were these... 

“Learning online allows students to be learning and experience the way so much of the world works today…." 

“That’s what makes our country great… is options. We have the freedom to choose. And to have an additional option can only enhance the quality of public education." 

I really liked both of these statements because I believe they can be effective to a reader despite if you are pro virtual education or con virtual education. Hearing a previous school teacher explain how virtual education as an option has proven positive results is heart warming. Because when it comes down to it, the main reason we should be doing this is for the children. They are the future of our world. 

The question is..... Does it work?

            Well, this question is a little harder to answer in this case then most. 

Matthew J Wicks says,

"Research shows it can work, but you can find examples of programs or schools not working" in both the traditional and virtual school sphere.

In this specific article, I found great information on how research has shown that virtual education works and some doesn’t. It is a new movement that some people are afraid to cross the line into. It is something that we must not ignore because it could possibly be something that might help our societies future.

“John Watson, the founder of the Evergreen Education Group, which conducts research on K-12 online learning, says it's time to look deeper into virtual education, but he says that not everyone is ready to take that intellectual dive.”
 

Even for myself, I have a hard debate on wether it’s a good thing we should rush into, or something that’s not necessary. At the end of the day I have realized that this virtual life is inevitable. Our world is becoming dependent on technology. We have grown to rely on these devices instead of a pen and paper anymore. Kids today are walking around with ipods, ipads, and iphones before they even know how to ride a bike. Our generation is very different then when I was growing up. It’s something I was not prepared for. And most other people weren’t either. But its something we all must learn to adjust to.

Virtual Education will allow students to be more involved on the computer than face to face. This can be beneficial because it will allow students to be able to participate in education from ANYWHERE.

“In virtual schools, students learn largely from home, with lessons delivered online and only limited face-to-face interactions with teachers and administrators.”

This can be a negative or positive thing but I believe it depends on the student. If you can learn well from a computer, are disciplined, and can pay attention then this is the type of education for you. If you perform better in class room type scenarios, then maybe virtual education isn’t a good feel for you. But at least there will be an option for either type of education.

“The purpose of virtual education is to benefit students, make organization easier, and create successful students.”

This article discusses the need for more research on virtual education because of how fast it is evolving. I definitely agree with this statement because the only way to find out if something works is by experimentation. 

We fall into that diffusion of innovations theory again. Despite if you’re an innovator, laggard, early adopter, or opinion leader, its important for us all to participate in the research of this topic. That is the only way we will learn if it works or not. It is something we are going to have to deal with in our upcoming years and it should not go unanswered.

http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2012/02/08/02research.h05.html

Virtual Education Today

            The diffusion of innovation theory is a big part of why virtual education is such a toss up for our society. Our youth is very familiar and catch on fast to these new technologies. Our youth is being introduced to these technologies early so that they are prepared for it when they get older. As for our older population, they aren’t very used to these platforms because it’s something being introduced to them in their later life that they might not want adjust to. 

For example, my parents were born in the 1940’s and I have tried to sit down with them and explain to them how to use our newest technologies. They look at it like it is an object from outer space. Because our older population isn’t familiar with these technologies it can cause some conflict when discussing the growing topic of virtual education.

            I found an article published in the Portland Herald Press about Pearson proposing a virtual school in Maine. If approved in April, they will continue this project. This article was very interesting because it is a prime example of how virtual education is evolving, how it is changing lives, and how different people think about this movement.

            The diffusion of innovation describes the course management system as either a gift from God that allows for more advanced organization or a system that complicates education and is hard to use. I have seen people of all different ages fall into each of these categories. Bottom line, depending where a person falls on the level of diffusion will determine their opinion on the course management system. Some other factors that can determine opinion on virtual education are demographics, religions, economics, education etc.

 In this particular article they say, 

“The introduction of virtual schools to Maine has become a partisan issue, with Gov. Paul LePage and Republican lawmakers supporting Maine Connections Academy, and Democrats opposing it.” (Bell).

This statement is an example of how economics can cause conflict on this subject. These are along the many situations that Democrats and Republicans disagree on but must discuss to overcome and make an educated decision.

“Maine’s public school teachers, administrators and school districts widely oppose the new virtual school. Much of the opposition is focused on how the school will be funded.” (Bell).

This is obviously a main concern that the public must take into account. These administrators have been around for years and I can understand why they are upset. Some are losing jobs and benefits but they must learn to understand that this is just what our world is becoming.

Bottom line, we must look at the best option for the future of the students. They are the ones who will be taking on this education to enhance their minds. 

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/03/16/real_giant_set_to_run_first_virtual_school_in_maine_/

What comes to mind when you first hear… Virtual Education?

            When I first hear virtual education I think of our new technologies and the platforms that have evolved with them. I think of how much these platforms have impacted our society and how many NEW continue to emerge.  It is crazy to see because it has made everything accessible right at our fingertips. I think Virtual Education is a good tactic to keep a community together and on the same page. I think it provides organization, instant feedback, and hands on engagement for a student. I also find it interesting to see how young they are starting to introduce virtual education to our society. Obviously, we use Blackboard as a direct line to our studies at Florida State University. 

This has allowed us to keep things organized, access or grades/homework/syllabuses etc. all on one site.  

This past year, we have also introduced myFSU which is another virtual education platform that keeps us organized and readily available to our important documents. I'm not going to lie, at first I wasn't a fan of it. It was a "new" portal that I wasn't familiar with. But after using it for a year, it has actually made things a lot easier for me. 

This has allowed us to separate our school courses from our health and financial information. It has allowed us to easily access our past, current, and future records at FSU. 

             At my work, we have kids that attend Florida State University School in Tallahassee, FL (K-12 grade). It was very interesting to me because it was literally like a mini-FSU school. And they also use a similar virtual education platform like we do. I can’t even imagine how advanced and prepared this will make their students for college.

This has allowed these kids to be introduced to online course management at an early age. This will prepare them for this type of management in the future. It also teaches them to be organized and effective on the computer. 

             I believe that virtual education is a good thing because it is preparing our society to be more technologically advanced and aware. It is preparing us for how things are going to be in 10-15 years. The virtual education sites we have now amaze me; imagine what they will be in 10 years. I believe that these platforms create a whole new outline for teaching. Instead of shoving papers into your backpack as a kid to take home, they now can access them online and print them from any computer. Or the assignments can even be done online. I think this is a great way to educate and diffuse innovation to our youth. They will be prepared for what the future is going to be. It somewhat makes school an entirely new education system but that’s just how things are evolving. It is a result of technological determinism that is inevitable. Things have drastically changed from when I was younger. I’m sure we all remember FCAT week and dreading those written tests and bubbling in circles all day. Now they are offering kids FCAT online. Things have very much changed and its just something we must follow. Virtual Education has also made it easier for those to access education who have not been able to before.  

Topic Choice #3: Virtual Education

For Mini-Project 2, I will be discussing virtual education and how it has helped the overall impact of computer mediated instruction on higher education.