Well, since I have gotten into the habit of posting notices when I find published articles about K-12 online, I suppose I should also post notices when I publish something in this area.
Computers & Education
Volume 52, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 402-416Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
The reality of virtual schools: A review of the literature
Michael K. Barbour (a), Corresponding Author
and
Thomas C. Reeves (b)(a) Division of Administrative and Organizational Studies, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, United States
(b) Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United StatesReceived 16 April 2008;
Revised 13 September 2008;
Accepted 18 September 2008.
Available online 30 October 2008.Abstract
Virtual schooling was first employed in the mid-1990s and has become a common method of distance education used in K-12 jurisdictions. The most accepted definition of a virtual school is an entity approved by a state or governing body that offers courses through distance delivery – most commonly using the Internet. While virtual schools can be classified in different ways, the three common methods of delivery are by independent, asynchronous or synchronous means. Presently, the vast majority of virtual school students tended to be a select group of academically capable, motivated, independent learners. The benefits associated with virtual schooling are expanding educational access, providing high-quality learning opportunities, improving student outcomes and skills, allowing for educational choice, and achieving administrative efficiency. However, the research to support these conjectures is limited at best. The challenges associated with virtual schooling include the conclusion that the only students typically successful in online learning environments are those who have independent orientations towards learning, highly motivated by intrinsic sources, and have strong time management, literacy, and technology skills. These characteristics are typically associated with adult learners. This stems from the fact that research into and practice of distance education has typically been targeted to adult learners. The problem with this focus is that adults learn differently than younger learners. Researchers are calling for more research into the factors that account for K-12 student success in distance education and virtual school environments and more design research approaches than traditional comparisons of student achievement in traditional and virtual schools.
Keywords: Virtual school; Cyberschool; Literature review
Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Growth of virtual schooling
3. Nature of virtual schooling and virtual school students
4. Benefits of virtual schooling
5. Challenges of virtual schooling
6. Future research into virtual schooling and rural education
7. Summary
References
For those of you familiar with my work, essentially this is the second manuscript that has come out of chapter two of my dissertation. My chapter two, or literature review, attempted to address six questions:
- How are rural schools different from urban schools?
- What are some of the ways that rural schools have attempted to address the needs created by these differences?
- How are virtual schools and virtual school students described in the literature?
- What are some of the benefits of distance education/virtual schooling for rural schools?
- What are some of the challenges of distance education/virtual schooling for rural schools?
- What research is needed to extend the benefits and meet the challenges of distance education/virtual schooling for rural schools?
The first manuscript that Dr. Reeves (one of my co-chairs) and I prepared was based on the first two questions and a revised question six, and is currently under review with a different journal. The second manuscript was based on questions three through six, and was the one that was recently published by Computers & Education. If you have any questions about the article (or my dissertation), I’d be happy to field them here.
