K-12 Online Tutoring

It isn’t often that I get to post something that my good friend Dale Kirby posts (for those who don’t know, Dale blogs about post-secondary issues at Adventures in Canadian Post-Secondary Education).  Anyway, on Saturday Dale posted a link on Facebook:

Click on the image or visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/education/21harvard.html?_r=1

While this article (which was about a Harvard faculty member who has been found to have done some questionable things with his research) was not germane to this blog, at the bottom there was a little note in the bottom right corner that read:

Click on the image or visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/your-money/21wealth.html

This particular article got me thinking because it essentially details how children who come from higher socio-economic brackets have parents who are able – and apparently quite frequently – are able to pay for additional tutoring to help their students academic achievement. While the article didn’t focus on online tutoring per se, it was only a month ago that I posted Guest Blogger – Online Education Takes Off In The UK.  In this guest entry, Chris Jefferies of Squarko described how online education in the United Kingdom has primarily focused on private online tutoring thus far.

I was also reminded of the Cyber Home Learning System (CHLS) in South Korea.  For those who are unfamiliar, apparently testing plays a big role for students and the kinds or quality of schools they are to attend and how gets into post-secondary institutions.  The Government had found that those who could afford tutoring for their children tended to do very well in this system, but those without the economic means were hindered in their educational progress but not because of their ability or potential.  Recognizing this reality, the Government undertook the CHLS to provide online tutoring for all students throughout the country – essentially attempting to level the playing field for those students who came from poorer families.  If you are interested in more information, a good starting point would be this article by Dennis Normile in Science magazine (and you can listen to a podcast interview with Dennis, it is in the third segment)

While I can’t say for sure, I don’t think that online tutoring at the K-12 level is as extensive as what we are seeing in the United Kingdom, South Korea and other jurisdictions.  However, with the continued decreasing rigor in the undergraduate degree (as it becomes more and more simply a credential, as opposed to a real quest for knowledge and skills needed to be a well rounded, educated citizen), I wonder how much longer it will be before online tutoring is used at the K-12 level at the same extensive level that we see in other countries?

Guest Blogger – Online Education Takes Off In The UK

This is a guest entry written by Chris Jefferies of Squarko. As is the traditional at Virtual School Meandering, this will be the only entry today.

2010 has seen a dramatic boom in online tutoring in the UK, with several companies expanding what was once a highly regionalised business into a nationwide phenomenon. Much like SATs in the American K-12 system, English A-Levels are the vital part of any college application and, as a result, middle-class parents can regularly pay as much as $50/hour for an experienced tutor to help their child get the best grade in their exams. However, they can face problems with availability of tutors, especially those who don’t live in a major city can struggle to find someone affordable and with the relevant expertise.

As is so often the case in the 21^st century, technological developments have accelerated to answer a popular problem. By using online business conferencing software, such as Cisco WebEx, Adobe Connect, WiZiQ and Verishow, various tutoring companies (disclaimer: mine included) have helped private tutors from all over the UK to get connected with those in need of tuition. This, supported by Skype VOIP, allows tutors to share lesson materials as well as mark homework online.

This revolution in the private tutoring industry has been picked up on by several British newspapers, such as The Sunday Times, The Telegraph and The Evening Standard, and it is surely only a matter of time before an online tutoring scheme gets official backing from the UK Government to work with underperforming high-school students.

The most exciting area for development however is in teaching languages. Breaking down not just regional, but international barriers, there is a great potential to link up language learners all over the world; for conversational classes, academic and business training. These rapid advances in technology have allowed for more interactive and engaging learning, utilising sites such as YouTube and Google Maps, as well as pre-written, bespoke lesson plans.

In many ways the Brits are catching up with America, since over 20,000 Californians alone are estimated to have an online private tutor, many of whom are based in India. There’s a long way to go before it fully takes over this market, but these developments seem to spell the end for tutors in tweed-jackets driving across town to teach at the adult learning centre – why bother when you can get better convenience, quality and value online.

Report: Models Of Innovation In Learning Online

I tried to post this late yesterday afternoon, but my Internet went down while I was writing it.

Since yesterday was all about reports, I figured I’d finish off today with one as well.  Earlier this week the following came across my Facebook newsfeed.

The report, while not strictly about K-12, does present some interesting models that are worth taking a second look at.  The whole release states the following:

Models of innovation in learning online

The  aims of this research were to study provision of online learning at KS3, to assess effectiveness of online learning outside the institution and to ascertain whether remote formal online learning promotes engagement among learners across a range of educational sectors and contexts.

The output from the project is the Models of innovation in learning online (Milo) framework which aims to provide a holistic overview of the use of online learning, describing the approach to teaching and the way in which this is implemented technologically and logistically.

The framework focuses not just on learning and the experience of the learner, but also examines assessment procedures, and the ways in which the teaching and curriculum design process is supported through the use of technological tools.

The report identifies four typical models of online learning:

• Fully online – supported with structured activities and communication
• Independent study – with extensive online resources and some teacher support
• Added value – predominantly face to face, with additional supporting online activities and resources to be explored
• Flexible integration – flexible timetabling to allow a mix of online learning with traditional teaching and learning.

The report identifies key impacts, benefits and challenges.

The research is by the Centre for ICT, Pedagogy and Learning, Education & Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Executive summary – download in Word (108KB), PDF (61KB), or ODT (72KB)

Final report – download in Word (959KB), PDF (535KB), or ODT (783KB)

Appendices – looking at eight institutions studied and research design – download in Word (425KB), PDF (359KB), or ODT (154KB)

Published: 25 June 2009

Wondering if anyone who has read this has any thoughts on the content?  Niki maybe?

Blogging About K-12 Online Learning Internationally

Continuing to clean up my Bloglines.  The earlier promised next installment of “Blogging about…”

United Kingdom

• Virtual learning ‘slow starter’ from Distance-Educator.com’s Daily News
• Dawn of the cyberstudent – Harriet Swain, the Guardian UK from Online Learning Update
• Parents & teachers to receive practical support to get children into online learning – Public Technology UK from Online Learning Update
• Choose your weapon – Victoria Neumark, the Guardian UK from Online Learning Update
• Online learning offers hope to rural poor – Mandy Garner, the Guardian UK from Online Learning Update
• The virtual reality of e-learning – eGov Monitor from Online Learning Update
• VLEs slow to take off from Derek’s Blog

Canada

• Tech-savvy educators opening new worlds to students via cyber classes – TAMSYN BURGMANN, THE CANADIAN PRESS from Online Learning Update
• Secondary Online Education: A Review and Synthesis of Central Elements – Thomas G. RYAN & Richard BEAULIEU, TOJDE from Online Learning Update
• New Systemic Roles Facilitating the Integration of Face-to-Face and Virtual Online Learning – Doug Furey & Ken Stevens, OJDLA from Online Learning Update
• High Schools and High Tech Interact in Online learning – Mediacaster from Online Learning Update
• BC “Learning Content Strategies” meeting from EdTechPost
• CIDER with Elizabeth Murphy from Rick’s Café Canadien
• ECS-12 Distributed Learning Forum from Alberta Distributed Education and Technology Association
• November 2008 from Alberta Distributed Education and Technology Association
• The Distance: July 2008 from Alberta Distributed Education and Technology Association
• The Distance: June 2008 – Version 6 from Alberta Distributed Education and Technology Association
• The Distance: April 2008 from Alberta Distributed Education and Technology Association
• State of the Nation Study: K-12 Online Learning in Canada from TADO
• Adams 50 skips grades, lets kids be pacesetters from TADO
• Teachers and K-12 Online learning in Alberta from Teaching and Developing Online. (Darren old blog)
• CBC news March 2000 from Teaching and Developing Online.

Final installment tomorrow…

Virtual Schooling in the UK

I’ve mentioned in the past that virtual schooling, as we know it, is largely a North American concept. Here’s a good example of this from earlier this week in th NACOL forums.

Pupils enter virtual classroom

22 January 2008 05:32

Thousands of schoolchildren in Norfolk and Suffolk will be able to do their homework online and see their schoolwork wherever they are in the world.

Plans to extend the East Anglia’s network of “virtual” classrooms means homework can be done without getting lost, and projects and written work can be built up in a secure, online location. The system can also be used to let pupils chat to each other online. There are also plans to use it to create links with schools around the world.

Norfolk has already started using the government-funded “virtual learning environments” in primary schools. Now it is expanding them into all the county’s secondary schools, while Suffolk is adopting a similar idea in its schools.

Norfolk County Council has asked companies to tender for a secondary learning service, and pupils and headteachers have been involved in the selection process. It is also working with colleges and workplace training providers to come up with a system that can be used in different institutions. The primary school service is already provided by Netmedia,

Paul Fisher, assistant director for Norfolk Children’s Services, said: “This will allow our learners to attend more than one institution and still hold all their learning and achievement in one online portfolio. A student at a high school might attend college one day a week and a work place for another day to achieve a diploma. This should still allow the parent to see if the pupil is attending, no matter where they are currently learning.”

Suffolk is also working on giving every child his or her own personalised online learning space by the end of this year. It will give gives pupils, teachers and other school staff the same access to their work at and away from school in any internet-ready location.

Diana Stanley, one of Suffolk County Council’s e-learning managers for schools, said: “Talking to pupils was important for us and we were keen to let pupils test it. We felt it was key to know whether pupils found a system easy to use, whether they felt it was cool and whether they would be prepared to use it outside school.”

Brian Podmore, another of the council’s e-learning managers, said: “The platform will give pupils the chance to use it as a network and chat to each other online. But this is not like MySpace, Bebo or Facebook, it’s far more secure, it’s designed to be used for learning and it should bring real advantages for those children who will use it.”

A good example of extending the traditional classroom, but not quite virtual schooling.

Tags: United Kingdom, virtual school, cyber school, high school, education