We, the authors of this book, are certainly not technophobes. However, we do not consider ourselves uncompromising technophiles either. Our passion is learning. To that end, we do not believe technology is the answer to every question. We believe that solid, strategic, research-based pedagogy should be at the center of what we do and, whenever possible, we should utilize whatever implements are available to enhance that process. Thankfully, learning pedagogy has plenty of support from the emergence of numerous digital learning innovations (Amory, 2012). If we were to referee this cage match, we would tell the technophiles and technophobes that grappling over technology is fruitless and that a balanced approach will let them both turn their focus where it belongs—on learning.
Regardless of your outlook, technology has a clear and vital role to play in facilitating distance-based learning.
Program Options for Learning at a Distance
Although learning at a distance is growing in popularity, we must keep in mind that technology is not only changing the learning possibilities associated with facilitating experiences online but also program delivery options thanks to emergent technology, new, rapidly developing programs allow schools to reach learners and support their learning in unique ways, depending on their needs. Consider these eight institutional options in relation to the delivery of digital learning.
1. Totally digital virtual schools: In 2014, there were 135 full-time virtual charter schools in twenty-three states, enrolling over 180,000 students (National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2016). These schools are 100 percent virtual in their curriculum delivery.
2. Charter schools: With so many charter schools emerging with highly specialized, topical points of focus, there are obviously several occasions in which a distance learning option can be of great benefit. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (2016) estimates that in the United States there are as many as 6,400 charter schools in existence, several them offered all or in part online.
3. Homeschooling: There are more than 1.5 million homeschooled students in the United States (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016). With the growing popularity of homeschooling, communities have established parental best-practice groups that work together to help ensure that parents provide competitive curriculum offerings for home-educated learners. Distance learning opportunities, which can represent all or part of curriculum delivery, increasingly fortify these home-based options.
4. Alternative schools or credit recovery programs: Since the 1960s, schools have attempted to come up with new and unique programs designed to help learners with alternative learning options and credit recovery (Raywid, 1999). These programs can be offered all or in part online. During the 2009–2010 school year, 88 percent of U.S. districts offered students credit recovery courses (Powell, Roberts, & Patrick, 2015). In New Hampshire, the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School offers sixty-two online competency-based credit recovery classes. Interestingly, research shows that online credit recovery programs often cost less than traditional programs and typically offer students a high degree of flexibility in that they can repeat classes at whatever time and pace meets their individual needs (Davis, 2015).
5. Resolution to scheduling conflicts or curriculum supplements: Many schools across the United States are investigating or using digital learning options as a mechanism for saving money on staffing and enriching their curriculum (Clark & Barbour, 2015). If, for example, a group of learners at a school is interested in the pursuit of fluency in a foreign language, it may be significantly cheaper, more efficient, and often more effective to join a virtual learning cohort where these options are available to learners without necessarily hiring a facilitator who must commit to living in the area.
6. International connections: Many emerging international digital schools offer a very interesting value proposition (Clark & Barbour, 2015). They provide a highly competitive, totally digital learning experience, which includes a steady diet of synchronous learning experiences (via Google Hangouts, as an example) that allow participants access to a highly rigorous curriculum, taught by an international cadre of teachers who bring unique expertise to the field. Furthermore, students in these international schools enjoy studying with classmates who come together from all over the world. These highly competitive digital learning environments are often appealing to students with an interest in the international business community because of the opportunity to establish international business connections at a very early age.
7. Preparation for higher education and career training: The number of college students who take at least one online course is increasing every year. For example, 26 percent of 2013 undergraduate students were enrolled in at least one online course, and that number grew to 28 percent in 2014. Thirty-three percent of graduate students were enrolled in at least one online class in 2014 (Kena, Hussar, McFarland, de Brey, & Musu-Gillette, 2016). Therefore, preparing students for a more virtual orientation for future career preparation and training is important.
8. Flipped schools with an asynchronous digital enhancement: At their core, the digital learning phenomenon and the flipped school concept (where students view lectures at home and devote in-class time to discussions and activities) have both emerged with several interesting learning similarities. Both flipped schools and DEL platforms provide learners with control over how they access opportunities for direct instruction. In a flipped school, a middle-level science teacher may conduct an experiment, videotape it, and then post it online with some summative comments and perhaps a link to an additional resource for further study. Flipped schools follow this format to give learners who need more time an opportunity to reflect on what they’re learning and to revisit key elements of the modality of direct instruction. This allows students to come to school and apply the learning with one-to-one, guide-on-the-side assistance from their teacher. This is the exact formula we use in most DEL experiences and it is one that teachers can use for their classrooms. This interesting, innovative similarity speaks to our evolution as a profession. Whether you’re flipping your classroom or using DEL approaches in an almost totally virtual learning experience, we’re keeping in context that it’s all about the learning and finding strategic ways to bring students toward the desired learning goals. In the future, it’s likely that many flipped classrooms will apply much of what we discuss in this book.
In reflecting on these different options, think about how wonderfully diverse each of these learning opportunities is from the others. Think about the types of students each opportunity likely serves. Technology gives us the ability to serve and support learners in a way that, before now, was just not possible.
Although this is just a part of what makes these such exciting times, you should also be mindful of the inevitable digital learning scams that complicate the online learning landscape.
Digital Learning Scams
We would be remiss if we did not speak to some of the unscrupulous vendors who take unseemly shortcuts en route to the allure of profiting from the scalability of digital learning environments. What these entrepreneurs have figured out is that digital learning offers unique scalability due to reduction in overhead. Let’s assume that a state provides $10,000 per student for public, K–12 education. If the state has a voucher program and a family elects to take its $10,000 voucher and spend it on a school that delivers its education 100 percent online, an opportunity for unique profitability emerges. In this case, with the state allocation in hand, the absence of a brick-and-mortar schoolhouse to support the learning process creates remarkable savings. Delivering learning online also saves money on things like electric bills, custodial and support costs, sports programs, and so on.
In this kind of