My virtual schooling Pre-Post will be followed by a virtual schooling Post-Post. You're welcome.
It seems to me that “virtual
schooling” should be simple to define and describe. I would consider it distinct from blended
learning in that virtual schooling is probably completely online, while blended
has classroom and internet components.
A successful education via
virtual schooling would likely have several important aspects. It would include a Learning Management System
(LMS), one or two instructors who would act as facilitators, and a physically
removed and separate student body. The
LMS might be Blackboard, Google Classroom, or some other system, whose purpose
is to act as a central hub where content and assignments are available, as well
as serve as a communication platform. A
student in, say, her junior year in high school would be enrolled in several virtual
classes at once, including core classes and electives. She might be concurrently taking Global
History, Advanced English, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, Marketing, and Art. A well-rounded virtual class would
include
both synchronous and asynchronous communication and discussions, which could be
made possible with Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts. The instructor(s) would likely make
themselves available by email or even by phone.
The virtual class would likely include opportunities for individual
exploration as well as democratic group collaboration. Assignments for individuals may be fairly
open-ended and inquiry-based, or they could be a bit more restricted and “traditional,”
as in a standard research paper.
Immersive simulations, videos and online tutorials, podcasts, blogs, and
social media can also be incorporated to enrich the learning experience by
allowing students to interact with a variety of educational media.
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| Image Credit: Getty Images |
Virtual schooling can take
place anywhere that a student has an electronic device and access to an
internet connection, although the bandwidth may affect what types of media are
available. The student may do some of
the learning at home, some at the library, or even some in an actual school for
added support (although I don’t know if that would re-categorize the experience
as blended rather than virtual).
I think that really any sort of
student might engage herself in virtual schooling. However, there may be certain demographics
that increase the odds of this type of education. Possibly a home-schooled student whose parent
needs help facilitating learning in a certain subject may opt for virtual
schooling for that course. For instance,
if a parent is much more familiar with humanities but not math, he might enroll
his child in a virtual math course, where the responsibility is not as much in
the parent’s hands. Alternatively, a
student with serious physical disabilities, such as blindness or paralysis, may
benefit greatly from learning in a virtual environment, because those handicaps
may be a little easier to accommodate.
It is also possible (but I doubt the most common) that a student may
choose to take virtual schooling because of social anxiety. I had a neighbor who was a classmate at my
high school, and she was extremely anxious because of the social
pressures. However, when she took online
school at home, she excelled and received her GED an entire year early. She thrived because she sensed a less
threatening, less socially-oriented environment. Now she works as a veterinarian’s assistant
and is very satisfied with her life. Her
situation in high school might represent a stereotype, but I am sure it is a legitimate
reason why a student would choose virtual schooling. I also had a student this past year who
started having panic attacks half way through second semester. We had to finish up his schooling as a
home-bound student, but he may also benefit from a full switch over to virtual
schooling.
I struggle to think of a limit
to the types of courses that might be available virtually. Perhaps classes with a heavy physical
component such as culinary arts, woodworking, physical education, and pottery
would be difficult to coordinate, because somehow the student would have to get
hold of all the materials and have a person physically present to oversee her
work and critique her work in order for her to improve. I suppose it could be possible to arrange a
sort of mail-order component to such courses that delivers materials to the
student’s front door, enabling them to participate at least materially. The video conferencing tools I mentioned
above could also be used to enhance participation and give feedback. But I would still say that these courses would
be very difficult to make successful through virtual schooling.
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| Image Credit |
As we can see with the rise of K12.com,
virtual schooling is a trend on the increase, and it is worth watching. I can even imagine myself coordinating a
virtual class someday, especially with all I am learning in the present course
of study.
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