Vol. 2 Number 1, How to Select an Online K-12 Course, Spring 1998

In 1998, if you have Internet access, you can do anything from researching mortgages, to buying books, to taking a virtual tour of the Louvre, to attending classes right from your desk or kitchen table. The Internet allows for the immediate, on-demand exchange of information that could include text, mathematical formulas, graphics, and video or audio. It allows the posting, or display, of static information such as short readings and lesson plans, and allows both delayed and immediate interaction through email, and real time email-type exchanges such as chats and MOO. In fact, it is due to the above factors that the Internet may provide the ideal medium for successful distance education in the form of online courses.

The field of online courses (courses delivered over the Internet) certainly has been growing exponentially at the higher education level, but what about for the K-12 level? As mentioned in the Fall 1996 DLRN-J, several institutions including the Department of Defense Dependents' Schools (DODDs) offer K-12 level courses online, and other Distance Learning Resource Network (DLRN) materials document online programs for migrant and homeschool students, but what about mainstream students? In the past, most have turned to universities and community colleges where distance education has been practiced at the high school level since 1905.

Now, however, increasing numbers of educational institutions are offering K-12 level courses online, and as K-12 online course consumers and providers proliferate, the task of both selecting and designing a successful course becomes challenging. The Distance Learning Resource Network (DLRN) has begun compiling questions that distance students should ask prior to selecting an online course. These questions will assist the student in determining the best fit for his educational goals and those offering online courses to frame their course development for optimal market interest. These questions include:

Why am I interested in a web-based course?

Most people take web-based courses to complete a high school diploma or a college entrance requirement, to begin a homeschool program, or to increase their skills and knowledge while continuing with their current work and life schedules. Knowing the motive, will help determine if the student needs a course that offers academic credit, or a course with a very flexible begin and end schedule, and so forth.

Do I work well on my own, or do I need guidance and supervision?

This will help determine if the student should pursue unscheduled asynchronous (non time-dependent), scheduled asynchronous (somewhat time-dependent), or synchronous (time-dependent) courses. Synchronous instruction requires the simultaneous participation of all students and instructors. The advantage of synchronous instruction is that interaction is done in "real time" as in a traditional classroom. Online forms of synchronous delivery include computerconferencing, IRC (chats), and MOO.

By contrast, asynchronous instruction does not require the simultaneous participation of all students and instructors. Students do not need to be gathered together in the same location at the same time. Rather, students may choose their own instructional time frame and gather learning materials according to their individual schedules. Asynchronous instruction is more flexible than synchronous instruction. Forms of online asynchronous delivery include email, listservs, and static World Wide Web (WWW) -based courses. The advantages of asynchronous delivery include student choice of location and time, and interaction opportunities for all students.

Asynchronously-based programs may be further classified into the categories of unscheduled asynchronous or scheduled asynchronous. Unscheduled asynchronous courses are organized like a book or independent study course where students can start, stop, complete work at anytime and proceed at their own pace. Unscheduled asynchronous courses offer great flexibility. By comparison, scheduled asynchronous courses give students a general time frame for expected progress, and a start and stop time.

When and for whom does each mode work best? A student who works well on his own and has good time management skills may be successful with either an unscheduled asynchronous, scheduled asynchronous or synchronous course. However, a student who works best with time management guidance will do better in a scheduled asynchronous or synchronous course.

A student must have sufficient motivation, interest and independent learning ability to succeed with an online course. Knowing how well the student manages his own time and selecting a course accordingly will encourage success. At the high school level most students are used to a certain amount of time management by adults, whereas many online or distance education courses assume self time management. The result, as Frank J. Heller of Global Village Learning and NetSchool of Maine so aptly points out, is that "either the student plunges into the course or bombs out." Teachers with the Concord Consortium's Virtual High School Consortia have found that the occasional nudge from either the teacher or the site coordinator really helps to keep the students involved and on track. TEAMS, a Star School project, encourages learners to use instructional technologies to access a combination of the best features of synchronous (time-dependent) video-based instruction along with asynchronous (time-independent) computer access to multimedia and the Internet.

An addendum to this question is whether or not the educational institution permits open access to all course materials including every lesson from day one. Maintaining student motivation during an online course is crucial for success, so a student who enjoys working ahead of the group or schedule, should find a course where that is permitted. Some educational institutions choose to keep the lessons locked in an effort to keep students at the same pace thereby resulting in enriched and active online discussions. Other educational institutions such as CyberSchool keep the lessons unlocked. Tom Layton of CyberSchool states:
"What we want to do is to let schools, students and parents be good consumers by providing them with all of the information we possibly can. For the student that may mean being able to view every lesson of every course. There are no surprises or additions."

One of the strategies that CyberSchool is developing to meet the challenge of students progressing at varying rates is to use small groups who go through a course together. Then, if a student gets ahead or behind, it is relatively easy to shift to another group.

Do I need a course offered by an accredited, degree-granting educational institution (high school, community college, college or university)?

If the student is planning to use the course to complete a high school diploma or to meet a college entrance requirement, then check into the educational institution's credentials, and ask if this course has been offered at least once and completed by at least 15 students.

 Online distance education for K-12 is a relatively new area and at the time that this article went to print, there was no governing body. However, there are some helpful organizations including the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (www.detc.org) and Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org/index.html). There is great controversy over the actual value of an accrediting agency in distance education, particularly as it pertains to one governing agency overseeing the regional, national and international fields.

Those interested in state regulation of distance education may want to check with the members of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) as they were working on a state by state initiative to look at this area. WICHE of the Western States has a helpful little primer for sale called "When Distance Ed Crosses State Boundaries: Western States' Policies: 1995." According to Vicky Phillips of Lifelong Learning, "The primer clearly lists each of the western state's policies/accreditation/regulation issues." Finally, there are some state requirements for approval process which may differ from state to state. For language on the approval of distance education courses, contact the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Commision on Colleges (contact information is located at the end of this article).

Some educational institutions such as The North Dakota Division of Independent Study have been accredited by local and/or regional agencies. The North Dakota Division of Independent Study is a middle and high school distance education program that has existed since 1935, and enrolls approximately 10,000 students from all 50 states and a number of foreign countries. The Division grants a high school diploma, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The Division is also a member of the independent study division of the University Continuing Education Association.

Other educational institutions such as Concord Consortium's Virtual High School Consortia and CyberSchool are addressing the challenge by partnering with programs from other states and working with universities to ensure credit transferability.

One of the most natural consumer tendencies is to stick with "name brands" or known quantities. However, in this growing field the course may be offered by an unfamiliar educational institution. As previously mentioned there are many universities offering a few high school level courses online, but there are also various private K-12 schools such as Laurel Springs, public schools such as Oregon's CyberSchool, and public school collaborations such as the Concord Consortium's Virtual High School Consortia. Keep in mind the institution's experience and success in offering an online course. How long has the school been offering these courses? Have the courses evolved since their original creation, or are they created and left static for years?

DLRN staff recommend that prior to enrolling in an online course, students check with local and regional agencies for educational institution accreditation and confirm course credit transferability with the university the student may wish to attend.

Is the instructor qualified to teach an online course?

In the past two years online education has become much more interactive, and we now know that there is much more to a successful online course than simply taking a syllabus, lecture and some readings and placing them on a web site. Not surprisingly, the most important ingredient for a successful online course is effective teaching with clear course objectives, progression, hands on learner management and course interactivity. Therefore, while technology now enables real time chat, video and audio at a distance, the teacher first should focus on what she wishes to accomplish in her course. Following that decision the next should be determining which technology best meets the course needs and goals. While the institution reputation or experience is very important, ultimately the quality of the instructor is the most important factor for a successful and satisfying learning experience. What are the instructor's qualifications? Is the instructor experienced in or at least trained in delivering a distance education course? What about the instructor's traditional teaching credentials and teaching philosophy? The educational institution should provide access to all instructors' resumes or other informational pieces - preferably online.

Do I need to take a course for credit?

If the course is fulfilling a requirement as part of a degree program, for certification, or for college admission then the answer is "yes." A student should check with the educational institution regarding the granting of credit, and check with the institution that is granting the degree or certification regarding the recognition of that credit. An educational institution that has thought this through will have cleared course credit with local colleges and will have open access to course lessons. Having open access to course lessons may become very important when a student is negotiating for course credit approval at her homeschool or college admission.

How does the educational institution assess online work? Does it assess participation in online discussions and group projects and how might the assessment contribute to continuous learning and feedback?

A good indicator of an institution's experience is whether the staff have thought through areas like testing, grading, credit transfers, security of work submitted, and computer platform prerequisites. An educational institution that has considered these areas has thought through many processes and is more likely to deliver a satisfying and effective educational experience. Testing and security of work submitted is a major topic in distance education circles and one that is always guaranteed to fuel an active discussion. Some educational institutions insist on scheduling proctored exams at approved sites, while other educational institutions are beginning to use online testing software or even CGI scripts for embedded assessment. As with a traditional classroom, the best way to assess student and course progress is to know the student through the student's work and pay attention to student feedback. Good structuring has a strong writing focus, using essays for assessment instead of multiple choice, and when using groupware, student portfolios are collected.

Are the course offerings diverse and interesting?

One distinct advantage of online K-12 courses is that they are primarily market driven and more closely follow the rules of supply and demand than the public school system. Several of the educational institutions polled for this article suggest that they select courses to be offered through demand. The teachers who create the courses are encouraged to create the course that they have always wanted to teach and that they think will attract students. In at least one case, the teachers have added incentive to create interesting courses as they are only paid for the students who register for their courses.

For an example of course variety consider two history courses in development at CyberSchool: History of the Americas, taught in both Spanish and English, and American History Through Film. An early CyberSchool attempt was American History from 1860 to 1990, seen through the eyes of parallel development of Baseball. As Tom Layton says "One of the things distance education should mean is DIVERSITY and CHOICE." Offering diversity and choice can really spark a student's interest.

Do I need a few courses or a complete high school curriculum?

Most of the educational institutions offering online K-12 courses, offer individual courses rather than an entire high school curriculum. Tom Layton says "It is not our goal to put up a _comprehensive_ high school curriculum. Despite our name, CyberSchool is not really a school, nor does it want to be. ... We want to support local schools, not replace them. The local school has the best idea of what students need for a comprehensive education."

On the other hand there are educational institutions like Laurel Springs and The North Dakota Division of Independent Study, which do offer a complete high school curriculum and diploma. Laurel Springs School Online Learning provides students at the sixth through twelfth grade levels with self-paced coursework in all academic subjects. CLASS (Communication, Learning and Assessment in a Student-centered System), a Star School project which is developing a complete, accredited high school diploma sequence for the web, is working very hard to apply appropriate instructional design theory into its courses. The program, which has 138 print-based courses, will take until 2001 to develop 54 web-based, or online courses.

What do former students think?

Along with all of these other considerations, attention should be paid to the opinions of prior students. All programs should provide student references for their courses.

How do I find an online course?

The first step in selecting a course is locating a variety of course options. While there is not a comprehensive listing of all available online K-12 courses, you can find courses through a quick search on a web site such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) or Excite (www.excite.com), or by asking local universities and K-12 schools.

CONCLUSION

There are many things to consider when selecting an online K-12 course - many more than can be included in one article. The intent of this DLRN-J was to provide a scaffolding for some basic guidelines to consider during the K-12 online course selection process. Course selection is a personal decision and the primary factor should be the program's fit with the student's needs and goals. If fit is kept in mind while selecting a course, the result is more likely to be a successful and satisfying learning experience.

The questions that guide students in selecting online courses are also important for guiding educators as they prepare for the growing distance education market. This preparation is critical as the market continues to grow. Never before have students had as many choices and opportunities as with online courses, and never before have educators faced such a challenge to meet the market demands.

CREDITS:

Assistance with this article provided by Frank J. Heller, owner, Global Village Learning & CEO, NetSchool of Maine; Tom Layton, CyberSchool in Oregon; Neil Howe, Division Principal, The North Dakota Division of Independent Study; Vicky Phillips, Lifelong Learning Adult Education & Distance Learner's Resource Center.

RESOURCES:

Print

For language on the approval of distance education courses, contact the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Commision on Colleges, 11130 Northeast 33rd Place, Suite 120, Bellevue, WA 98004. Phone: 425/827-3395
Wired Together : The Online Classroom in K-12 : Perspectives and Instructional Design Vol 1, Zane L. Berge (Editor), Mauri P. Collins (Editor) 1997
Wired Together : The Online Classroom in K-12 Vol2 , Zane L. Berge (Editor), Mauri P. Collins (Editor) 1997
Wired Together : The Online Classroom in K-12 : Case Studies Vol 2, Zane L. Berge (Editor), Mauri P. Collins (Editor) / 1997
Wired Together : The Online Classroom in K-12 : Teacher Education and Professional Development Vol 3, Zane L. Berge (Editor), Mauri P. Collins (Editor) 1997

Electronic

Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council
http://www.detc.org

 Council for Higher Education Accreditation
http://www.chea.org/index.html

 Concord Consortium's Virtual High School
http://www.vhs.concord.org

 CyberSchool
http://Cyberschool.4j.lane.edu/

 Distance Learning Resource Network (DLRN)
www.wested.org/tie/dlrn

 Laurel Springs
http://www.laurelsprings.com/

 TEAMS
http://teams.lacoe.edu

 United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)
http://www.usdla.org/

 WICHE
http://wiche.edu/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Harvard Launches Free Cyberclass "Privacy in Cyberspace" The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School has partnered with NetResponse, a strategic Internet consulting company, to launch the university's first online course, "Privacy in Cyberspace." The course will attempt to answer Internet privacy questions, including civil procedure, copyright issues and the implications of computer technology for personal privacy. The general public can register for future courses free of charge at The Berkman Center's Web site http://www.berkmancenter.org/ This now actually appears on the page along with the link to the cybercourse on Intellectual Property in Cyberspace. While the course "Privacy in Cyberspace" is filled you can still follow along with it. Looks like it's going to be interesting.

Introduction to the Internet and Online Learning An Inexpensive (five to fifteen dollars) Introduction to the Internet and Online Learning course is available at the CSS Internet News web site http://www.networx.on.ca/~jwalker/course.htm. According to this site, basic courses take about 14 days to complete and more advanced courses can be up to 30 days.

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