District Administration - March 2009 - (Page 12)

Online Learning INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND BETTER ACCESS have had online school enrollments going strong for the past ten years, but the recent slump in the economy may be painting a diﬀerent picture in Pennsylvania’s cyberschools. Some of the state’s 11 online charter schools could be the latest victims of the recession, oﬃcials say. Joe Lyons, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School in Norristown, says parents facing the threat of layoﬀs or mortgage foreclosures are sending their children back to brick-and-mortar public schools because the stay-at-home spouse has to get a job. Most Pennsylvania online charter schools require a parent to stay home and supervise an elementary-age student, serving in many cases as an academic coach. “Our younger grades are most aﬀected, because what we are hearing from parents is that they have to go back to work partor full-time because of the economy,” Sarah McCluan, spokeswoman for Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which operates PA Learners Online Regional Cyber Charter School in Homestead, Pa., recently told the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review. But a survey during the 2007-2008 school year of district administrators by the Sloan Consortium, an online education advocacy group, showed a 10 percent increase nationwide in district oﬀerings of fully online or blended courses from the 20052006 year. BRIEFINGS By Zach Miners Pennsylvania Online Schools Struggle Amid Bad Economy e ribbon-cutting ceremony for Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School’s new educational support center in Midland, Pa. e total number of K12 students engaged in online courses—either full- or part-time—is about 1,030,000, almost a 50 percent increase from 2005-2006, the Sloan report says. Fred Miller, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, says they have seen an increase of more than 130 students for the current school year, but he acknowledges that enrollment trends statewide may indeed be “leveling oﬀ.” “We’re not sure if it’s because of the economy,” he says, or because of an increasing student turnover rate. He also says that more districts are oﬀering their own cybercourses. “ e trend we’ve seen nationwide now for the past decade is that online schooling is continuing to grow,” says Susan Patrick, president of the International Association for K12 Online Learning. Even today, she explains, “student demand remains very high.” The Online Perfect Storm FEW WOULD DENY THE ROLE WEB 2.0 technologies play in the lives of youth, but social learning network provider Saywire is doing one better in arguing that such technologies are not only important but vital for students’ academic growth. In a new report just released by the new startup, “Connections for Learning: Schools and the Educational Use of Social Networking,” Saywire argues that the “social web” is one of the best ways for today’s digital natives to learn by practicing skills necessary for college, work and life as global citizens. e report describes a “perfect storm” of conditions forming which dictate that “every educational institution should begin using social networking tools in considered and systematic ways.” Saywire boasts more than 160,000 teachers and students registered to its private social networks for K20 schools, which solve concerns about safety and security while giving students and educators the freedom to learn together. ALTERNATE TAKE “Google Earth is astounding, but sometimes all you need to do is point to a globe. A good teacher will use whatever tools she has to explain the content of her lessons, and does not overrely on anything.” A student home page created with Saywire’s secure social networking software. 12 March 2009 —Librarian Jill Egan, in a recent CNN interview District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2009

District Administration - March 2009
Contents
Editor’s Letter
News Update
Health & Fitness
Online Learning
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The College Promise
Do Economic Rewards Work?
The SIFication of America
Disciplining Students with Disabilities
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Tech Disruptions
New Products
Product Focus
New Books
Research Center

District Administration - March 2009