Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice, 2010
Author: Watson, John
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Schools,Elementary Secondary Education,State Policy,Educational Policy,Profiles,State Schools,School Districts,Colleges,Institutional Characteristics,Reports,Access to Education,Supplementary Education,Barriers,Enrollment,School Role,Consortia,Blended Learning,School Turnaround,Competency Based Education,Educational Change,Individualized Instruction,Computer Uses in Education

&quot;Keeping Pace&quot; has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of knowledge about online education policy and practice, and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source for information about programs and policies across the country, both for policymakers and practitioners who are new to online education, and for those who have extensive experience in the field. Third, because there has been so much online education activity in the past year, the report attempts to capture new activity. Readers who have reviewed &quot;Keeping Pace&quot; in recent years may note some changes to the organization of this year's report. In particular, with online learning growing in so many directions the authors have decided to organize the opening sections of the report into online program categories. The reason for this is that the key issues in online learning (e.g. funding, student assessment) are so different for the different categories that discussing funding across all the types of programs has become confusing. In essence, the authors have changed from organizing by topic (e.g. funding) to organizing by program type (e.g. state virtual schools). After an Executive Summary, which provides a stand-alone summary of key numbers, issues, and trends, Online Learning Background, Categories, and Definitions is the report's introductory section. It is meant for readers who are relatively new to K-12 online learning. Because there are many terms in online learning without commonly understood definitions, this section defines the key terms used in this report. The State of K-12 Online Learning in 2010 begins with a snapshot of online learning in each state. It then reviews the number of schools and students taking online courses in several categories: state virtual schools, full-time statewide online schools, district programs, and consortium programs. Emerging Issues and Trends reviews blended learning, including use of blended learning in school turnarounds; competency-based learning; and mobile learning. The Outlook and Conclusion looks at how blended learning represents a synthesis of online learning and computer-based instruction, and how that plays into future adoptions, particularly at the district level. The State Policy Profiles contain online learning profiles of all fifty states, in alphabetical order. Most state profiles include footnotes that reference state laws and state policies. However, in some cases, the information is general and was gathered through numerous website reviews and phone interviews with state agencies; in these cases footnotes are not included. The primary purpose of footnotes is to provide the source documents that will be most valuable to readers. (Contains 9 figures, 18 tables, and 332 footnotes.) [Additional funding for this paper was provided by North Carolina Virtual Public School. For &quot;Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of State-Level Policy and Practice, 2009,&quot; see ED535909.