Storyboard for K-12 Distance Education

Bianca Lochner8841

Walden University

Distance EducationDistance education represents an important

alternative to address current challenges and to make education accessible to all.

Distance education represents the transmission of knowledge through various media and information channels to provide more flexible educational models.

Distance education courses are credit-granting courses offered to elementary and secondary school students enrolled in the a school district in which the teacher and students are in different locations.

NeedsTo provide access to educational experiences that are more flexible in time and space than traditional, campus-based education.

To integrate and adapt to the affordances of the Internet and Web 2.0 tools.

To expand learning environments beyond physical boundaries.

To provide access to a wide range of training and learning resources.

To generate new revenue.

To transform and rethink content and pedagogy to address information age learning styles.

Research – Journals The American Journal of Distance Education –

Pennsylvania State UniversityDistance Learning journal – Information Age

PublishingEducational Technology, Educational Technology

PublicationsEducational Technology Research and

Development – Springer PublishingQuarterly Review of Distance Education –

Information Age PublishingTech Trends – Springer Publishing

Research Distance education provides students with a rewarding

experience that is just as challenging and effective as a traditional face -to -face learning environment (Anderson, 2008).

Simonson developed the equivalency theory as a framework to distinguish between distance and face-to-face education and emphasized that DE should not be identical with education practiced in a F2F environment Laureate, 2008). DE should have the same learning outcomes as traditional education and should provide equivalent learning experiences to meet these outcomes (Laureate, 2008).

Using technologies, theoretical approaches and appropriate instructional strategies, combining synchronous and asynchronous instruction are all methods that enhance distance education outcomes (Anderson, 2008).

ResearchDistance education instructional designers

should have knowledge of how students learn and of learning theories in order to design effective distance learning environments (Ally, 2008).

Up to 50% of all high school courses will be delivered online by 2019 (Hoover Institute, 2010)

Up to 80% of all instruction will be computer-based by 2024 (Christensen, 2008).

Development – Intended AudienceCorporations

Post-secondary Institutions

K-12 Educational Environments

Development - District ConcernsWhat is the cost for the adoption of the distance

education model?

What is the preparedness level of faculty to transfer content to the online format successfully ?

How may faculty be supported to develop new instructional strategies and to deliver successful online courses ?

What are the needed policies?

Development - Faculty Concerns Are distance education learning outcomes

equivalent to those students achieve in traditional courses?

Will faculty-students and students-students interaction decrease?

Will the level of student collaboration diminish compared to face-to-face courses?

What are the benefits for the faculty?Is there a support system in place?What are the promotion approaches for the

distance education program?

Development – Student and Parents ConcernsWhat is the quality of distance education

compared with face-to-face ?

What is the cost for online courses?

Are there guidelines in place for security and privacy policies to protect institution and student records?

Is the district’s distance education program accredited?

CommercializationAccreditation

Online Learning Platforms

Distance Education Courseware

Web 2.0 Tools

Educational toolsPrintTextbooksStudy guides WorkbooksFax

Voice/Audio RadioTelephoneVoicemail Audio-conferencesAudio files/CDsPodcasts

Computer E-mail, chat, etc.Web-based resources Videoconferences CD-ROM Smartphones

Video Videotape Satellite delivery

Broadcast video DVD

Innovation-Decision ProcessIntroductionRogers’s (2003) Stages

KnowledgePersuasionDecisionImplementationConfirmation

Innovation-Decision Process Introduction

● Only few school districts in Arizona have considered district offering education courses

● The district will be a pioneer

● The following is an estimated timeline for the district to implement

Knowledge-Persuasion-Decision Implementation –Confirmation

Innovation Decision Process

Rogers’s (2003) Stages

District Level District & School Level

Timeline: The district will have to set up its own timeline.

Communication channels: All inter-school and inter-district communication channels are per the usual district procedures for communicating course offerings.

● Knowledge, Persuasion, and Decision

would occur at the district level

● Implementation and Confirmation would occur at the individual school level

Innovation Decision Process

Rogers’s (2003) Stages

Knowledge, Persuasion, and Decision

District levelTimeline: occurring with this presentationCommunication channel: this presentation

School/teacher levelTimeline: schools will not have input in the distance education model development processCommunication channel: district will convey the adoption of its distance education model per usual district dissemination channels

Innovation Decision Process

Rogers’s (2003) Stages

ImplementationDistrict levelTimeline: District’s distance education model will have to be approved by the Arizona Department of Education Develop the infrastructure to support the extension of traditional courses Make changes to policy to ensure that distance learning is well-integrated with the rest of the district

Communication channel: District will convey the availability of online courses policy per usual district dissemination channels

School levelTimeline: Schools will implement distance education model per district’s given timeline.Communication channel: Schools will convey the availability of online courses policy per usual district dissemination channels

Innovation Decision Process

Rogers’s (2003) Stages

ConfirmationSchool levelTimeline: Schools to give feedback to district each quarter

Communication channel: Schools convey the results per usual inter-district communication policy

District levelTimeline: District may re-invent (modify) distance education model after feedback from schools. Then the cycle restarts at the a new or revised implementation stage.

Innovation Decision Process

Rogers’s (2003) Stages

Few academic research on K-12 distance education adoption rate because:

● Innovation is still new for K-12 educational environments

● Currently at the bottom of the S-curve.

Rate of Adoption S-Curve

Innovators: The School Board who would approve and adopt a distance education module.

Early adopters: District- and school-level school administration

Early Majority: Teachers who are already using an LMS

Late Majority: High School faculty

Laggards: Elementary-level faculty

Rate of Adoption S-Curve

References Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The

theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed., pp. 15–44). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed., pp. 45–74). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Christensen, C. M. (2008). Disruptively deploying computers. In Disrupting class: How disruptive innovations will change the way the world learns (pp. 89–119). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008a). Distance Education: The Next Generation [Video]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008b). Equivalency Theory [Video]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Simmons, D. E. (2002). The forum report: E-learning adoption rates and barriers. In A. Rossett (Ed.), The ASTD e-learning handbook (pp. 19-23). New York:, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Simonson, M. (2000). Making Decisions: The Use of Electronic Technology in Online Classrooms. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, (84), 29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.