Virtual Public School Issues - Kayleigh Metzner

Virtual Public School Issues

1. Accreditation
Just like any other school, a virtual public/private school can be accredited by highly respected organizations

Article: The AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools: http://www.advanc-ed.org/accreditation/standards/advanced_school_standards.pdf

Content: This article thoroughly explains the principles and values that any public or private schools (including virtual schools) within a 30-state region (including Ohio) should govern themselves by. In addition, this article gives reasons as to why the accreditation standards are important.
Purpose: This article could be used as a guide for schools to adhere to in order to develop into quality educational facilities.
Authority: The article was distributed by AdvancED, a prestigious school accreditation organization.
Currency: The standards in the article became effective in 2007, and are still effective today.
Usefulness: The information that I found in this article lets people know that a virtual public or private school can be accredited just like any other school, as long as they meet the AdvancED Standards for Quality Schools.
Reliability: The information in the article is accurate.
Ease of Use: Although the inteded audience for this article is mainly school staff or administrators, it can be easily read and understood by just about anyone. I found all the concepts to be well-written and comprehendable.
Reflection: I found this article very interesting – I love how it is so explicit. The issues that are focused on are specific and very important. I think that AdvancED is on the right track, and I hope that it will continue to grow. I think it would be great if schools all around the country adhered to the AdvancEd Standards for Quality Schools.

1. Teacher Certification
Just like brick-&-mortar public schools, virtual public schools will only hire state-certified teachers. However, there are Standards for Quality Online Teaching by SREB (Southern Regional Education Board), which I found on http://www.inacol.org/ .

Website: http://www.inacol.org/
Article: http://www.sreb.org/publications/2009/09T01_Guide_profdev_online_teach.pdf

Content/ Purpose: The website’s function is to help provide students around the world recieve a quality online education. The article was listed on the website, and helps describe how teachers can better their virtual teaching techniques.
Authority: The website is iNACOL’s (International Association for K-12 Online Learning) official website. The article was produced by SREB (Southern Regional Education Board). Both are esteemed organizations.
Currency: The website has been updated in 2009. The article was written in March, 2009
Usefulness: these allow teachers who may teach online or use online tools to function on an appropriate and up-to-date level.
Reliability: The information given by these sources is accurate.
Ease of Use: The iNACOL website is very user-friendly. It is easy to navigate and the information is easy to understand. The article, on the other hand, may require an understanding of basic education-related concepts and issues.
Reflect: These two resources would be very helpful to teachers, administrators, or parents who would like to improve their online school or to bring their brick-and-mortar school into the virtual world of education.

1. Consequences
How does virtual schooling effect the most important people in education: sudents?

Podcast 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeOP0ON5Hm8&feature=related
Podcast 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0a3PhaZDMc

Content: These videos are about families who use the K-12 online curriculum via virtual academies.
Purpose: These videos can show others how positive an online learning experience can be.
Authority: These are provided by the K-12 company, a reliable source.
Currency: Both videos were posted on June 7th, 2007.
Usefulness: These videos show the benefits of virtual public schooling, primarily to parents who are looking for alternate schooling options.
Reliablity: The information is accurate.
Ease of Use: These videos are very easy to understand and can reach a large audience because they were posted on youtube.
Reflect: Many people think that the concequences of schooling a child via the internet is certain to result in a loss of interest, loss of social skills, or loss of time. However, these two videos clarify the point that virtual schooling can provide more gains than losses for students.