Presented during the European Virtual Schools Colloquium that took place on 22nd-24th May 2012 in Sheffield, UK.

1. North America &
K-12 Online Learning
Susan Patrick
President & CEO
International Association for K-12 Online Learning
David Teeter
Policy Director
International Association for K-12 Online Learning
www.inacol.org

2. International Association for K-12 Online Learning
(iNACOL)
• iNACOL is the premier K-12 nonprofit in online learning
• Provides leadership, advocacy, research, training, and networking with experts in K-12 online
learning.
– 4200+ members in K-12 virtual schools and online learning representing over 50 countries
– Annual conference – Virtual School Symposium (VSS): New Orleans in October 2012
• “Ensure every student has access to the best education available regardless of
geography, income or background.”
• Next Generation Learning Challenges – Gates Foundation
• Our strategic areas of focus in online and blended learning:
1. Policy
2. Quality
3. New Learning Models

3. North America

4. National Trends in K-12 Online Learning

5. U.S. Online Learning Facts
• 48 states have significant state policies (KP 2010)
• 32 states have state virtual schools
• 30 states allow 225 full-time virtual charter schools with over 250,000 students
(CER)
• K-12 online learning enrollments growing 30% annually (50,000 in 2000; 500,000
enrollments in 2005; 1.8 million in 2010).
• 50% of employers use e-learning for training
• 4 states require an online course for high school graduation
• 82% of school districts had one or more students in a fully-online or blended course
• More universities are offering K-12 courses online
– Indiana U, Univ of Montana, Nebraska; Stanford, JHU, Northwestern programs
for gifted

6. Summary of key online learning activity

10. Minnesota (Full-time)
• Provides general education revenue for
online students. For students taking online
courses from the district in which they are
enrolled, funding is the same as if the
students were taking all of their courses in
physical classrooms.
• $6,062/FTE
• Funding is tied to the program that meets
all requirements of the law.(Source: Keeping Pace 2011)

11. Utah
• Utah was the 1st state to “turn the Digital Learning Now Ten
Elements of High Quality Digital Learning into a
comprehensive state policy” according to the Keeping Pace
report of 2011.
• Per the recently passed SB65 (Stephenson), funding follows
the student down to the course level in Utah. Funds flow from
the primary LEA of enrollment to the provider LEA. The
funding amount is on the low side at $4700/student, but keep
in mind that Utah has for years had the lowest per-pupil
funding in that nation.
• Funding is also based on successful course completion. The
provider LEA receives 50% (25% per semester) up front and
the remaining 50% upon credit earned.

12. Ohio
• Funded at same level as face-to-face students.
• Payments made centrally by the state
• $5,901 in 2011
– Receive some additional funds via special education
appropriation, ARRA, state fiscal stabilization
funds, EduJobs, and other federal funds
– Community Schools are funded based on a deduct off
the traditional public school
(transportation, building, etc.) district PASS form
(state allocated funds only). School is paid based on
a per pupil subsidy plus the additional “supplements”.
State average is $10,000 per pupil.
– Not eligible to receive poverty-based funding

13. Single district programs
(15,000 public school districts in USA)
• Fastest growing developments in online
programs
• About 50% of districts with some online
program (NCES)
• 1.8 million students in online courses
• Doesn’t cover blended
• Credit recovery as a leading driver

16. Resource: iNACOL Definitions Project
Online learning – Education in which instruction and content are delivered primarily over the
Internet. (Watson & Kalmon, 2005)
Blended learning – When a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar
location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of
student control over time, place, path, and/or pace; often used synonymously with Hybrid
Learning. (Horn and Staker, 2011)
Online school – A formally constituted organization (public, private, state, charter, etc.) that
offers full-time education delivered primarily over the Internet.

17. www.inacol.org
Source: Susan Patrick, iNACOL

20. Why Online Learning Matters

21. New Solutions through Online Learning
• 40% of US high schools do not offer AP courses
– 75% of districts use online learning to offer Advanced
Placement or college-level courses.
• Teacher Shortages
– 40% of public school districts in America today say they
need online learning resources because certified teachers
are not available for traditional face-to-face instruction.
• 60% of schools and districts say they need online
learning for credit recovery.
• More than 50% need online learning to reduce
student scheduling conflicts to graduate on time.

22. Equity: Providing Opportunities for All Students
Traditional
Public/Private
Accelerated Credit Recovery
Students
Medically Fragile
Need to work and/or
support family
Rural Students
ELL Aspiring athletes and
Special Education performers

23. Project Tomorrow Survey (2009)
• Benefits of taking a class online?
– According to students:
• 51% said it allows them to work at their own pace
• 49% to earn college credit
• 44% said it allows them to take a class not offered
on campus
• 35% said it was to get extra help
• 19% said they took online courses to get more
attention from teachers

24. Future Trends
• Online & Blended Learning
– Competency-based approaches
– Mobile learning
• National:
– CCSSO Partnership for Next Gen Learning
– Gates Foundation’s Next Generation Learning
– Shared Learning Infrastructure
• Openly architected IT systems - draw in vast online
content, learning analytics, personalized learning maps for each
student’s own learning trajectory

25. How Students Learn

26. CHALLENGES AND POLICY
IMPLICATIONS

27. Providing Sound Policy Frameworks
• Responsive state policies so that a student’s choice of online opportunity is
facilitated rather than blocked.
• Fair and sustainable funding so that online learning opportunities expand with
student demand.
• Sensible and responsible oversight so that each student is guaranteed quality in
the online opportunities available.
• Modern frameworks for curriculum and instruction so that each student may be
assured of credit for successful online work.
• Thoughtful teacher licensure requirements so a student may always benefit
from the best online instructors.
• Valid research so that a student’s online opportunities reflect effective best
practices.

28. Online Learning Research
Highlights
• U.S. Department of Education study of Online
Learning, “Evaluation of Evidence-based Practice in Online
Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning
Studies” (2009)
• “Overall, the meta-analysis found that students who took
all or part of their class online performed better, on
average, than those taking the same course through
traditional face-to-face instruction.”
• “instruction combining online learning with face-to-face
elements had a larger advantage . . .students the
participated in online learning and who spent more time
on task benefited the most.”

29. USA Trends: Higher Ed Online Learning
• Sloan-C “Survey of Online Learning” 2011 studied higher education
online enrollments:
– 1 in 3 college students take an online course
– 6 million online course enrollments in higher education
– 73% of institutions had increased demand for existing online
courses
• Growth from economy and H1N1 flu outbreak
– Use of online education was strong for H1N1 contingency plans
• 20% of schools not offering online classes were introducing online courses
as part of H1N1 (academic continuity) contingency plans
– 74% of public higher education institutions view online
education as critical for long-term strategy

30. National Survey for Student Engagement
• Online learners reported deeper approaches to learning
than classroom-based learners.
• “Those who teach classes online may be making special
efforts to engage their students.” - Alexander
McCormick, NSSE Director
• “People who teach online classes don’t take
engagement for granted.”
• Higher order thinking skills, integrative thinking, reflective
learning
(NSSE 2008)

31. Creating an Effective System for Online
Learning and Teaching
• “Online education can fundamentally change the relationship that
students, teachers, parents and the community have with their
educational institutions and with one another. For
policymakers, those transformations pose some difficult choices.
If they ignore online education, they turn their back on their
responsibility to extend learning opportunities.‖ –National
Education Association (NEA) Guide to Teaching Online Courses

32. World Future Society
Top 10 breakthroughs transforming life over the next 20-30 years
Best forecast data ever assembled
1. Alternative energy
2. Desalination of water
3. Precision farming
4. Biometrics
5. Quantum computers
6. Entertainment on demand
7. Global access
8. Virtual education or distance learning
9. Nanotechnology
10. Smart Robots

33. Thank you!
Questions & Answers
Discussion
Contact information:
Susan Patrick: spatrick@inacol.org
Matt Wicks: mwicks@inacol.org
Rob Darrow: rdarrow@inacol.org
www.inacol.org

34. The Power of Personalized Learning
―…We need to shift our thinking from a goal that focuses on the delivery
of something—a primary education—to a goal that is about empowering
our young people to leverage their innate and natural curiosity to learn
whatever and whenever they need to. The goal is about eliminating
obstacles to the exercise of this right—whether the obstacle is the
structure and scheduling of the school day, the narrow divisions of
subject, the arbitrary separation of learners by age, or others—rather
than supplying or rearranging resources. Will Richardson. The Right to
Learn. (Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation, 2011)
―…There is no limit on how fast and how far students can go.‖ - Stephen
Heppel (U.K.) notschool.net

35. Students: Born in 1991
1. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
2. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
3. The European Union has always existed.
4. Text has always been hyper.
5. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
6. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice
versa.
7. There have always been flat screen televisions.
8. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
9. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening
News came on.
10. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs
to the computer has never amazed them.
-From the Beloit College “Mindset List 2013”

36. Source: Education Sector

37. Andy
Source: Education Sector