Virtual Schooling NING

[Michael Barbour]

Just wanted everyone to know, for those with an interest in virtual schooling (and with Michigan's new online learning requirement for graduation, I'm hoping that means some of you) there is a NING that I just found that focuses upon virtual schooling.

http://virtualschooling.ning.com/
I just joined and I hope some of you do as well.

[Michael Barbour]

Well, first let me disagree with Mary Cullinane. Virtual schools students need access to libraries and libraries services. In fact, Terence Cavanaugh has been doing research in this area and a recent presentation of his about the level of library services provided by virtual schools (see here).

Beyond that, I think that good virtual teaching (regardless if it is done in an asynchronous or synchronous manner) is well planned and specifically structured. And good virtual teaching for one group of students may not be effective with another group of students - which is why only certain groups of students seem to be successful in virtual school environments at present. So, it isn't available for free and I think our thinking process about good teaching and learning doesn't have to change much, we just need to think differently about the medium in which that process occurs.

[Thomas Anderson, MLS]

The new requirement for 20 hours of online instruction for students in 2011 will place strains on the system to produce challenging, high-quality, age-appropriate online and distance learning experiences.

What changes in our vocabulary and thinking process will have to change or be challenged to do this right? We heard from Mary Cullinane at MACUL 2008 that our students need not be bothered by libraries, is everything our students need available for free, virtually?