I've had the pleasure over the last few years of leading the North Carolina Virtual Public School and partnering with world class providers and vendors on behalf of North Carolina districts, schools, and students. In the past few weeks, I have seen some decision making in three states around the country that baffle me as to the research, track record, and success of state virtual schools. The decision making really boils down to two issues. First, do these states really believe that a state virtual school is not a partner in the future of educating children in their state? Second, are they willing to make a decision on behalf of a predator in terms of "a one size fits all e-learning solution"? The response to both questions is a critical discussion for state, district, and school leaders as we work on "blending instruction" and then ultimately "transforming education" in our nation.
Let's begin this discussion by defining the term "partner". I have been so blessed to work with Florida Virtual, Idaho Digital Learning, Mississippi Virtual, Virtual Virginia, Aventa, Wimba, Blackboard, Moodle, IBM, Second Life, Discovery, Active Worlds, Emantras, Lockheed Martin, and a host of others over the past two years that really get the key understanding of bended education - it is about transforming teaching and learning not just about the cool tools and technology. When districts, schools, and students interact with state virtual schools they not only get the advantages of these partner relationships, but they gain insights into free tools and processes as well on the web. State virtual schools work with state standards. They provide "teacher led" instruction. They understand the "real culture" of "leaders" and "support staff" and partner with them on solutions for delivering, leading, and supporting blended learning. In short, they are so much more than a "one stop solution for content". State virtual schools are partners.
Now let's shift our focus to the "predators" I see on the national landscape. Any provider and/or vendor who promises to do it cheaper, faster, and better needs the same vetting process one would use for any major curriculum decision. What is the research behind their promises? Where is the competitive data? What results are present? Who have you consulted in terms of their claims? A phone call to your state virtual school is a good place to start. In many cases, you'll find what we find in North Carolina - that there is a room at the table for both state virtual schools and partners for school districts. However, there is no room for "predators" trying to sell a product in tough economic times. These predators will claim when pressed that they are not responsible for "staying around" to support the content. They will also tell you, as they have me in private, that they are often not aligned to state standards and not relying on certified teachers in your state to deliver the content.
21st Century Learners and Leaders:
January 14-15, 2010 was an outstanding two days in Raleigh, NC and on the web at our mid-year retreat for the North Carolina Virtual Public School and Learn and Earn Online. Visit the retreat site here.
The overall themes were "Educating the Social and Mobile Generation" across "Blended Learning Horizons" not just for NCVPS and LEO, but for North Carolina school districts and organizations. In addition to unveiling NCVPS Class, Modular, Mobile, and Blended- we also created a companion document in PDF form that you can use for your districts here at www.thevlc.org.
The contents of "Educating the Social and Mobile Generation" includes:
1. A welcome from the Executive Director
2. Research links on e-learning and blended learning
3. Remarks from Governor Perdue, Lt. Governor Dalton, and Students
4. Video and web links for North Carolina's e-learning portal and NCVPS/LEO
5. Maps of North Carolina district participation and more.....
Finally, the Google Site is an open source site for our retreat. After reading the World is Open by Curtis Bonk http://worldisopen.com/, I became more and more convinced that this type of open learning and training is a key issue for all educators to understand, prepare for, support, and secure. Many tools out there already exist for us to collaborate, communicate, and educate in a safe and open way for learners. The next step is for district and school leadership to really explore the why, what, and how behind blended learning for North Carolina's future.
As you peruse the retreat site, our retreat "files for our fans" link is still under construction with all of the content gathered at the retreat, but I would encourage you to go here to peruse the many ideas and concepts that emerged from the retreat and to review who attended to see the broad cross section of representation for North Carolina. Here's wishing you a great week with the virtual advantage of www.ncvps.org and www.nclearnandearn.gov.
Bryan
21st Century Leaders and Learners:
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