Utilizing Virtual Learning in St Tammany Parish

Providing Opportunities to All Students Credit Recovery Aspiring athletes and performers Medically Fragile Home Schoolers Accelerated Students Need to work and/or support family Traditional Public/Private Special Education and ELL Rural Students

Why do we need it? In St. Tammany Parish (STP) we have approximately 18% of students that need to retake a core course. There is a shortage of teachers and available seats for certain classes (AP courses, technical courses, advanced foreign language). In the school year, STP shut down it’s Hospital/Homebound program which offered services to students that can not participate in traditional schools.

Who is eligible? Any student that is eligible to be a student in STP grades K-12 are eligible to participate in virtual learning There are currently two public virtual schools in Louisiana: 1.Louisiana Virtual School 2.Louisiana Connections Academy Both of these offer K-12 instruction at no cost to the family.

Instructional Models We can use virtual schools in a variety of ways: 1.Stand alone course – students take the virtual classes on site during a certain time period of the day 2.Mixed methods – regular classrooms using virtual classrooms for various reasons (larger projects or even if school must be cancelled for emergencies) 3.Full time virtual school – a student may enroll to take all courses needed for graduation

Student Assessments Each course has a variety of different assessments (assignments, homework, quizzes, gizmos, web quests, tests, etc.). Most of our unit exams and quizzes are password protected. Any assignment or exam that is password protected has to be proctored at school.

Ease of Setup We are currently using some virtual classes at the high school level, but not at the elementary or middle school. Every school has a computer technician who can assist in setting up the technology and providing technical support. Most of the school are currently equipped with several computer labs, their own servers, and wireless services covering most of the campus.

The Advantages for Us More students can have greater access to a tailored curriculum Students that need to repeat a course will not have to retake it in the same method and perhaps the same teacher Reduce the burden of finding qualified teachers for small need classes at each school building We have an alternate to homebound services and pathways It could be perfect for At-Risks students

Online Learning Research #1 Online Learning Expands Options “The first impetus to the growth of K-12 distance education was an interest in expanding educational options and providing equal opportunities for all learners.” (NCREL 2005) #2 Online Learning Is Rapidly Growing “Recent Surveys show that K-12 online learning is a rapidly growing phenomenon.” – Growing 30% annually – 50,000 enrollments in 2000 – Over 2,000,000 enrollments in 2010

Online Learning Research #3 Is Effective: “Better” U.S. Department of Education Report of Online Learning Better than Face-to-Face (USED 2009) #4 Improves Teaching Teachers who teach online reported positive improvements in face-to-face, too. “Of those who reported teaching face-to-face while teaching online or subsequently, three in four reported a positive impact on their face-to-face teaching.”

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

Christensen suggests that by 2019 about half of all high school courses will be online. Disrupting Class