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Resources
Reports & Publications
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NACOL Effectiveness of K-12 Online Learning
NACOL Research Committee
2007
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NACOL Sorting Through Online Learning Options: A Guide for Parents
July 2008
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Evaluating Online Learning: Challenges and Strategies for Success
U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement
July 2008
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NACOL Promising Practices in Online Learning: Using Online Learning for At-Risk Students and Credit Recovery
John Watson and Butch Gemin
July 2008
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Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2004-05
U.S. Department of Education
June 2008
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NACOL Goals, Guidelines, and Standards for Student Scientific Investigations
Kemi Jona & John Adsit, with Allison Powell and the NACOL Committee on Online Science June 2008
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NACOL
Fast Facts About Online Learning
May 2008
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Donnell-Kay Foundation
Trujillo Commission Report on Online Education
February 2007
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Education Sector
Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education
June 2007
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National Education Association
Guide to Teaching Online Courses
November 2006
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North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
A Synthesis of New Research on K-12 Online Learning
November 2005
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Southern Regional Education Board
SREB Report on State Virtual Schools
August 2007
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Southern Regional Education Board
Five Academic Reasons Why State Virtual Schools Are Important to Your State
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Connecting Students to Advanced Courses Online, released by the U.S. Department of Education (January 2008)
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Going Virtual! The Status of Professional Development for K-12 Online Teachers by Kerry Rice and Lisa Dawley(November 2007)
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Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-level Policy and Practice by John Watson, (November 2007)
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Access and Equity in Online Classes and Virtual Schools, (November 2007)
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Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning (November 2007)
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A Comprehensive Assessment of Florida Virtual School, by Florida TaxWatch (November 2007).
In this report, Florida TaxWatch examines the viability of Florida Virtual School as a credible alternative to traditional schooling as regards both student achievement outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Florida Virtual School earned high marks in both.
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Technology Assisted Project Based Instruction (Arizona Auditor General)
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Learning in the 21st Century: A National Report of Online Learning
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New Release: NACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses (released September 2007)
The NACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses adopted offer an important measuring tool to help policy leaders, schools, and parents across the nation evaluate course quality and implement best practices. The national standards selected are based on the results of a research review and survey of online course quality criteria. These quality standards were evaluated and assembled into an easy to use document for evaluating online courses with common benchmarks.
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University of Florida’s Data for Virtual Schools and Virtual School Clearinghouse
The Virtual School Clearinghouse is a website dedicated to supporting the efforts of researchers and educators working on K-12 virtual schooling. Virtual Schools can upload and analyze data through the system, providing up to the data analyses of current virtual school practices. This website is hosted by the University of Florida with a grant from AT&T. For researchers, the site hosts the ability to add, edit, and comment on bibliographic references, websites, and online journals.
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NACOL National Primer on K-12 Online Learning, written by John Watson (May 2007) The NACOL National Primer report provides answers to the many basic questions about online learning and is a helpful guide for administrators, teachers and parents.
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Podcast: Interview with Susan Patrick on Online Learning (Steve Hargadon’s K-12 Ed Tech Blog)
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New report on E-rate: 10 Years of Connecting Kids and Community from National Coalition for Technology in Education & Training (NCTET) and Education and Library Network Coalition (EdLiNC) (Released March 2007).
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Eduvations: Out of the Box Podcast
Eduvations is a podcast series by David Edwards of interviews with movers and shakers in the educational technology field. The first interview was with Susan Patrick, CEO and President of NACOL. Susan presents some compelling arguments as well as some wonderful insight into how we can move forward in our 'journey' to transform education for our students. The 15 minute podcast is divided into 3 sections to keep download times minimal. Enjoy!
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“Online Education” (December 2006) Report of the State Auditor, State of Colorado
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Course Evaluation Tools for Online Learning
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Top 10 Myths about Virtual Schools
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Susan Patrick Podcast
President & CEO of NACOL
This podcast is of an interview of Susan Patrick, President & CEO of NACOL, held on August 18, 2006. Steven Glyer, Director of Education Technology for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California, conducted this interview. This conversation centered on online learning in the United States. It runs 32 minutes and 15 seconds.
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Online Learning: Expansion Powering An Education Revolution Webinar
(recorded) by Susan Patrick, President & CEO, NACOL
Online learning is more than a trend – it is revolutionizing global education. Countries with strong e-learning strategies will advance to help prepare students to reach their full potential in a digital age. Today's students want more options when it comes to education and online learning is providing new opportunities to expand options to every child, regardless of background or geography. Every child should have access to the best educational opportunities available, regardless of location. According to a 2005 report by U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), one-third (36 percent) of public school districts and 9 percent of public schools had students enrolled in distance education courses which contributed to the more than 328,000 course enrollments nationwide. The number of students taking classes online is predicted to grow to over 500,000 according to Eduventures. The session will take a look at the growing role of online learning for transforming education at large. Presented by Elluminate Live.
NACOL Online Learning Clearinghouse
Research
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NACOL Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills, written by NACOL and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (November 2007)
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Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education, written by Bill Tucker (June 2007)
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E-Learning Frameworks for NCLB Published by the U.S. Department of Education (2004). Author: Sue Collins, CollinsConsults
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How Can Virtual Schools Be a Vibrant Part of Meeting the Choice Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act? Published by the U.S. Department of Education (2004). Author: Brian Hassel, Public Impact
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K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators, by the Sloan Consortium, released March 2007
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Cathy Cavanaugh’s Online Learning Research References
Dr. Cavanaugh has an excellent and comprehensive website listing books, articles and journals for online learning (she is the NACOL Research Committee Chair).
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Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-level Policy and Practice by John Watson (November 2006)
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The International Perspective of K-12 Online Learning: A Summary of the 2006 NACOL International Survey is a new study of the state of K-12 online learning in 17 countries by Allison Powell and Susan Patrick. Countries were surveyed on issues such as funding, content, initiatives, professional development, obstacles, and trends. A short summary can be found in the International Matrix.
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Technology in Schools: What the Research Says is a new meta-study--or study of studies--on the use and effectiveness of classroom technologies. Produced by Cisco Systems and the Metiri Group, the report summarizes general trends and representative studies in areas such as television and video use, calculators, engagement devices such as interactive whiteboards, portable or handheld devices, virtual learning, in-school computing, and one-to-one computing.
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SREB Report on State Virtual Schools 2006 - The report provides detailed information about state virtual schools in SREB states. The growth in one year is significant. Most SREB States now have a state virtual school. Several others have legislation in process or have pilots. Student enrollments compared with the data in the 2005 report have grown by nearly 100%. The number of and variety of online courses for middle and high school students also continues to expand to meet the diverse needs of students.
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NACOL Opposes New Criteria Restricting Online AP Science - NACOL is recommending the College Board allow virtual labs in AP Science courses. Please reach out to the College Board President, Trustees and others to express our deep concerns about the new criteria for auditing AP courses.
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Students' Perception of Online Learning: A Comparitive Study (2006) Journal of Information Technology Education
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Online Education in the United States 2005 (Higher Education only) Sloan-C
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Guide to Elementary/Secondary Virtual Education - This guide provides recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting.
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White Paper: Impact of Synchronous Online Learning in Academic Institutions: Elluminate, Inc. - While formal research results about the benefits and impact of synchronous online learning are not widely available today, Elluminate, Inc., a leader provider of live eLearning and web collaboration solutions, has worked with hundreds of academic institutions to change the way they communicate, educate, and collaborate. The company's white paper, "The Impact of Synchronous Online learning in Academic Institutions: Customer Experiences from K12 and Higher Education," discusses current issues in academia, examines available independent research, and describes the experiences of a wide variety of institutions with this enabling technology.
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Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03 (2005) - The first national survey to explore distance education courses for public elementary and secondary school students. The report provides distance education course and enrollment numbers, examines the reported reasons for having distance education courses, the instructional level of the populations served, entities delivering the courses to students, and other data pertaining to online courses.
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NACOL's VSKOOL Partnership Develops a Comprehensive List of K-12 Online Learning Research - This is a broad assortment of prominent research studies, policy reports, websites, and articles on the topic of K-12 online learning which have been published since 2001.
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Who Should Fund Virtual Schools? - A report by the Appalachian Technology in Education Consortium. ATEC recommends a two phase funding model. During phase one, they recommend states heavily subsidize the cost of public online courses and in phase two implement a charge for courses.
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Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues
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A Brief History of Virtual Schools (an excellent article on the background of virtual schooling and K-12 e-learning)
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Learning Point/NCREL’s Synthesis of New Research on K-12 Online Learning
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Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning 2: A Review of State-Level Policy and Practice
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Exploring E-Learning Reforms for Michigan: the New Education (R)evolution
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Building an Online Learning Program
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Online Learning Resources
Presentations
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Virtual School Trends and Benefits
Presenters include:
- Susan Patrick, President & CEO, North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) - Opening and Moderator
- Kristie Clements, Program Manager, Georgia Virtual School
- Roger Hanley, Vice President, Academic Development at Insights Schools
- Dana Koch, Director of Global Services, Virtual High School Global Consortium
- Julie Young, President and CEO, Florida Virtual School
Elluminate Webinar September 2007: Virtual School Trends Presentation/Archived Webinar
Summary: Virtual schools and online learning are an increasingly common method of teaching and learning and providing accessibility options for learners and their families. On a global basis, K-12 and higher education institutions are establishing online schools and programs that aim to provide students with an effective educational experience. The panel discussion, led by Susan Patrick, President and CEO of NACOL, with virtual school administrators and teachers examines the trends and issues facing everyone in this new paradigm. Leading practitioners from virtual schools across North America provide insights and discuss their experiences on issues and impacts evidenced by their individual organizations. Issues range from student retention rates, program models, benefits, best practices and current trends.
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Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills
Susan Patrick, President and CEO of the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL)
Douglas Levin, Senior Director of Education Policy, Cable in the Classroom
NECC Presentation, June 2007 Summary: If we are serious about ensuring that all students master the skills they will need for life, work, and citizenship in the 21st century, the continued expansion of virtual schooling (blended and wholly online) will be required. At the same time, while virtual schools by their very nature foster some of the skills outlined by the Partnership, the goal is to become more intentional in the approach to teaching, learning and assessing the full range of 21st century skills. Many virtual schools are already providing the 21st century learning environments that today’s students so desperately want and need to be successful in life and the workplace.
Web Links
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