Why K-12 School Districts Should Be Using Blended Learning?

A decade ago, who would have thought that online learning would capture the education domain in such a big way? According to the Babson Survey Research Group’s ninth annual survey, over 6.1 million students have taken at least one online course in the 2010 fall term, an increase of 560,000 students over the number reported the previous year.

In the book Disrupting Class, the authors state that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will go online. Now these are huge projections, warranting a look at just how K-12 schools expect to implement virtual learning. Some examples include:

1. Teaching through traditional classrooms while using online learning for supplementary material or homework, mainly through e-mail.
2. Splitting class activities into traditional and online formats by deploying learning management systems (LMSs).
3. Delivering most curricula online through LMSs and virtual classrooms, with some face-to-face sessions held from time to time.
4. Providing online labs via the use of virtual classrooms, due to shortage of teachers.
5. Self-blending in which, students take up online or distance learning courses along with their traditional, face-to-face curriculum.

Benefits of using e-learning in K-12 districts are continuously studied today. Here are a few use cases as cited in Innosight 2011 report, The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning, Profiles of emerging models:

The above results are promising. They show how e-learning can benefit K-12 districts when implemented well, and with full faculty acceptance.

Studying successful implementations is key. It’s also the easy part of the equation. The Babson Survey Research Group states that, “Less than one-third of chief academic officers believe that their faculty accept the value and legitimacy of online education. This percent has changed little over the last eight years.”

Even when faculty buy-in rises, teachers also face the added challenge of keeping up-to-date and tech savvy. In order to realize increased virtual learning adoption in K-12 districts, it’s important to choose comprehensive virtual classroom tools that don’t put a heavy training burden on the faculty.

There are many easy-to-use options, such as Adobe Connect, Elluminate, and WizIQ. Furthermore, integrating the CMS and virtual classroom tools such as offering the WizIQ Virtual Classroom inside Moodle has further opened the scope of e-learning in K-12 school districts. In this way, teachers familiar with Moodle don’t have to learn a whole new toolset.

Online learning has the potential to transform traditional brick and mortar learning a more student-centric, personalized, and productive experience. Large changes are rightly scrutinized when they appear, but e-learning keeps proving its worth.

Ready for a session? What do you think?