Best Practices

Technology has rapidly advanced over the years allowing both teachers and students in the K-12 setting to explore distance education.  According to Greensburg (1998) what is key to having a successful distance education class in the K-12 setting is having creative and well-informed teachers that can successfully push and encourage students to learn independently.  One part of a teachers job is to individualize the instruction for the independent student and distance education classes allow students to take courses that they may not have had access to in the traditional setting.  These online classes also encourage students to retake classes in order to obtain the proper credits to graduate on time (Horn, 2010).  Research has shown that students with disabilities who enroll in online learning environment have improved in their school performance along with general and advanced students as well (Vasquez & Serianni, 2012).  In a meta-analysis study of comparing traditional education to online instruction “students’ success within an online environment seems to be linked to their level of independence” (Vasquez & Serianni, 2012, p. 36).

In my personal theory of learning, in order for students to be independent they need to be motivated to complete the work in both a traditional and online setting.  The research has confirmed that independence is a key factor in online instruction.  Part of keeping up with the best practices of distance education, teachers must be well informed and creative in making their lessons or modules to drive students to independently complete their work.  It is equally important that students are comfortable communicating with their teacher and classmates to ask questions if they are unclear on what is expected.  This is only another component of the student being independent in a distance education course.                   

References:

Horn, M. B. (2010). K-12 online education is increasingly hybrid learning. Distance Learning, 7(2), 18-20. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA234309937&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=654e5376c2cbffcaf2f50fb5e5b5496c

Greenburg, G. (1998). Distance education technologies: Best practices for K-12 setting. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 17(4), 36-40. doi:10.1109/44.735862

Vasquez, E., & Serianni, B. A. (2012). Research and practice in distance education for K-12 students with disabilities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 31(4), 33-42. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1283786951?accountid=12085