TRENDS IN VIRTUAL EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES:A Snapshot

cyberschool

this learning network, based in eugene, oregon,(), provides since 1996 students in the lane county public school district with the opportunity to take courses online in subjects (latin, for instance) otherwise not available in their high school. currently, seven oregon school districts participate. the tuition of $300 is usually paid by the student’s home school, which also accepts the credits towards graduation. the cyberschool courses are accredited by nasc, the regional accreditation board.

virtual high school consortium

the concord consortium, founded in 1994 by a group of educators, developed several projects for innovative teaching, including in 1996 a learning network, he virtual high school consortium, with a $7.4 million grant from the department of education’s technology challenge program, plus corporate sponsorship. vhsc (/vhs) has 43 member high schools in 13 states sharing through the internet low-cost online courses online. these are mainly advanced academic courses and innovative core courses, technical courses and specialized courses for language minority students. the software lotus learningspace is used for course development and delivery.

virginia internet high school

the virginia internet high school (/va/) was founded in fall 1996 to help teenagers complete their high school education. enrolling through their local school district, which also is responsible for providing textbooks, internet access and work stations, students participate in classes from 20-25 students. courses are taught by certified teachers according to a curriculum approved by the virginia dept. of education. the high school diploma is issued by the school of enrollment. each course costs $500. unlike vhs, the target group are students who have already dropped out, and need to be coaxed beck into completing their education.

kentucky virtual high school

the kentucky virtual high school () opened in 1999 to make available statewide courses such as in foreign languages and math in which staffing shortages existed. despite its name, kvhs is not a virtual high school but a learning network, for it does not grant degrees or credits, (credit being given by the school of enrollment) and students can take courses only with the approval of their high school of enrollment. courses are given online, with an exam under a certified proctor at the end of the semester. private school students have to register through the public school in their district. as kvhs courses are provided through accredited schools and colleges, this learning network does not need an accreditation by itself. the fees, $500 for 1 credit, is paid by the public school district for public school students, and by the student for private school students.

california and florida have “virtual public schools” that offer both adults and teenagers the opportunity to get a high school degree online. if the teenager lives in a certain school district, tuition is paid by the state just as if the teenager attended a traditional high school, as required by law. in some cases, these schools demand that the teenager log in daily, or face truancy charges, and perform physical education requirements, with the parents affirming on a form that the 5 weekly hours of physical education were done.

choice2000 online high school

the choice 2000 online high school, based in perris, riverside county, ca () was founded in 1995 as "the first totally public online school in the united states of america." the school not only offered 7-12 high school education to adults but also to teenagers throughout the state still legally required to attend school. to fulfill state requirements and avoid charges of truancy, teenage learners must log in daily and fulfill state physical education requirements at home, with the parents certifying that the exercises were done. students also meet together weekly via mandatory synchronous sessions which are offered online through a series of chat rooms which offer real-time conferencing. students also work asynchronously on self-paced modules delivered via novanet. choice 2000 is an accredited charter school and its program fully certified. it issues the high-school diploma

florida high school

the florida high school () was founded by the orange county public schools and alachua county public schools to provide teenagers (notably drop-outs and children of migrant workers) and adults (homebound, incarcerated, etc) throughout the state with a high school education given entirely online. students from outside the state can attend, too and currently, several students from a private school in washington, dc are enrolled. the school is fully accredited. currently, diplomas are issued through the school of enrollment. fhs will begin issuing diplomas in 2001. courses are delivered through lotus’ learning space, and all students receive a world book encyclopedia cd-rom for research resource. however, the school does not, at this time, provide any other support: students are responsible for their own computer and connectivity. students will be required to take a face-to-face exam at the completion of their course. the project received a $1.3 million florida grant plus contributions from orange county public schools and alachua county public schools. ibm corporation, lotus corporation world book encyclopedia

there are a few private virtual high schools (academies) as well. some have previously provided distance education and were accredited by a regional association of schools and colleges, such as laurel springs school. others have a lesser accreditation, such as clonlara in ann arbor, michigan, willoway in pennsylvania and denniston online internet school in los angeles. others are still in the process of obtaining any accreditation. both denniston and clonlara have provided distance instruction by correspondence before going “virtual” and also have day-school programs. willoway, by contrast, exists only “virtually.”

dennison on-line internet school

dennison academy was founded in los angeles as a private secondary school in 1981, and awards high school diplomas by examination since 1986. the school created in 1999 the dennison on-line internet school () for middle and high school english literate students worldwide. the school is based in los angeles, ca. the tuition is $6,000 (excluding materials) for 12 months of access. the online school is accredited by aiiec. the website of the school warns that while community colleges accept its diplomas, four-year colleges and the military may not do so without further proof of competency.

clonlara school compuhigh

the clonlara academy was founded in 1967 in ann arbor, michigan, as an innovative private day school. it soon developed a distance-learning curriculum

for american families living abroad and unable to have their children attend an american school. this distance learning curriculum is now also available online

(“compuhigh”) at . compuhigh only refers to the medium of instruction, for degrees are granted by clonlara academy. the school may aim at foreign learners interested in an american education, for its website has a japanese-language banner headline. the compuhigh school offers a regular school curriculum online. by opting to sign up for one or more courses, a clonlara student can access clonlara school mentors (teachers) and other students. the cost is for residents of the u.s. and its territories, mexico or canada, or for those with apo or fpo addresses are: $ for families with one student enrolled, $600.00 for families with four or more students enrolled. high school seniors enrolling for the first time in clonlara school: $1100.00. the school is accredited by the national private school accreditation alliance.

willoway school

willoway school, based in south heidelberg, pa, () was founded in 1995 to provide 6-8 grade instruction to students from the united states. it also has several students from the philippines. according to student testimonials on the school website, the school appeals to gifted but socially awkward students who feel that they can learn better at home through the internet than in a school where other students marginalize them. since students must transfer to a high school later, accreditation is very important and seems ambiguous. the school is accredited since 1995 by aciie, with a pending application for accreditation by the national private schools association group.

village learning center

the village learning center (/), a degree-granting virtual high school founded in 1997, is accredited by aciie but not yet by the nasc, the regional accreditation board. little information about the number of students and other requirements was available from their website.

4. trends in new york state

in new york state, traditional schools and colleges use online education as well. both suny institutions and private colleges offer courses and degrees that can be obtained entirely through online courses. however, although many schools down to grade schools use the internet in many ways to assist instruction, virtual courses and schools below the college-level are barely beginning to emerge, a situation reflecting probably the greater conservatism of the state’s educational administration.

on the college-level, new york state has a long tradition, comparatively speaking, of providing distance education, and now online education. in october 2000, peterson’s, a respected education guide (), listed 19 public and private colleges and universities in new york state that provided online courses and/or degrees.

empire state college

empire state college, (), was founded in 1972 to provide adult learners with higher education through a format combining distance education and regular meetings with instructors. esc also has a unit in which degrees can be obtained entirely through distance courses, the center for distance learning. cdl teaches currently about 6,000 students, mainly through traditional print-based correspondence courses, with e-mail exchange for an asynchronous discussion of issues. a rising number of courses are available online. so far, only some degree programs (mainly associates and bachelor in human services and in marketing) are available entirely online. these courses also, to overcome the isolation of the distance learner, have a “meet your classmate” page. some have a chat room component requiring the student to respond to questions and comments made by other students. but a full change to online courses is prevented by the requirement to provide broad access to underprivileged groups, who often do not have access to the equipment needed to participate in an online-course. tuition is the same as for suny classes, $113/undergraduate credit hour.

suny learning network

the suny learning network, (), is a consortium of public colleges and universities which offers about 500 courses online every semester, provided by 40 suny institutions. it was begun in 1995 with 119 students in 8 courses, and enrolls now 20,000. these online courses are optional, hence require the student to invest into a fairly sophisticated computer, modem and internet access. some courses have additional computer requirements. the learning network does not grant degrees, and students must go through the usual procedure to transfer the credit to their institution of enrollment. the learning network offers among else a large number of education courses teachers need to gain permanent accreditation and for continuing education.

private universities also offer online courses, for instance syracuse university and rpi. unconstrained by the requirement to provide access for economically disadvantaged groups, both private universities are using much more sophisticated equipment.

rensselaer polytechnic institute

the rensselaer polytechnic institute’s professional and distance education program, or rsvp, () founded in 1987, provides by 2000 15 master’s degree programs and 16 certificate programs, and several graduate and non-credit distance courses. many lectures are videostreamed on the internet, allowing access at any time, with asynchronous communication with instructors through e-mail and chatrooms. though these courses are available to individual learners, a number are delivered to corporations such as at & t, consolidated edison, general electric etc., which provide learning sites and equipment to their employees. students are expected to have access to a high-performing p.c. fees are high, as well, $700 per credit-hour, just like campus-based students.

syracuse university

syracuse university’s independent study degree program, or isdp (distanceed), offers 2 undergraduate and 10 professional master’s programs (engineering, social work, library science, etc.). the format is that of online instruction, with some courses also available through video streaming, and a mandatory limited residency. tuition same as regular university students, $371/credit for undergraduates and $613 for graduates, additional to the fees, room and board during the residencies of $100/day, plus books and internet charges.

on the k-12 level, the internet has a great impact on the learning experience of many children. for instance, at the viola elementary school in suffern, n.y., students have access not only to computers in each classroom but to ibook laptops and a digital video camera. in addition to learning basic computer skills, students are using more complex programs, including word processors, spreadsheets, and microsoft powerpoint. (new york times, 5 october 2000)

most schools have now home pages with useful information for students and parents, such as the guilderland school district ().

a complete list of schools with online homepages is found notably on the new york schools reciprocal insurance website at /

some high schools, such as stillwater central schools in stillwater, ny, offer seniors the opportunity to take credit-bearing college classes offered by hudson valley community college. but the credits thus granted are college credits, not high school credits. in 1997, the broome-tioga boces created luminet, (/), a learning network for 15 participating area schools. in september 2000, the liverpool central school district opened the virtual school, through which students can earn high-school credit in required and elective courses, () counting towards a regents’ diploma.