Electronic Age Sparks Online Learning Opportunity for Lacey High School Students

Lacey Township High School students will soon have the ability to take courses from the comfort of their bed or kitchen table as the district gears up to institute an online learning program this September.

“We are of course in the electronic age. Our students are well in the electronic age probably more so than any of us sitting in this room,” High School Principal James Handschuch said during Monday’s school board meeting.

The district needs to get on board with the ever-present importance of technology in the classroom by developing a formatted curriculum where teachers assist the learners with the use of technology, he said.

Online classes will prepare students for the learning technology of post-secondary study as well as provide the opportunity to learn at their own pace and give students the flexibility to learn 24/7, Guidance Supervisor Deborah Desaulniers said.

“After graduation, whatever careers or schooling (the students) embark on, they will need technology,” she said.

The program would be available for students who are interested in taking honors or AP courses that are unavailable during the school day. It could help resolve scheduling conflicts, students requiring credit recovery for failed courses, enrichment opportunities and offer assistance to homebound students.

“We’re very excited about the online learning opportunity,” Board member Linda Downing said. “For our very active students, this is quite a real good opportunity for them to pursue more AP courses than they would be able because of their schedules. Some of them, it’s amazing what they do.”

The Internet is native to today’s student, she said. They automatically go onto the computer to research and have questions answered. The program would shift responsibility for learning to the student but with guided assistance.

“Today’s digital learners, today’s students online look a lot different from, for example, my age growing up. These students are performing in a digital landscaping,” she said. “It’s a very different academic experience. It’s teaching to the 21st century learner.”

Prior to kick starting this initiative, the district sought community feedback through three surveys—for students, parents and staff. Some of the findings are below:

• Eighty-three percent of the staff has participated in an online learning experience.
• Fifty-four percent of the staff feels that students would benefit from online earning.
• Seventy-nine percent of parents’ feel online learning is moderate to very important for their children’s future.
• Ninety-three percent of students spend most of their time at home on the computer.
• Ninety-three percent of students have reported that they never participated in an online course.
• Forty-two percent of the students said they would take an online course today.
• Thirty-eight percent would take Italian if offered online.

To garner more support from the teachers, the district will have to educate them, Handschuch said.

“When they see the success that our students are going to have and their involvement, the bind will be much higher,” he said. “Of course there’s the old saying that if you put the computers in the building, you don’t need teachers any more. That is not the truth.”

To start, the district will not be utilizing in-house instructors for the online learning classes but staff will be facilitating and assisting. The district’s goal is for Lacey staff to eventually assume the role of online teachers for the proposed Lacey Township Online Learning Academy, Desaulniers said. Training for the staff is only two hours.

The district also hopes to have every graduate to eventually have an online learn experience, she said.

The online courses would hold the same academic weight as traditional classroom coursework, Handschuch said.

“The rigor is there,” he said.

Classes that will be available online will be those that are not presently available in the high school, he said. The courses range from foreign languages, science, humanities and electives.

“There’s a pretty vast array in all the disciplines,” he said.

For the program, designated staff—guidance counselors, technical support and facilitators—will closely monitor the students taking online courses to ensure success, he said.

“The students across the country are ready,” said Bruce Friend of Friend Consulting, LLC. Friend is a K-12 online learning expertise and is being utilized by the district as a consultant for the program. He has worked with districts across the country.

The majority of students who have not taken online courses state that it was because they did not know it was available to them, he said.

“A good online course is going to have both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for the student. The course content is there,” Friend said.

From the privacy of a student’s bedroom to the high school’s media center, the student would be interacting with the content, whether it is lessons to be read, multimedia, videos or other interactive tools, he said.

Teachers will also have the ability to utilize the phone and live webinars, he said.

“It’s not sit in front of the computer and just read and respond. That’s about every bit exciting as giving students a textbook and telling them to read and respond,” Friend said. “We’ll make sure there is a high degree of interaction between the teacher and the student. That’s one of the benchmarks in making sure it’s a quality program.”

Students won’t be charged for the classes, although the district were advised to have the families of students taking courses for credit recovery pay a $200 fee that they would get back upon successful completion, Handschuch said.

The cost to the school district varies depending on the contract that gets signed, he said. That number is not yet available but funds are available as the initiative was taken into account during the budget process.

Going into the 2012-13 school year, students will be able to take one course at a time. Once that course is completed, they can take another. Although there is an exception for homebound students, Handschuch said.

The district is still working on the schedule but courses will be taken during the day as well as during period 12, which is after school, he said.

“Our hope is for students to be confident enough to do it at their own leisure,” he said.

Board member William Quist said the new initiative is “exciting.”

“I think that’s where we are as a nation. I think that’s where we are as a world,” he said.

Making online learning a reality in Lacey will put the district ahead of the curve, he said. Quist particularly liked credit restoration because it acts as a reprieve for struggling students.

“For the AP classes, it’s a great opportunity. Sign up and take a class and you know, get ready to do some work,” Handschuch said.

Prior to initiating the program, a meeting will be held for parents. Students will begin enrolling in courses in September. Contact the school district to participate in the surveys, which is ongoing.