United States Distance Learning Association

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Distance Education in the Public High School Sheryl Brenner THE CHANGING FACE OF EDUCATION Educational needs are changing, as is being seen all over the nation as students are moving more and more toward competition with other students from around the world. The need for a complete and upper-level education is necessary if current students are to be able to compete with their world peers in the job market. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS NEED FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION It is now clear that distance education is as important for the healthy growth of the American high school as it is for the college and university-level educational facilities. High school students are faced with greater and greater demands to exit the 12th grade with better and better skills in reading, writing, and mathematics as well as basic job market skills. With all of the demands on high school students’ time, it is no longer a futuristic thought that these students need to have additional opportunities to get more complete high school education course opportunities or begin a Sheryl Brenner, Junior High Guidance Counselor and Adjunct Professor, 119 Ashley Lane, Satsuma, FL 32189. Telephone: (386) 530-0671. E-mail: sbrenner32189@gmail.com college education before completing high school. Distance education in the form of Nova- NET, Florida Virtual School, or online courses offered through the local community college for dual enrollment students has become an essential component of the public high school curriculum in Florida. Gone are the days when high school seniors could graduate and walk out of the doors of the school and find a moderatepaying job with job advancement opportunities that did not demand specific skills. Now, according to the United States Department of Labor Statistics, as cited by Land (2006), 20% of all careers will require an education at or above the bachelor’s degree level and 85% will require education and training past high school. With labor market numbers estimating that 85 percent of our high school students need skills beyond high school, distance education has become the key to success for many of these students. According to Thomas and Bowler (2005), “There were an estimated 45,300 enrollments in advanced placement or college-level courses offered through distance education in 2002–03.” The greatest need for distance education and educational opportunities that differ from the regular metropolitan high school are for those public education facilities that are farther away from higher education facilities or access is limited due to lower socioeconomic situations. Patrick (as cited by Thomas & Bowler, 2005) noted that “distance education is more prevalent in rural districts, where distance learning may be the students’ only available option. Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 29
And districts that already have students enrolled in distance education courses indicated that they have plans to increase these offerings” (para. 4). In a section of rural Florida it has become increasingly more difficult for high school students to dual enroll in community college courses due to limited transportation and economic hardship. These students are provided the opportunity to dual enroll through distance education courses offered through the local community college and accessed at the local high school. There is also the opportunity for grade forgiveness and alternative education through the use of NovaNET a distance digital education system that follows the Florida Sunshine State Standards and allows students to work at their own pace to complete high school classes for high school credits. The Florida Virtual School allows students to access high school classes through the Internet while at school or while at home. With distance education becoming more and more a part of the regular public high school, it gives the students a better chance of entering the labor market equipped with what is needed to succeed. NovaNET has provided a leading edge to a rural school district in Florida as it allows students to advance through high school classes and earn high school credits in alternative settings and at their own pace. Students in the high school Grade Forgiveness Program and those entering the adult education GED program utilize NovaNET to meet the requirement for graduation. NovaNET is a form of distance digital learning that is accessed via the Internet at a computer base that is equipped with Internet access. The program for NovaNET is purchased through the school district by contract. The computers and the Internet access are purchased and provided through grants to the Career Service department and Adult Education department. Students placed in alternative educational programs are also utilizing NovaNET to keep pace with their peers while they are excluded from the regular classroom. Homebound students are also benefiting from distance learning through the use of NovaNET. Without NovaNET or a similar product for distance education, these students and others like them would have limited or no access to education. “With this transition, there is also a shift toward increased accessibility for those who are disabled” (Howell, Lindsay, & Williams, 2003, para. 34). As Frydenberg (2000, as cited in Howell, Lindsay, & Williams, 2003) noted, “Many feel that eLearning holds great promise … for learners with physical and mental challenges” (para. 34). The Florida Virtual High School is another vehicle for distance education that has allowed high school students to advance at their own pace in their own space. High school students can access the Internet-based virtual high school through Internet access provided at the public high school or from home at an Internet access computer. The Florida Virtual High School offers high school students educational courses not always available in many rural Florida high schools. “Florida Virtual School, an Internet-based public school, offers a rigorous online curriculum for middle and high school students. Our fully accredited, award-winning program serves thousands of students around the globe!” (Florida Virtual School, 2002). Students have the opportunity to take English courses, languages including, but not limited to, Latin and Spanish, and courses in the sciences and mathematical fields. Students enrolled in the Florida Virtual High School have constant contact with their teacher through phone conversations and e-mail correspondence. Florida Virtual School students take accelerated or regular-length classes and they have the opportunity for honor credits. Dual-enrollment through the local community college has proved to be an educational tool like none other. Through 30 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4
Page 2 and 3: DISTANCE LEARNING FEATURED ARTICLES
Page 4 and 5: DISTANCE LEARNING MAGAZINE SPONSORE
Page 6 and 7: SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE Barriers and the
Page 8 and 9: THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW ECONOMY A de
Page 10 and 11: Table 4. Rank Order of the 10 Facto
Page 12 and 13: ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STRATEGI
Page 14 and 15: Table 5. Solutions to Barriers to D
Page 16 and 17: Table 5. Continued Social Interacti
Page 18 and 19: management. In L. Lau (Ed.) Distanc
Page 20 and 21: compensation, incentives and releas
Page 22 and 23: Pedagogy --Course Development --Cou
Page 24 and 25: Quality in Distance Education A Tri
Page 26 and 27: ability to understand and apply tec
Page 28 and 29: CONSTITUENCIES IN DISTANCE EDUCATIO
Page 30 and 31: control and responsibility for the
Page 32 and 33: Kirtley, K. E. (2002). A study of s
Page 36 and 37: distance education courses and Inte
Page 38 and 39: need, in a distance education class
Page 40 and 41: Using IT-Based Distance Education f
Page 42 and 43: to participate and share and exchan
Page 44 and 45: to a teacher and get to get filled
Page 46 and 47: Online High School Courses Preventi
Page 48 and 49: students. Fourth, a program that in
Page 50 and 51: independently (November, 2001). Thi
Page 52 and 53: tion. Both classes had a 100% compl
Page 54 and 55: that allow instructors and students
Page 56 and 57: own graduate experience as being fa
Page 58 and 59: tional delivery. The knowledge that
Page 60 and 61: APPENDIX B: WIMBA LIVE CLASSROOM IN
Page 62 and 63: Access to College for Nontraditiona
Page 64 and 65: coast through by quietly sitting in
Page 66 and 67: institutions. According to Shanika,
Page 68 and 69: Distance Education at the Universit
Page 70 and 71: Figure 1. UF/IFAS IT’s relationsh
Page 72 and 73: Figure 2. IFAS 2005-06 operating bu
Page 74 and 75: ida Division of Continuing Educatio
Page 76 and 77: Institute of Food and Agricultural
Page 78 and 79: Learning Objects What Are They, and
Page 80 and 81: Table 1. Goals of Learning Object D
Page 82 and 83: easoning as to how they are built,
Page 84 and 85:
INTERVIEW The Perils and Promise of
Page 86 and 87:
4. Limiting the enrollment in dista
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esponsibility to make sure that thi
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ence since it did not figure in the
Page 92 and 93:
INTERVIEW Here Come the Marines! An
Page 94 and 95:
demonstrate, within a set of proced
Page 96 and 97:
and this is significant, the Corps
Page 98 and 99:
Ends and Means Developing a Digital
Page 100 and 101:
artifacts one wants to include in t
Page 102 and 103:
New Media, New Learning School for
Page 104 and 105:
And Finally … continued from page
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United States Distance Learning Association

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