How can e-learning help support the effects of declining enrollment on diversity of courses in rural districts in BC?

[Richard Biel]

Hello,

I am new to the CEET Ning but am just finishing off my MET at UBC.  My inquiry question during my MET was how best to support marginalized students with technology.  This inquiry led me to certain conclusions regarding the use of technology in an alternative school setting (not constrained by the synchronous nature of mainstream public schools).  This allows us to be able to implement constructivism, authentic learning via project based and apprenticeship models far more readily.  We also have to incorporate principles of Multiple Intelligence, Universal Design for learning and more alternatives to assessment via criterion based assessment due to the diverse range of students we deal with (multi-age, learning disabled and complex psycho-social issues).  This model is supported by a team teaching environment split based on the skills and abilities of the instructor (in our case humanities/sciences(maths).

Given the challenges of declining enrollment (more multi-aged classrooms, more integration of special needs, reduced variety of courses and closing schools) I propose that an alternative school model may provide an alternative model to conventional fordist, didactic instructional models.

I would like to open the discussion to see whether the NEET community can critique and either refute or support such a model.

Regards,

Rich

[Glenn Moses]

Hi Rich,

Your inquiry question is the basis of the school I helped create and now work for. We are an alternative school setting (a hybrid model where the majority of the instruction is done online and students come in one day a week for four hours for face-to-face support; more if needed). This model has removed the synchronous nature of more traditional school settings allowing us to individualize instruction. We still have quite a ways to go (in a lot of areas but specifically...) in authentic learning and apprenticeships but we have met the Annual Yearly Progress goals of No Child Left Behind (we're in the US) for the second year in a row, graduation rates are up, and our school is growing (nearly 900 in grades 9-12 this year, up from less than 75 when I started her 9 years ago). Our ability to serve a diverse student population is one of our biggest strengths. We have a much higher percentage of students with identified special needs, specifically the autism community in our area refers to us as a resource, and our success with children with emotional disturbance is also evident.

Your question is in the process of being answered daily at my school and there is still much room for improvement. If you have any questions or if there's anything that I can do for you please do not hesitate to contact me. :)

[Richard Biel]

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your response. I actually work at a school that has been offering your model since 1994. The Sunshine Coast Alternative School is the only Grade 1-12 Alternative School in British Columbia. I have only been working for SCAS for the last 6 years and in that time we switched learning management systems from Nautikos to Moodle. Here is my eportfolio that explains my inquiry question in more detail http://www.wix.com/logan1701/richard-biel-portfolio.

In the last 6 years we have integrated assistive technology specifically Kurzweil 3000, Smartboards. We have expanded our apprenticeship programmes from culinary arts to include college level, carpentry, automotive and culinary arts with partner colleges (Vancouver Island University).

We are also the fastest growing school in our district (much to the chagrin of mainstream schools). I think our success stems from our exceptional staff (and support staff) our very supportive administration (gives us professional autonomy) and a willingness to do what works. Our motto is, "whatever it takes".

I recently presented our model of education to the School district with the hopes of up-scaling our learning model to the mainstream. Please find attached the powerpoint that I delivered last week.

I am interested in your model. Do you have any accompanying documentation/websites?

Regards,

Rich

[Glenn Moses]

Rich,

Wow. You guys have an amazing school. I am glad to hear that you are growing and scaling.

You can learn more about our school here: http://odysseyk12.org. We're about 3/4 of the way through yet another redesign of our site, if there's something you can't find or have questions about feel free to ask. If documentation will help out your study and you let me know what you need I'll see what we have to share. You can check out my semi-dormant website on accessibility, student advocacy, and online learning at mrmoses.org.


Richard Biel said:

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your response. I actually work at a school that has been offering your model since 1994. The Sunshine Coast Alternative School is the only Grade 1-12 Alternative School in British Columbia. I have only been working for SCAS for the last 6 years and in that time we switched learning management systems from Nautikos to Moodle. Here is my eportfolio that explains my inquiry question in more detail http://www.wix.com/logan1701/richard-biel-portfolio.

In the last 6 years we have integrated assistive technology specifically Kurzweil 3000, Smartboards. We have expanded our apprenticeship programmes from culinary arts to include college level, carpentry, automotive and culinary arts with partner colleges (Vancouver Island University).

We are also the fastest growing school in our district (much to the chagrin of mainstream schools). I think our success stems from our exceptional staff (and support staff) our very supportive administration (gives us professional autonomy) and a willingness to do what works. Our motto is, "whatever it takes".

I recently presented our model of education to the School district with the hopes of up-scaling our learning model to the mainstream. Please find attached the powerpoint that I delivered last week.

I am interested in your model. Do you have any accompanying documentation/websites?

Regards,

Rich

[Trevor Schofield]

Hi Rich
I posted this in another forum but it may be useful to you
cheers Trevor
full article HERE

Social Learning: New Frontier for Curricular Achievement

Nelson B. Heller, President, EdNET, MDR — Friday, December 03, 2010

Project K-Nect, a Qualcomm-funded pilot, which explored boosting student Algebra 1 competency through smartphone-empowered collaboration, has produced compelling results. I’ve become intrigued by the prospect that virtual study groups might help students learn, maybe even more effectively than their face-to-face counterparts. Some 150 Project K-Nect high school students in a high-need demographic in rural North Carolina showed impressive end-of-course gains compared to others in their district. Following the trail of breadcrumbs from Project K-Nect to other areas of K-12 education suggests to me that technology-based student and teacher collaboration are surfacing as important levers for curricular achievement gains. The phenomenon has a name too, “social learning,” and it’s not a new one, having deep roots in the study of human development and widespread adoption in face-to-face project and problem-solving groups. What’s new is that with wireless and hardware prices continually dropping, more student-owned devices, cloud computing, and the explosion of the Social Web’s tools, it’s not unrealistic to imagine a day when social learning might be a widely adopted secret sauce for curricular programs.