Barbour, M. K. (2007, June). Researching virtual schools. Presentation at the Illinois Virtual High School Summer Meeting, Springfield, IL.

1. Researching
Virtual Schools
Lessons Learned Over The
Past Five Years

2. Agenda
• Literature & research on virtual schooling
• Web-based design for secondary students
• Student perceptions of useful & challenging
characteristics of virtual schooling
• What students actually do during synchronous &
asynchronous class time

3. Part One
What Do We Know?
Literature and Research on
Virtual Schooling and
K-12 Online Learning

4. Sources
• Barbour, 2007
• Rice, 2006
• Cavanaugh, 2007

5. Barbour, 2007 - Literature
• Benefits of virtual schooling
– expanding educational access
– providing high quality learning
opportunities
– improving student outcomes
and skills
– allowing for educational choice
– administrative benefits,
particularly administrative
efficiency

6. Barbour, 2007 - Literature
• Challenges of virtual
schooling
– the high start- up costs
associated with virtual
schools
– access issues surrounding
the digital divide
– the approval or accreditation
of virtual schools
– student readiness issues
– retention issues

7. Rice, 2006 - Research
• versus student performance
in traditional, face-to-face
classrooms
• studies examining the
qualities and characteristics
of the teaching/learning
experience
– learner characteristics
– learner supports
– affective learning domains

8. Cavanaugh, 2007
• rates of successful completion
of distance education courses
have improved over time as
course design, instructional
practice, support services, and
student screening have been
refined
• knowledge of factors that
contribute to student success in
virtual courses has implications
for the types of support
services provided to students,
particularly counseling and
study skill development, and for
course design

9. Cavanaugh, 2007
• teacher preparation,
professional
development, and
instructional practices are
significant elements of
effective virtual courses
• new technologies and
tools are adopted in
virtual courses to
decrease the constraints
of the online environment
and increase affordances
for learning

10. Cavanaugh, 2007
• virtual school effectiveness
is influenced by
administrative practices
from the school level to the
individual student level

11. Bibliography
Barbour, M. K. (2007). What are they doing and how are
they doing it? Rural student experiences in virtual
schooling. Unpublished Dissertation, University of
Georgia, Athens, GA.
Cavanaugh, C. (2007). Effectiveness of K-12 online
learning. In M. G. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of Distance
Education (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Inc.
Rice, K. L. (2006). A comprehensive look at distance
education in the K-12 context. Journal of Research on
Technology in Education, 38(4), 425-448.

12. Questions???

13. Part Two
Effective web-based
design for secondary
school students
Experiences of Students,
Electronic Teachers,
and Course Developers

14. Why?
• there has been much research on web-based course
design
– Collis, 1999; Gallini & Barron, 2001-2002; Gunawardena & McIsaac,
2004; Kanuka, 2002; McLoughlin & Oliver, 2000; Stein, 2004
• however, this research conducted in online learning has
focused upon post-secondary institutions and corporate
America
– Gunawardena & McIsaac, 2004; Hill, Wiley, Nelson & Han, 2004; Kolbe
& Bunker, 1997;
• the problem with this focus upon an adult population is
that there is a difference between how adults learn
compared to the way adolescents learn
– Bright, 1989; Cavanaugh, Gillan, Kromrey, Hess & Blomeyer, 2004;
Knowles, 1970; Moore, 1973; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978

15. The Studies
• Three studies
– Teachers and developers
in Newfoundland (Canada)
• Jun – Aug 2004
– Developers in Illinois
• Nov 2004 – Feb 2005
– Students in Newfoundland
(Canada)
• May – Jun 2005

16. The Studies
• Teachers and developers in
Newfoundland (Canada)
– interviews with 6 individuals
• Developers in Illinois
– 17 completed surveys
– interviews with 4 individuals
• Students in Newfoundland
(Canada)
– interviews with 2 students
– focus group with 4 students

17. Asynchronous Instruction

18. Asynchronous Instruction

19. Asynchronous Instruction

20. Asynchronous Instruction

21. Asynchronous Instruction

22. Planning and preparation
Course developers
should prior to
beginning development
of any of the web-
based material, plan
out the course with
ideas for the individual
lessons and specific
items that they would
like to include.

23. KISS, but not the same way all the time
Course developers
should keep the
navigation simple
and to a minimum,
but don’t present the
material the same
way in every lesson.

24. Useful and personal
Course developers
should provide a
summary of the
content from the
required readings or
the synchronous
lesson and include
examples that are
personalized to the
students’ own context.

25. Clear directions and expectations
Course developers
should ensure
students are given
clear instructions
and model
expectations of the
style and level that
will be required for
student work.

26. Text, text and more text
Course developers
should refrain from
using too much text
and consider the
use of visuals to
replace or
supplement text
when applicable.

27. Appropriate selection of tools
Course developers
should only use
multimedia that
will enhances the
content and not
simply because it
is available.

28. Who’s your audience
Course developers
should develop
their content for
the average or
below average
student.

29. Do I know this
Course developers
should provide
opportunities for
student to review
what they should
have learned.

30. Bibliography
Bright, B.P. (1989). Epistemological vandalism: Psychology in the study of adult
education. In B.P. Bright (Ed.), Theory and practice in the study of adult
education: The epistemological debate (pp. 34-64). London: Routledge.
Cavanaugh, C., Gillan, K.J., Kromrey, J., Hess, M., Blomeyer, R. (2004). The
effectes of distance education on K-12 student outcomes: A meta-analysis.
Naperville, IL: Learning Point Associates. Retrieved on November 24, 2004
from http://www.ncrel.org/tech/distance/k12distance.pdf
Collins, B. (1999). Designing for differences: Cultural issues in the design of
WWW-based course-support sites. British Journal of Educational
Technology, 30(3), 201-215.
Gallini, J. & Barron, D. (2001-2002). Participants’ perceptions of web-infused
environments: A survey of teaching belies, learning approaches, and
communications. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(2),
139-156.
Gunawardena, C.N. & McIsaac, M.S. (2004) Distance education. In D.H.
Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational communications and
technology (pp. 355-395). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Publishers.
Hill, J.R., Wiley, D., Nelson, L.M. & Han, S. (2004). Exploring research on
Internet-based learning: From infrastructure to interactions. In D.H.
Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research on educational communications and
technology (pp. 433-460). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Publishers.

31. Bibliography
Kanuka,H. (2002). Guiding principles for facilitating higher levels of web-based
distance teaching and learning in post-secondary settings. Distance
Education, 23(2), 163-182.
Knowles, M.S. (1970). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy vs.
pedagogy. New York, NY: Association Press.
Kolbe, M.A. & Bunker, E.L. (1997). Trends in research and practice: An
examination of The American Journal of Distance Education 1987 to 1995.
American Journal of Distance Education, 11(2), 19-38.
McLoughlin, C. & Oliver, R. (2000). Designing learning environments for cultural
inclusivity: A case study of indigenous online learning at tertiary level.
Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 16(1), 58-72. Retrieved on
July 31, 2006 from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet16/mcloughlin.html
Moore, M.G. (1973). Toward a theory of independent learning and teaching.
Journal of Higher Education, 19(12), 661-679.
Stein, D. (2004). Course structure: Most important factor in student satisfaction.
Distance Education Report, 8(3), F1.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language (E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar,
Trans.). Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T. Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychologist
processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, E. Souberman, Eds.).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

32. Questions???

33. Part Three
Student Perceptions of
Online Learning
What do they find helpful and what
do they find challenging?

34. Sample
• eighteen schools
• a total of 38 rural
school students
completed the
survey between
February and May
2005

35. Findings
• when asked, if they were satisfied with taking virtual
school courses, 86.8% indicated that they were satisfied
• when asked if they were satisfied with all of their
experiences in their virtual school courses, only 5.3%
selected either of the two dissatisfaction options
• this was consistent with the low number of students
(7.9%) who indicated that they were less satisfied with
their virtual school courses compared to their
classroom-based courses
• 63.2% of students indicated they were more satisfied
with their virtual school courses
• a little surprising, given that 50% of students stated that
their virtual school courses were more difficult than their
classroom-based courses

36. Findings
• students reported to spending between three to
six hours per course each week
• only 10.5% of the students indicated that they
could access the Internet at home, while 34.2%
said they could accessed at a public library and
76.3% could accessed at a friend’s home
• 81.6% stated that the reason they took the
course through the virtual school was because it
was the only way the course was offered, 47.4%
wanted to try one, and 26.3% of the students
indicated it was a required course

37. Findings
Helpful tools in their virtual school course
Internet tool Mean response (1-5)
Virtual Classroom 4.82
E-mail 4.00
Discussion Forums 3.24
Interactive Items 3.03
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) 3.03
Audio Clips 2.84
Chat 2.74
Video Clips 2.50

38. Findings
Problems encountered in their virtual school course
Problem Percentage of students
who selected this problem
Technical problems 71.1
Lack of time 50.0
Difficulty understanding goals/objectives of the 34.2
course
Can’t find the information I need in order to be 15.8
successful
Lack of sense of community 13.2
Other – can’t always get in contact with the 7.6
instructor
Lack of adequate Internet knowledge 2.6
Other – slow Internet connection 2.6
Other – large classes 2.6

39. Findings
Factors important for success in a virtual school course
Percentage that responded Mean
Factor (1-4)
Not Somewhat Important Very
important important Important
Clear objectives 11.1 36.1 52.8 3.42
Well-organized content 2.6 7.9 33.3 67.7 3.67
Exercises 5.3 13.2 50.0 36.8 3.24
Quizzes 7.9 34.2 44.7 34.2 3.11
Tutor Feedback 7.9 18.4 34.2 2.83
Motivation of the student 21.6 70.3 3.62
Time management of the 10.5 21.1 76.3 3.78
student
Technology comfort level 42.1 44.7 3.35

40. Ramifications
• the ability of adolescents to learn in
independent learning environments is less
than that of adult learners because of
differences in their development
• the reality of the challenges being faced
by rural schools is forcing more and more
secondary school students into these
independent learning environments

41. Ramifications
• secondary student perceptions of the
helpful and challenging characteristics of
learning in this type of environment is the
consistency between what they have
indicated are the important factors for
success and what the various adult
populations have identified

42. Ramifications
• there may be differences in the things that
secondary students find useful and the
things that they find challenging compared
to their older counterparts
• how to best situate them for success
remains relatively the same: ensure that
learners are provided with well designed
and organized content, and provide them
with time management and motivational
skills to be able to work effectively in this
independent environment

43. Conclusions
• many adolescent learners probably won’t
possess these two skills
• more will need to be done at the secondary
school, and even middle school level, to prepare
students for learning in these environments
• this is particularly true in rural jurisdictions,
where many students do not have a choice on
whether or not to enroll in these virtual school
courses because this is the only means that
they have to access, in some cases, these
required courses

44. Questions???

45. Part Four
What are they doing and
how are they doing it?
Rural student experiences
in virtual schooling

46. Case Study - Beaches All Grade
• K-12 school
• student body of 108
• teaching staff of 15
• 12 students taking 8 different virtual school
courses
– some taking one, others taking two or three

47. Dissertation Study
1. What are the students’ experiences
during their synchronous time online?
2. What are the students’ experiences
during their asynchronous time online?
3. When students require content-based
assistance, where do they seek that
assistance and why do they choose
those sources?

48. Data Collected
• January to June 2006
• 4 monthly interviews
• 15 weeks of journal responses
• 4 different surveys
• 38 in-school classes observed
• 27 synchronous classes from 13
different courses observed
• 13 asynchronous course
management systems observed

49. Trends – Question 1
Synchronous Time
• majority of formal instruction
Image from http://www.cdli.ca/index.php?PID=AnnounceFull&NewsID=6352&PHPSESSID=f523be334ba73a54eab5707f738b18be

50. Trends – Question 1
Synchronous Time
• majority of formal instruction
• students tended to stay on task during this
time
Image from http://www.cdli.ca/index.php?PID=AnnounceFull&NewsID=6352&PHPSESSID=f523be334ba73a54eab5707f738b18be

51. Trends – Question 1
Synchronous Time
• majority of formal instruction
• students tended to stay on task during this
time
• students tended to communicate using text
rather than audio
Image from http://www.cdli.ca/index.php?PID=AnnounceFull&NewsID=6352&PHPSESSID=f523be334ba73a54eab5707f738b18be

52. Trends – Question 2
Asynchronous Time
• mostly seat work or time to
work on assignments
Image from http://www.waet.uga.edu/canada/canada.htm

53. Trends – Question 2
Asynchronous Time
• mostly seat work or time to
work on assignments
• students decided to work
less than half of the time
Image from http://www.waet.uga.edu/canada/canada.htm

54. Trends – Question 2
Asynchronous Time
• mostly seat work or time to
work on assignments
• students decided to work
less than half of the time
• students would complete
work in a collaborative effort,
particularly in the
mathematics and sciences
Image from http://www.waet.uga.edu/canada/canada.htm

55. Trends – Question 3
Turning for Help
• students did not use sources
of support provided

56. Trends – Question 3
Turning for Help
• students did not use sources
of support provided
• students primarily relied upon
each other for support

57. Trends – Question 3
Turning for Help
• students did not use sources
of support provided
• students primarily relied upon
each other for support
• students used their e-teacher

58. Trends – Question 3
Turning for Help
• students did not use sources
of support provided
• students primarily relied upon
each other for support
• students used their e-teacher
• students used their in-school
teachers

59. Implications for Practitioners
• to provide more engaging and
challenging asynchronous
activities to try and encourage
more on-task behaviors
Image from http://www.prism-magazine.org/nov00/briefings/teacher.jpg

60. Implications for Practitioners
• to provide more engaging and
challenging asynchronous
activities to try and encourage
more on-task behaviors
• to devise strategies that allow
students to get to know their online
classmates better in an attempt to
develop a sense of community
online
Image from http://www.prism-magazine.org/nov00/briefings/teacher.jpg

61. Implications for Practitioners
• to provide more engaging and
challenging asynchronous
activities to try and encourage
more on-task behaviors
• to devise strategies that allow
students to get to know their online
classmates better in an attempt to
develop a sense of community
online
• to inform students of, and when
and how to use, all of the various
sources of academic support that
are made available to them
Image from http://www.prism-magazine.org/nov00/briefings/teacher.jpg

62. Questions???

63. Contact Information
Michael K. Barbour
Assistant Professor
Department of Administrative and
Organizational Studies
Wayne State University
mkbarbour@gmail.com
http://www.michaelbarbour.com