Clark, T., & Barbour, M. K. (2015, April). Eight trends in K-12 online and blended learning and their implications for research. A Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute webinar, Lansing, MI.

1. Eight Trends in K-12 Online
and Blended Learning and
Their Implications for Research
Tom Clark Michael K Barbour
Clark Consulting Sacred Heart University
4/23/2015 18 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning

2. About the Book
• Online, Blended and Distance
Education: Building Successful
Programs in Schools
(Tom Clark & Michael K. Barbour,
Co-Editors, Stylus, 2015)
• Stylus Online, Blended &
Distance Ed Series
(Michael G. Moore, Editor)
4/23/2015 28 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning
Book Wiki Portal: bit.do/obdewiki
(onlineblendedschooling.wikispaces.com)

3. 4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 3
Wiki Portal:
bit.do/obdewiki

4. About the Book
We asked two questions:
1. What can North American educators learn
from international K–12 educators, and vice
versa, about building successful programs?
2. What are some key policy & practice issues
in the field that might be addressed through
advice from experts and program leaders?
Then went about finding the people & programs
who could help us answer these questions
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5. Eight Key Trends
• The book concludes with 8 key trends based
on a synthesis of chapter findings & scanning
4/23/2015 58 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning
© 2015 Stylus Publishers,
M. K. Barb our & T. Clark

6. 4/23/2015 68 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning
Global

7. 50-nation iNACOL survey (2011)
4/23/2015 78 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning
Global
Every continent
except South America
represented
North America
(4)
Oceania
(2)
Europe
(21)
Asia &
Middle East
(11)
Africa
(7)
45 NATIONS PROFILED

8. 4/23/2015 88 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning
Case studies for book (2015)
Global
Australia
(Harris, Ch 14)
South Korea
(Kim & Seo,
Ch 16)
Nepal
(Cavanaugh,
Ch 13)
Canada
(Smallwood ,
Reaburn &
Baker, Ch 12)
USA
(Oliver & Weeks,
Ch 8; Yang & Rice,
Ch9; Revenaugh,
Ch 10; Ebert &
Powell, Ch 11)
UK
(Boulton &
Hasler
Waters,
Ch 15)

9. Global
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 9
ISSUES CHAPTERS
Ch 2 Quality Online
Teaching
Kathryn Kennedy & Leanna
Archambault
Ch 3 Instructional Design Christy Keeler
Ch 4 Tech Infrastructure
and Tools
Rob Darrow
Ch 5 Research on K-12
Online Learning
Richard Ferdig, Cathy
Cavanaugh, & Joseph
Freidhoff
Ch 6 Cyber Charter
Schools
Victoria Raish & Ali Carr-
Chellman
Ch 7 Ensuring Equitable
Access
Ray Rose, Alese Smith, Karen
Johnson, & David Glick

10. Open
Growing use of open ed resources & LMS
(Darrow, Ch 3) Source: www.deltainitiative.com
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11. Open
Growing use of open learning environments
(Revanaugh, Ch 10)
Source: Connections Education
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12. Mobile
Robust broadband & wifi needed for mobile
learning; connectivity gaps in schools
(Rose et al, Ch 7;Cavanaugh, Ch13)
• National curriculum and assessment
initiatives may drive increased connectivity
• ConnectEd
(USA)
• Smart
Learning
(S. Korea)
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13. Mobile
Developing nations catching up in mobile
access; may “leapfrog” ed technologies
(Cavanaugh, Foreword & Ch 13)
Mobile
Subscriptions
by Economic
Development
Level
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 13

14. Blended
Emergence of K–12 blended learning has
brought online learning into mainstream
(Clark & Barbour, Ch 1; Revanaugh, Ch 13. Ebert & Powell, Ch 11)
Adapted with permission from "Classifying K–12 blended learning,"
by Heather Stakerand Michael B. Horn, © 2012, Innosight Institute.
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 14

15. Blended
Outside the U.S., many nations have
different paradigms for digital learning
– Little full-time K-12 online learning
– Online learning used when F2F unavailable
– Any digital tech use may be considered “e-
learning” (Clark & Barbour, Ch 1; Smallwood, Reaburn &
Baker, Ch 12; Cavanaugh, Ch 13; Harris, Ch 14; Boulton &
Hasler-Waters, Ch15; Kim & Seo, Ch 16; Barbour & Clark, Ch17
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 15
DIGITAL WORLDWIDE…
LEARNING
ENVIRON-
MENTS
CURRIC-
ULUM
RESOUR-
CES
REPOSI-
TIORIES
LITERACY

16. Facilitated
Important new roles for K-12 teachers as
facilitators, guiding and shaping learning
• Primarily provide
scaffolding, support
and intervention.
• Effective practices
(Kennedy &
Archambault, Ch. 2);
Certifications and
Endorsements (Yang &
Rice, Ch. 9)
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 16

17. Personalized
Trend toward increasing
personalization via technology
• Personalized learning
(Revenaugh, Ch 10)
• Individualized learning
(Smallwood, Reaburn
& Baker, Ch 12; Harris, Ch14)
• Authentic collaborative activities
(Boulton & Hasler Waters, Ch 15)
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 17

18. Adaptive
Online learner interactions increasingly
used to adapt teaching and learning
• Example: Nexus Academy
– dynamic F2F grouping of
students to learn a specific
objective based on CC-
aligned embedded testing
– use of adaptive testing to
personalize learning program,
track progress
– (Revenaugh, Ch 10)
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 18

19. Evidence-Based
• Ask the right questions to build
evidence-based practice, such as:
• Under what conditions does
K-12 online and blended
learning work best?
Rather than asking:
• Does it work better
than face-to-face?
(Ferdig, Cavanaugh, & Freidhoff, Ch 5)
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20. Evidence-Based
Avoid comparing apples and oranges
• Case study example: Australian students do
better in online than in F2F course, with same
teacher and curriculum (Harris, Ch. 14)
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•Early Dropout
•High Achievers
•Highly Motivated
•College Prep
Requirement

21. Evidence-Based
Online is complex; blended even more so
(Ferdig, Cavanaugh & Freidhoff, Ch 5)
4/23/2015 21
8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning

22. Evidence-Based
Share emerging research findings and use
them to support evidence-based practice
• Synthesize research on effective teaching
practices and changes needed in teacher
roles (Kennedy & Archambault, Ch. 2)
• Case study example: Support effective
teaching practice via Boise State
endorsement program and State of Idaho
certification (Yang & Rice, Ch. 9)
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RESEARCH → PRACTICE

23. Evidence-Based
Build researcher & program collaboration
to improve educational results
• Work to build trust-based
relationships between
programs and researchers
• Share data for educational
research related to
program improvement
(Cavanaugh, Ch. 13)
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24. Thank You!
Tom Clark
Clark Consulting
tom@tomclarkconsulting.net
4/23/2015 8 Trends in K-12 Online & Blended Learning 24
Michael K Barbour
Sacred Heart University
mkbarbour@gmail.com
Book Wiki Portal: bit.do/obdewiki
(onlineblendedschooling.wikispaces.com)