Issue Oriented
When is Virtual Real Enough?
By Kate Conley
As an editor, it is in my nature to over-consider the meanings of words. (In fact, I can hear some of you now asking, "Is over-consider a word?") So when it came time to write about online learning for this issue’s target topic, I had to stop and ponder all of the meanings, synonyms, and connotations of the terms connected with online learning.
I created a wordle to help me brainstorm about the topic. Though it didn’t appear larger in the wordle, the term I kept stumbling on was virtual. Merriam-Webster defines virtual as "being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted (e.g., a virtual dictator)."
That's precisely where we are with online learning as a concept. It’s not quite real somehow, at least not in many administrators', educators,' or parents' minds.
When I was in high school in San Francisco in the 1970s, I attended what then was a new kind of school. We didn't have regular 50minute classes, we had two "block" periods a day of two-and-a-half hours each, and we took the same two blocks for six weeks at a time, which allowed us to explore a subject in some depth. We did group projects, though it wasn’t called project-based learning, and we did our learning in and out of the classroom, though not online. We also had no letter grades, just self-evaluations and those written about our work by our teachers.
Back then, this was thought to be a radical way to educate students. Prospective parents asked, "How will my child get accepted to college?" and "How will we know what his/her GPA is?" Turns out colleges welcomed our graduates.
So when I hear the negative reactions to online learning, I get annoyed. No matter how you define it, accredit it, or label it, online learning is happening all around us. Students are getting a great deal of their information and constructing their learning in large part from what they do, see, read, and hear online, whether in a formalized course, a hybrid course, or a Google search.
My high school experience, though radical for its time, actually prepared me better for my work life than my college experiences did by allowing me to work in teams on a regular basis, to get out of the classroom more frequently, and to be responsible for documenting my own progress toward goals.
Let's look at online learning not as a less-than-real form of education, but as one that has the potential to expand learning and teaching experiences far beyond the four walls of our brick-and-mortar schools. Read how educators in Alaska, Arkansas, and Maryland are already doing this in "e-Learning Programs Come in All Shapes and Sizes" by Shawn Coyle, Thea Jones, and Shirley Kirk Pickle on page 12 and in Christine Greenhow’s Research Windows column, "Are We There Yet? Changing Trends in Online Learning and Internet Use," on page 35.
Kate Conley is ISTE’s periodicals director and the editor of L&L. Her first career was as an English teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s in English. Conley just celebrated her 10-year anniversary at ISTE.
Copyright © 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
September/October 2009 | Learning & Leading with Technology
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