Online offerings

The administration at my school is thinking about the future of our online offerings. I came across this today.

Enrollment in online classes last year reached the 1 million mark, growing 22 times the level seen in 2000, according to the North American Council for Online Learning. That's just the start, says a new paper by the Hoover Institute, a conservative think tank at Stanford University. Its authors predict that by 2019 half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online. The efficiency of online learning accounts for this growth. But there's little research assessing the quality of these programs, which some experts say don't have enough official oversight.

Virtual schools see strong growth, calls for more oversight | csmonitor.com

Obviously online course content delivery is coming soon, but "half" of all courses by 2019? Part of me says that's actually low. I think more than half will be offered a lot sooner.

Living Archives

I've been following the development of the Living Archives Project because it's an authentic way to teach writing and because for years my students have been doing some local ethnography as well. The blend of traditional and Web 2.0 tools that Dave Cormier and the rest of the people on Price Edward Island are using is impressive. So as teachers start to wind down this school year and begin to think about the next academic year, this is an inspirational place to start.


View Larger Map