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Virtual High School(School Library Journal Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Just what constitutes an online learning experience? Thats the question facing the Michigan Department of Education, after state legislators approved a measure requiring every Michigan high school student to have some online schooling prior to graduation. The requirement stipulating an online experience, which was adopted March 30, along with more rigorous curricular standards across the board, has drawn attention as the first of its kind in the country. Supporters herald the move as marking a new trend in public education, while more skeptical observers question whether an online requirement is necessary given todays tech-savvy teenagers. When we hold our kids to high standards, they will do great things, said Governor Jennifer Granholm in a statement following the measures final passage. This new curriculum will help give Michigan the best educated workforce in the nation and bring new jobs and new investments to our state. Granholm had asked Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan and the state board of education to develop tougher curriculum standards last fall. The legislature had debated the issue until last month, when both chambers approved the new requirements, which will be in place for incoming eighth graders this fall. Jamey Fitzpatrick, president of Michigan Virtual University, a private, not-for-profit online course provider, which also administers the Michigan Virtual High School (MVHS), believes the new online instruction initiative has far-reaching implications. This is a progressive policy that legitimizes online learning and what 21st-century skills are all about he says. Fitzpatrick also expects the move will prompt a discussion about online learning among legislators, educators, and parents in other states. Launched in 2000 and funded by the state, MVHS offers online courses in various subjects from AP calculus to Spanish, as well as a test prep program. MVHS works directly with local districts and has enrolled more than 20,000 high school students in semester-length courses this year. The new requirement will likely boost enrollment at MVHS, but school districts will likely try to create their own solutions, too, according to Fitzpatrick. But not all educators are as enthusiastic about the online learning mandate. Im uncomfortable with any educational requirement that focuses on medium before content, says Jeffrey Hastings, media specialist at Highlander Way Middle School in Howell, MI, and SLJ s Test Drive columnist. Requiring that kids take a course online is as silly to me as requiring that kids take a course on videotape or via telegraph. And do kids really need to take an online course so that they can 'figure out how thats done? Clark Heath, a media specialist at Southfield-Lathrup High School in Lathrup Village, MI, is also skeptical. There isnt any content. Will [the online instruction] be supplied through a university setting? Will it be purchased? The education department is expected to define the online experience by this summer, says Fitzpatrick. Meanwhile, the states school library community is promoting its own Web project. Through a state grant, the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME), in conjunction with the Michigan Library Consortium, is creating an online course to guide K12 teachers in using databases. Heath, who is MAMEs vice president of continuing education, says the professional development program will be field-tested in August and online come the fall. |