Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

online learning

Colleges and universities have been experimenting, to various degrees, with the concept of online learning for a few years. Now, in Arizona, the state is tentatively experimenting with "cyberschooling" at the grade-school level. (Twelve other states are experimenting with cyberschooling as well.) (The Arizona Republic: "3 more districts to teach teens via Net" - 09/02/03)

Three school districts - Peoria, Tempe Union and Tucson - have won approval from the State Board of Education to start educating high school students using the Internet. There are openings for two more district-run schools under an Arizona pilot program to see how well cyberschools teach children. Peoria and Tucson plan to start enrolling students in cybercourses right away, while Tempe Union officials will take this school year to plan for a virtual high school that opens next year.

The three districts join Deer Valley and Mesa, two districts that have been educating high school students via their home computers for the past four years, and seven charter cyberschools.

Officials expect thousands of students to enroll this fall in the 12 state-sponsored cyberschools. Such schools have no geographic boundaries, meaning children statewide can enroll in any of the programs.

These cyberschools look like a hybrid of formal public school and home-schooling, with students interacting with teachers and completing lessons online, while working, to some degree, at their own pace.

I am a bit concerned about access to these cyberschools, though. Students would need a computer (or ready access to one) in order to "attend" classes. Supporters of cyberschools are touting them as a means to reach students in far-flug, rural areas -- which means nothing if those students are low-income and don't have computers. One independent cyberschooling program mentioned in the Republic story is providing students with computers, but I don't see state-sponsored programs offering that, given the state's severe budget problems.