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[ Lesson Plans ]
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Online courses broaden access
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by Nancy Caronia
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High school students need the advantage of advanced placement, foreign language, and other preparatory college courses as well as state-of-the-art technology in order to competitively apply for college and enter the workforce after graduation. Unfortunately, not every school district is able to offer the extras of AP courses or have the budgets to stay technologically up to date.
Particularly when the school district is located within an economically challenged city or covers rural, suburban, and urban areas, how can administrators find ways to serve its diverse student populations while staying within budget and without stretching already overworked teachers too thin?
If the student is fortunate to attend classes within the Pennsylvania-based Quaker Valley School District, he has an administrative staff and school board willing to put technology initiatives and quality education first. By the time QVSD made the decision to outsource some of its curriculum, it had already implemented a technology plan that was a proven success in helping with the quality and quantity of students' work.
Outsourcing Coursework
QVSD, which serves 11 socially and economically different municipalities, accommodates approximately 2,000 K-12 students each academic year. In 1999, the district received $5 million in grant monies to lease a set of laptops for all of the district's high school students. When students enter the ninth grade, they each receive a laptop to support them in keeping up with coursework. Today, QVSD buildings are wireless, and there are hotspots throughout the community in order to assist students who have no access at home maintain a competitive edge.
"The district is diverse. We have students that are economically well off and students who have no plumbing in their homes. We wanted to provide all of our students with access," said Dr. Joe Marron, senior director of administrative services, QVSD.
Once the laptops and wireless connections were in place, the district examined online course curriculum from a variety of outside sources, crunched the numbers, and came up with a plan to prepare students for their future after high school. According to Marron, the Apex Learning curriculum was the best overall fit.
"They have worked with us to create courses that have few hiccups and are customer responsive," he said. "The online curriculum is transparent for the students. Plus, the quality of the curriculum and the online instructors is excellent."
In QVSD's exploration, the district "investigated how Apex Learning students did on their AP courses and the fact that it was affordable came after we knew it was high quality instruction," noted Linda Conlon, secondary academic specialist, QVSD. "The six AP courses in different subject areas would not be possible in a face-to-face environment here. QVSD could not afford to hire teachers to teach those; the cost of Apex Learning was cost effective for the district."
According to Cheryl Vedoe, president and CEO, Apex Learning, 40 percent of high schools don't offer in-house AP programs. "Often, they don't have the teachers or enough students to make an AP course economically feasible," she explained.
When Apex Learning opened its virtual doors in 1997, it began by offering AP courses via distance learning. Today, it boasts that more than 1 million student enrollments in more than 4,000 school districts have taken an Apex Learning online course.
In the last few years, Apex Learning has expanded its offerings to include core curriculum such as physical science, chemistry, writing and grammar essentials, reading essentials, American literature, British and world literature, U.S. government and politics, U.S. and global economics, geography and world cultures, music appreciation and physical education via digital transmission.
The online curriculum provides an alternative to traditional programs, plus it can serve as a credit recovery program for students who need credits to graduate or who want to move more quickly through coursework. Additionally, online curriculum is being used more frequently as a means to keep at-risk students in school.
Expanded Opportunities
In addition to providing these types of curriculum for brick and mortar schools, Apex Learning provides curriculum for charter and virtual high schools, according to Vedoe. All coursework takes place via digital transmission over the Internet, which makes it an attractive option for home-schooled students.
In the case of QVSD, students already have a full course load, but those that are ambitious schedule an Apex Learning digital course as part of their sixth period, traditionally considered a study hall. "Because QVSD is a relatively small district, it's a good way for us to expand our opportunities for our students," said Conlon. "The Apex Learning online curriculum gives us an opportunity to help individualize instruction for students. When schedules don't mesh or students come from another school district and need to catch up in certain subject areas, we can have them do so via an online course. We also had a bright freshman who wasn't quite ready for AP History take an American civics class for 11 and 12th graders via Apex's core curriculum."
Additionally, because of the way that Apex Learning sets its online curriculum, students can take courses during sixth period or take their laptops to an alternative location after school and do the online course elsewhere.
"Students in our courses are in regular contact with teachers. Unlike in face-to-face classrooms where teachers lecture at the front of the room, the majority of lectures are delivered in digital format," said Vedoe. "Everything we do is designed to recognize the value of the teacher and is used to engage teachers and students. The teachers that work with us find that their role is different. Teaching has evolved from sage on the stage to the guide on the side."
MORE INFO
Apex Learning apexlearning.com
Quaker Valley School District qvsd.org
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