Online Learning

How online instruction is transforming education

Thousands of K-12 schools across the nation are turning to online-learning providers for help with credit recovery, enrichment opportunities for gifted students, and for providing core curriculum classes in areas where there isn’t enough demand to justify keeping a teacher on staff.

Online learning is also meeting a need for students who have trouble learning in a traditional school environment. What’s more, it’s a cost-effective way for schools to address all of these areas, which is an important consideration in the current economic climate.

Some challenges to online learning remain, such as outdated requirements that fund schools based on "seat time," and concerns about the quality or accountability of online-learning programs. But as online learning grows in popularity among both teachers and students, it certainly is a viable and convenient option for many.

With the generous support of K12 Inc., we’ve assembled this collection of stories from our archives to help school leaders better understand the online-learning landscape—and how it’s transforming education as we know it.

--The Editors

eSchool News Articles

Funding advice for online learning
As online learning continues to gain momentum across the country, education experts are warning that policies surrounding this popular learning option are shaky at best. A new report by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is calling for a better policy and funding framework to make sure students are getting the best education possible. [ Read More ]
Arizona expands K-12 online learning
More Arizona students soon will be able to attend their classes online, reports the Arizona Republic: This year, the state has joined a national effort to increase the number of students participating in "virtual" lessons, whether it's inside a classroom with a teacher, in a computer lab with an aide, or at home with a laptop. [ Read More ]
Report: Online learning a 'lifeline' in rural areas
Online learning offers a lifeline--especially for rural schools, according to a recent study that also predicts "blended learning" could be the way most students learn in the future. [ Read More ]
ED: Blended learning helps boost achievement
A new analysis of existing online-learning research by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) reveals that students who took all or part of their class on line performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction. [ Read More ]
Study: Students want more online learning
Despite a growing interest in online learning among students, the availability of online classes in K-12 schools and districts hasn't kept pace with the demand, according to a new report from Project Tomorrow and Blackboard Inc. [ Read More ]
AASA hears what's about to disrupt schools
If Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen is right, half of all instruction will take place online within the next 10 years--and schools had better get into the online-learning market or risk losing their students to other providers… [ Read More ]
Internships help prepare future online teachers
As virtual schooling continues to surge in popularity, there is a growing need for new K-12 teachers who understand how to teach in an online environment successfully. To help meet this need, the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is teaming up with area colleges to pair teachers-in-training with its online instructors in a first-of-its-kind internship program... [ Read More ]
Why some students prefer virtual schooling
What motivates a growing number of virtual-school students to forgo the traditional school structure and take their classes entirely online? At the Virtual School Symposium hosted in mid-October in Phoenix by the North American Council for Online Learning, virtual-school students explained they like being able to progress at their own pace--and some said they appreciate being able to take classes not offered by their traditional, bricks-and-mortar school... [ Read More ]
Report challenges online-learning assumptions
Some critics of distance learning say face-to-face classes give students a better learning environment, but a recent Indiana University study found that online learners reported deeper approaches to learning than classroom-based learners... [ Read More ]
These traits make online teachers successful
What are the qualities that help instructors succeed when teaching online? That was the focus of a lively discussion at the 14th annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning Nov. 6... [ Read More ]
Report assesses K-12 online learning
Online learning is growing rapidly, but its continued growth will require specific policy and funding changes that focus on increasing educational choices and opportunities while ensuring high quality and improved student achievement, according to a new report… [ Read More ]
Feds issue new guide to evaluating online learning programs
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement has released its latest guide in a series of publications highlighting innovations in education. Titled "Evaluating Online Learning: Challenges and Strategies for Success," the new guide is designed as a resource for leaders and evaluators of K–12 online learning programs… [ Read More ]
Panelists: Online learning can help minority students
As online learning becomes more of a strategic resource for K-12 and higher-education institutions to supplement traditional courses, education leaders are starting to discuss how online learning can help support minority students’ instructional needs… [ Read More ]
'Hybrid' courses show promise
“Hybrid courses,” or courses that deliver part of their instruction in a traditional lecture manner and part in an online environment, are becoming increasingly popular among schools and colleges. Proponents of the concept say it capitalizes on the benefits that both face-to-face and online learning can provide—and now, there is some evidence to suggest that hybrid courses can help students learn more effectively… [ Read More ]
Reports reveal online learning's successes, needs
Online learning continues to grow at a rapid pace, with 30 states—six more than last year—now offering state-led programs or initiatives, according to the latest report presented by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL). But the group warns that more oversight of online learning programs is needed if this growth is to continue, and it urges administrators to make sure their online courses are equally accessible to all students... [ Read More ]
Report sees online schools as models for reform
The growing popularity and success of online learning is an important but "largely unnoticed" trend that reform-minded educators and policy makers could use to much greater advantage as they seek to improve public education in general, says a new report from Education Sector, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C... [ Read More ]
Online learning surging in popularity
Some 700,000 K-12 students studied online last year, and nearly two out of three school districts (63 percent) had one or more students enrolled in an online course, according to a 2007 survey by the Sloan Consortium. Another 20 percent of districts plan to launch such classes in the next three years... [ Read More ]
Mich. first to mandate online learning
Looking to improve the level of rigor in high school classrooms and better prepare students for the realities of the modern workforce, Michigan lawmakers have approved a bill that requires every student in the state to take part in some form of online instruction before they graduate… [ Read More ]