Required Online Highschool Classes in Idaho

"Last year, the (Idaho) state legislature overwhelmingly passed a law that requires all high school students to take some online classes to graduate..." (Richtel). After reading the New York Times article published about this event, I feel that both sides of the argument have good points.  The state policy makers feel that students need the experience of an online class to help them gain the skills they might lack when they are faced with an online classroom in future college classes. The teachers fear salary cuts so the state can strengthen it’s technology infrastructure so that these online classes can be taught. They also fear that lawmakers are forcing technology into the classrooms without their thoughts and professional opinions being taken into account.

The state legislature does have a really firm basis to make this type of educational legislation. The National Education Technology Plan does acknowledge that students that are in classrooms today are different and that the schools must adapt to meet their learning needs.

“The challenge for our education system is to leverage the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures. In contrast to traditional classroom instruction, this requires that we put students at the center and empower them to take control of their own learning by providing flexibility on several dimensions.”

                                                                        (U.S. Depart. Ed. . pg. 8 par.6) 

Students will never gain the skills that they currently need without experience. “It is reported that 90% of all higher ed. institutions offer Internet courses….Institutions of higher learning, particularly community colleges, report that withdrawal rates in online courses have surpassed traditional courses by at least 20% (Capra  2011). The state legislators in Idaho just want to make sure that their students have the skills that could help them succeed when they do get to college and experience an online environment. 

            The teacher’s concerns about this new law are legitimate. The article by Richtel states that the students and teachers are to be given laptops to aid them in producing and participating in these classes. One-to-one computer initiatives are very costly. Often it is the policy makers that fund these programs without any knowledge of what the teachers actually need. Teachers want technology in the classroom, but they also want to learn how to teach with it. The law that was passed should have a teacher professional development component to be anything close to being effective. Also, not every student needs a computer for an online class. Perhaps rather than buying every student a laptop, the schools can loan out a laptop to any student that is actually currently enrolled in the online class. This would mean less money spent on technology and no painful blows to teacher pay or benefits.

            Taking into account the Common Core State Standards that are on the verge of being implemented, it looks like more technology budget allocations will have to made in order to ensure the success of all students. It was said at a recent Oklahoma State Department of Education meeting by a reprehensive of the PARCC Consortium that students would not be able to pass the Common Core tests without basic computer knowledge. Technology skills are sprinkled all throughout the Common Core standards.  Everything is represented from basic research strategies to online publishing and blogging. Perhaps the one-to-one initiative could aid the teachers in getting their students to mastery level with the new standards.

Cited:

Richtel, Matt. "Teachers Resist High-Tech Push in Idaho Schools." New York Times [New York] 3 Jan 2012, n. pag. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/technology/idaho-teachers>.

Capra, Theresa. "Online Education: Promise and Problems ." Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 7.2 (2011): n. page. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no2/capra_0611.htm>.

United States. U.S. Department of Education. Learning Powered by Technology: National Education Technology Plan 2010 (Summary). Alexandria: ED Pubs, 2010. Web. <http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010-execsumm.pdf>.