K-12 School Computer Networking/Chapter 25/Distance Learning to enhance current teaching practices in the K-12 classroom curriculum

Distance Learning to enhance current practices in the K-12 classroom curriculum
Sadaf A Durrani

Introduction
Distance learning is an effective means of delivering education material to students who are not physically located in the same school, state or country. This means have opened up a new area for educators to interact within. No longer will the age old adage of “walking 5 miles to get to school” be true as students will be able to access educational material within their home settings rather than being confined to a school classroom. There are two main branches involved in distance learning which are synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning involves all participants being present at the same time while asynchronous learning environments do not require the participants to be present at the same time and allows for individual student growth. Some examples of synchronous learning environments would be web conferencing and asynchronous environments would be email, message boards or forums and video learning. In addition to distance learning E-learning (electronic learning)(http://www.k12.com) a component of distance learning involves almost no person-to-person interaction rather coursework is delivered to the student and do not require any interaction between the course instructor and the student as the material is readily available.

It cannot be disputed that distance learning has opened up a completely new area of opportunities for people who may not have been able to attend college due to a variety of personal or financial reasons and now is able to work towards accomplishing their goals. One of the benefits of this particular learning style is that one is able to be in control of their own schedule and timetable rather than is restricted to a classroom timetable. At times student may require a bit more time to truly understand and apply a particular concept of a course and following the classroom timetable may just have them complete the task at hand but not comprehend the material being presented. However at the same time distance learning does not provide the same nurturing environment one may experience in a classroom setting. For some students the positive reinforcement provided in a classroom may be the motivation that is required for them to do better and to exceed expectations which were set forth by the instructors. The one sided learning that is the norm for distance learning does not provide the social interaction which is available in classrooms and does not help in developing social skills. There are many opportunities in education for distance learning to apply to all disciplines.

Brief History of Teaching Practices
A brief history of current teaching practices indicates that students are oftentimes learning from textbooks that are over 20 years old. The material in the books may not be relevant with respect to the time that book is being utilized in. For example, a science textbook from the 1980s would not reflect the advances in the field of science, which occurred during the 1990s unless the published textbook was updated by the author. Often time’s students in classroom settings suffer from repetition of old out dated material rather than learn from new techniques. With the ease of accessibility to the Internet students, have discovered a new manner in which to obtain information, do research, and acquire new skills all from the privacy of their own homes. Most students do not need to access the local library for information as the Internet has provided them a platform to search and obtain the information. Moving forward integrating technology especially the Internet within the classroom would enhance the classroom learning experience as educators would be able to link up to other classrooms in the country and create a wider audience for the students to learn from and interact with.

Current Teaching Practices Enhanced by Distance Learning
For students in the kindergarten class integrating technology into the classroom would help them develop computer literacy skills at an earlier stage. For example, currently kids in that particular grade set are able to use technology such as V-Tech® to recognize different shapes, sounds, and letters. Through distance learning students in kindergarten classes may be able to link up to, other students who are in the same class but in a different school district, and interact with them via a web conference or a classroom activity. Thereby changing a static classroom activity into a fun and exciting experience for the students enhancing their learning and encouraging social interaction with other kids who they may not know.

Students in grade school could benefit from a distance-learning program as students who may not be social butterflies may benefit from being able to express themselves in a nonjudgmental manner via technology. Similarly, students in grade school students could benefit from joining another virtual classroom for a particular subject area that may be discussed that day. Distance learning in this particular case could enhance and address topics that students may not be able to discuss openly either due to peer pressure or due to other factors. Creating a chat room for the particular topics being discussed in the classroom may enable to the students to address and ask question therefore taking an active approach to learning rather than the static approach. Oftentimes is limited by the classroom time or the curriculum being taught not allowing enough time to address any questions students may have later on about a topic. A forum or chat room setting would enable the students to address questions for a particular topic discussed in the classroom and give those students who may miss the class an opportunity to learn what they missed.

One of the classes that students may benefit the most from with respect to distance learning would be any foreign language course. By linking up with another group of students who know the language, students may be able to teach others at a level which would encourage them to learn and participate in their learning. For example, students in the city who are learning the Spanish language connect with students in Latin America who may be trying to learn English, interact with each other, and teach each other rather than being taught by instructors who in this particular case could supervise the learning. One of the website that which encourage this particular manner of learning is K12 Academics (http://www.k12academics.com). This website gathers and creates an environment which is contains content from schools curriculum accounting to the standards of the particular state and helps build on the foundations that the student would have received within the classroom setting. The distance-learning program encourages students to develop their own individual strengths and helps to minimize the weaknesses by providing information that students would be able to grasp at their own pace rather than just with the pace of the entire class. This particular website has helped textbooks come to life and provides educators with lesson plans to help them plan their classroom activities and allows the students to continue the learning at home. This type of distance learning program has created an environment which enhances the learning environment from no longer being limited to the classroom rather it has shown students that any place can become a learning environment. By providing online lessons for the students to participate in and summer school as well so that students who may need a little extra time to cover particular topics enough of a head start so that they are able to stay with their classmates rather than fall behind.

The same particular website has created and encouraged a different learning experience for students in high school as well. This program has offered an online course option that is and can be integrated into the current high school curricula for the students to follow to encourage an active learning environment. An example of integrating this type of environment could again be similar to the use in grammar school especially for the foreign language classes, by connecting with another class in any part of the world such as for those students learning French can be tutored by students in France would create an open dialogue and create new friendships. It also targets and caters to the needs to Advance Placement students as well as the Gift and Talented student programs. Enhancing a high school curriculum may be a difficult task but integrating technology and distance learning into the curricula have provided students with new learning opportunities to take advantage of and to gain experience form. Technology which was not in existence about 10 -15 years ago such as graphic designing software has enabled students to develop a new area of interest and skills which will help them in the long run as they work towards their long term career goals. Learning new skills can always leave a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment in students thereby enhancing the learning experience as well as promoting new methods such as distance learning to be integrated into the static classroom settings.

Closing Remarks
Distance learning has provided a new platform for students to be excited about school and the learning process rather than dread being in school. Students can be excited about the opportunities being provided to them by their school districts encouraging them not to be limited just the by resources but to expand their horizons and develop new skills. Although distance learning has opened up a whole new area for students to enhance and improve their skills this form of learning will not be able to replace the value of an instructor being present in the classroom for questions as well as interaction time. As students learn at various levels and speeds distance learning can enhance the value of the content being discussed in the classroom however it may not be able to replace the discussion which only can occurs within the classroom. Studies(3) have shown that regardless of how one may feel about distance learning this form of learning can only be effective if there is an instructor involved who is able to supervise and maintain the integrity of the information being presented to the students reassuring that the curricula of the school is being adhered.