E-Learning & Virtual Schools: Giving Students and Teachers an Edge

Media and Methods, Sep/Oct 2005 by Purnell, Janet

Quick to recognize the promise of e-learning technology, also called "virtual schools," the Baltimore City Public School System in Maryland was the first urban K-12 school district to adopt an e-learning platform.

E-learning transforms a school into more than just a single building. What happens is content and materials used in teaching each subject area are stored on a secure web server. No more lost textbooks, and no more dragging around heavy notebooks crammed with information. With elearning, all content is hosted and stored in a learning management system that can be accessed from anywhere, any time.

Getting Started

E-learning started in the Baltimore schools as a way for teachers to store and share lesson plans. Today, the elearning platform is used for many teaching and administrative tasks and responsibilities. And teachers love it!

The Baltimore Schools' learningmanagement system houses, stores, compiles and keeps track of courses, lessons and activities, schedules information, all student assessments and distance learning classes. Use of an elearning system by the teachers and administrators in the Baltimore City Public School System has grown nearly 500% in the past school year alone.

This technology allows both more control and more flexibility in the curriculum. It gives teachers, students and families improved access to resources they can use to truly address individual student needs. Some say, "It's the dawn of a new age in education.

Tracking Course Scheduling Information

At the beginning of each school year, the Baltimore Schools rely upon its staff and the district's student information management system to compile and track course schedule information. Throughout the year and every day, teachers use the system as their courses develop, create student activities and assess each student's particular learning needs. The student information management system also provides online discussions and wellused communication channels between parents, teachers and students.

To support the diverse needs of the entire district, teachers and administrators are organized according to grade level and subject. It is done in a customized online web "portal" - a web-based page dedicated to individual educators. The district calls this portal their "Teacher Support System."

The "opening welcome" page in the Teacher Support System has dedicated links that are customized to each individual staff member's teaching responsibilities, such as teaching eighth-grade math or twelfth-grade social studies. These links direct them to the most pertinent information the teachers may need. These needs can be identifying standards related to their classes, web links, activities and available course materials within the district.

Each staff member's "welcome" page is filled with links relevant to their specific courses. These can include websites about an historical topic being covered in social studies, or a link to the state's new math standards.

Teachers use the Internet to access this individual and personalized Teacher Support System, which also serves as a message center to inform and encourage the use of new and updated resources.

"I find that I take better advantage of the resources available in our schools now that I know what's here and I can easily access them and store them in my personal portal," said Mike Smith, math teacher at Lombard Middle School.

Educators in the Baltimore City Public School System are outwardly excited as they tell about increased use of the online courses available to them and access to so many relevant resources for their teaching efficiency. As Language Arts teacher, Ethel Jenkins states, "E-learning helps us open doors for our students by increasing access to a wealth of information. And that's really what education is all about, isn't it? Opening doors!"

Top 10 Leading Student Issues

The following top 10 issues and topics were the ones most researched by thousands of students who used the SIRS Researcher database of information in September. For each of these topics, this online database provides an overview, pro/con analysis and articles offering a full-range of viewpoints. These features help students critically form their own opinions.

1. Marijuana Legalization

2. Same-sex Marriage

3. Capital Punishment

4. Abortion

5. Doping in Sports

6. Cloning

7. Eating Disorders

8. Teenage Pregnancy

9. Child Abuse

10. Gun Control

Courtesy of ProQuest, maker of the SIRS Researcher.

www.il.proquest.com

Janet Purnell teaches classes on using technology at Baltimore's Digital Harbor High School in the Baltimore City School District, MD. The school uses infrastructure from Blackboard's Academic Suite, www.blackboard.com