A Consumer's Guide to Online Courses.

What you need to know before allowing your students to enter virtual classrooms

Five years ago, when the Hudson Public Schools near Boston and the Concord Consortium launched the Virtual High School with the support of a U.S. Department of Education grant, we were sailing into uncharted waters in the K- 12 environment.

Today the number of virtual schools and virtual courses on the precollegiate level has increased markedly. Not only have school districts collaborated to create their own virtual schools, but corporations and states have entered the arena with their versions of e-learning, targeted to particular audiences and using a variety of online instructional approaches.

Online courses have the potential to significantly enrich a school's curriculum, provide students with a technology-rich learning experience and enable them to learn from students in other states and countries. However, virtual learning and teaching differ significantly from face-to-face teaching and learning and need to be assessed differently.

Virtual education programs are also substantially different from school programs in that the medium itself requires a unique support structure. Just as in any curricular area, there are excellent online programs and weak online programs. For an administrator unfamiliar with assessing virtual environments, selecting a program presents a dilemma. What criteria should an administrator use to compare programs? What essential questions should be asked to identify potential strengths and weaknesses?

Probing Questions

With five years of experience in creating and delivering online instruction, enriched by knowledge gleaned from rigorous yearly program evaluations completed by an independent evaluator, we have identified those key questions an administrator needs to ask to assess the quality of an online instructional program. By asking these questions, you can determine whether a prospective online program will provide the kind of quality instruction and online support system that will enhance your curriculum and serve your students well.

* Question 1: Can you see what your students are going to get?

Working in an online environment does not mean there should be any mystery to what a student is expected to learn and how the student will be assessed. As with any quality course, an online course needs to have a detailed course description and accessible syllabus, a description of learning objectives, a clear listing of student assignments and requirements and a well-delineated framework for assessing student work.

Because the medium requires a higher level of self-discipline and individual initiative than face-to-face courses, there also should be a way for students to assess whether they will be able to be effective in this instructional medium. This can be done through a simple questionnaire or, more effectively, a sample online learning experience.

* Question 2: What is the instructional design?

Online courses can be designed very differently. Some are self-paced. The student proceeds at his or her own schedule with some guidance from an instructor. This model requires a high degree of self-discipline as well as independent study habits on the part of the student. It is also a more isolated experience in that there is less likelihood that students will work together on projects or even be able to discuss assignments.

Alternatively, other online courses are designed around a set schedule and calendar. This provides structure and timelines for students and more easily fits with a normal school calendar. Student completion rates tend to be much higher in scheduled courses than is usually the case with self-paced courses.

Another design feature is whether the course is synchronous, in which all students must be online at the same time, or asynchronous, in which students can enter a threaded discussion, complete an assignment or ask a question at any time during the day or week. Although synchronous courses can have the feel of a face-to-face classroom at those times when students gather online to hear a presentation or discuss a reading, they are challenging to schedule and often allow for only limited student participation.

Asynchronous courses, on the other hand, enable students across the globe to participate in a course. In addition, because a student can read the responses of others and take the time to think through his or her answers, asynchronous courses provide the potential for more thoughtful participation, especially on the part of those who may not respond well to the rapid-fire exchange of a face-to-face classroom.

Because most schools work with structured grading schedules, we believe that scheduled, asynchronous courses best match the demands of a high school setting.

Gauging Instruction

* Question 3: What is the instructional methodology? How effective is the communication between teacher and student and student and student?

Many online courses, especially at the university level, have made poor use of the medium. Courses that simply post the teacher's lecture notes, readings and assignments online do not realize the potential of the medium and often fail to engage students.

In a scheduled, asynchronous course, effective online instruction requires instructional methods and facilitation skills appropriate to the environment. Even though all communication occurs electronically, an effective online course can create a community of inquiry among its students. The most effective courses are seminar-style and project-based. In this way, students are full participants in the course, engaged in subject material as learners and presenters and involved with peers through collaborative projects.

Teaching online is also much more than presenting information or designing good problems or interesting assignments. Facilitation of an online course should move the dialogue among students forward.

The two features of effective online instruction are increased participation among the students in the class and increased thoughtfulness of student responses to the course content and to each other. The best resource for understanding the unique potential in online instruction is Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators. (See resource list, page 12.)

There are some basic questions an administrator can ask of an online program to get a sense of how the program handles teacher-student and student-student communication. For example, what are the standards for online presence for students and the requirements for online presence for teachers? What are the communication and feedback strategies teachers in the online program use to encourage student learning? What are the online classroom management and moderating techniques that foster student-to-student communication?

* Question 4: What are the qualifications and training of the instructors?

As with the teaching of any course, the most critical factor in the success of an online program is its teaching staff. Some virtual education programs draw their teaching staff from the participating schools. This generally means the teachers are certified in their field of instruction. Others hire teachers full-time to become their virtual faculty.

It is important that an online program provide sufficient background on its faculty so that prospective schools can judge their qualifications. Are they certified to teach their subject area? What experience do they have in a high school environment? What degrees do they hold and is one of them in education? On what basis were they selected to teach in a virtual environment?

These qualifications are a starting point. Few certified teachers have had training in online instruction and facilitation. The instructional strategies in this environment require different skills than face-to-face teaching. The instructor must become familiar with both technical issues and online facilitation issues.

In our experience, the training program for prospective online teachers is a key factor in teachers being able to engage students online. For example, the Virtual High School requires prospective teachers participate in a semester-long, 60-hour training program before they can teach a course online that has already been designed and posted on the Web. If the teacher is designing his or her own course rather than teaching a section of a course already designed, the preparation time is twice as long. A good training program will offer extensive instruction in online pedagogy and delivery.

Find out also how the program monitors and evaluates its instructors, This can be done in several ways: a spot check of courses, review of course material by a department head or academic dean, tracking teacher and student participation levels in the course, and end-of-course surveys of participating students. An effective online program must continuously monitor its courses and assess the quality of instruction being delivered to students.

In addition, an effective online program should have standards to assess the quality and effectiveness of a course and these standards and rubrics should be an essential part of the training of teachers. They also should be readily available to administrators who are considering whether to enroll their students.

Course Content

* Question 5: What is the quality of the content?

A wide variety of online courses are available to high school students. Some focus on core subjects offered in all high schools. Others provide specialized or advanced levels of instruction on subjects not readily available in most high schools. In general, administrators can assess which courses meet their state or local standards and specify which courses will be made available to their students.

The quality of content in an online course can be gauged in two ways. The first indicator is whether the course meets national, state or local standards. An online program should identify its learning standards and learning objectives. Because of the global nature of the audience for some online programs, these standards will be national in nature. State-based online programs can more clearly target specific state-approved standards.

The second indicator is the depth of content provided in a course. Any quality online program should be able to provide local administrators with detailed course descriptions and syllabi, the required reading and activities for a course, the content of student assignments and requirements, the expected time commitment for online work and homework and the framework used to assess student work.

The program also should be able to detail who monitors and evaluates the quality of a course. Some use content experts to develop the content or review the content developed by a teacher in the field. Others may use their own department heads, curriculum directors or review boards.

* Question 6: Is student assessment regular and ongoing and are the assessment standards clearly laid out?

Tests and quizzes do not lend themselves to an asynchronous online environment. Therefore, assessment in online courses requires that teachers use such methods as student portfolios, projects, written assignments and presentations.

As in any good classroom, students need to understand at the very start of the course what is expected of them, how it will be evaluated and the weight that each assignment represents in their overall grade. This is even more critical in an online course because the students may come from various schools with disparate grading cultures.

Assignments in online courses should have clearly stated rubrics so students can have a common understanding of the quality of work required. In addition, an online course should use varied assessment methods to provide online teachers with a more accurate understanding of each student's grasp of the material. The rubrics and assessment standards should be clearly identified and accessible to administrators considering a program.

* Question 7: Who are the other students in the classroom?

Online programs can vary from one sponsored by a large city district or collaborative of local districts to state-level programs to programs that draw nationally or internationally. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Locally sponsored programs can focus on local standards and needs by offering remediation courses for a local or state test. At the same time, these may be parochial in nature, drawing from a similar student body. State-level programs have the advantage of being designed to meet state standards and address state assessments. They will draw a more diverse student body and provide a richer multicultural experience. National programs generally work with national standards and offer global connections in some cases. This can be a rich addition to the content material.

Technical Support

* Question 8: Is technology effectively used to support the instruction methodology?

Technical issues in an online course can significantly distract from student learning. Courses that are difficult to navigate or fail to provide sufficient technical instructions can confuse and stymie students. Not all courseware (the software a course is built on) have the same ease of operation. In fact, in effective online courses the software should be transparent, allowing the student to participate without a high degree of technical expertise.

To accomplish this, the layout should be clear. Navigation should follow one's common sense. There should be an initial orientation to teach students the basics of navigating within the program. Technical instructions should be readily available if needed, and online resources should be up to date.

Some courses may offer exciting technology tools that go along with instruction, such as streaming video, online simulations and multimedia presentations. When used well, these can significantly enhance instruction, but they cannot replace effective online facilitation. In selecting a program, an administrator should not be overly enamored with technological glitz but focus rather on how well the course will engage students and enhance their learning.

* Question 9: Is there an ease of compatibility with the local school?

Another important consideration in selecting a program is its compatibility with the local school. There should be compatibility between the school's and the online program's timelines and schedule. Registration should be a smooth process that aligns well with the local school's registration process.

Ease of communication between the online program and the school is particularly essential. If a problem emerges, whether it is a student who has been hospitalized or a charge of harassment between students online, the school must be able to reach someone in the program who can immediately address these issues effectively.

Compatibility, however, is a two-way street. An online program can only do so much to support students taking courses. It is absolutely critical that a school select someone who can provide on-site support to students and serve as a liaison with the online program staff. Schools participating in online programs should designate a site coordinator for the program. This person becomes the point of contact for registration, student and parent communication, grade reporting and handling such issues as discipline or extended absence.

Evidence of Success

* Question 10: Is an effective infrastructure in place to support online learning?

An online infrastructure necessary to provide quality programming has two components. The first is technical. The program needs to have sufficient technical support to run smoothly and address problems that emerge. An online program that doesn't have the bandwidth or memory sufficient to support its courses will create continual interruptions of instruction. A program that lacks a wellstaffed help desk also will end up frustrating students and teachers. An effective program must also provide a smooth registration process, guarantee the privacy of student records and maintain electronic security measures.

The second component to infrastructure is policy. An online program that has effective policies and procedures in place is more likely to avoid serious problems and protect schools from complaints and lawsuits. Online programs should have well-delineated roles and responsibilities for its teachers, site coordinators and administrative personnel. It should have well-articulated administrative policies for add, drop and withdrawal from courses, student attendance and the timely posting of failure warnings, failure notices and grades.

In addition, it should have policies dealing with harassment, acceptable use, special education, and Title VI, IX and other equity requirements. Most important, it must have an effective process for resolving conflicts. All of these should be posted clearly on the program's Web site and be part of any orientation for students, teachers and administrators.

* Question 11: Has the program been evaluated or provided evidence of its success?

Finally, an administrator considering a program should explore the degree of success a program has had. Some have been evaluated by an independent evaluator, These evaluation reports usually can be acquired if requested. In fact, some programs may post these reports on their Web site.

If this kind of evaluation is not available, ask questions about a program's effectiveness. Talking with students who have taken courses, interviewing administrators whose schools are participating and thoroughly examining the program site and courses will yield insights about a program's success.

One of the most telling pieces of evidence is the completion rate for courses. Traditionally, approximately half of students taking distance learning courses do not complete them. With all the complexity of course scheduling, high schools cannot afford to take on programs with a low completion rate. An effective program will use on-site support, appropriate student orientation and engaging instructional methods to ensure that 90 percent or more of participating students complete their courses. If a program doesn't identify its completion rate in its materials, make sure to ask.

Online learning will become even more prevalent in the coming years. Our challenge as administrators will be to differentiate those that have the appearance of quality from those that truly deliver unique and enriching learning experiences for students.

Sheldon Berman is superintendent of Hudson Public Schools, 155 Apsley St., Hudson, Mass. 01749. E-mail: [e-mail]. He also is the cofounder of the Virtual High School. Elizabeth Pape is the chief executive officer of VHS Inc.

The Official Virtual High School

Launched in October 1996, the Virtual High School is a nonprofit cooperative of more than 200 high schools in 20 states, bringing quality, innovative online high school courses to students nationwide.

VHS offers 137 courses online as of fall 2001. Courses deal with advanced subjects such as botany, astronomy, bioethics, aeronautics, microbiology and music composition and course titles include Advanced Placement Statistics, Model United Nations, German Cyber Adventure, Web Design: Artistry and Functionality and Writing and Telecommunications.

The courses are taught by certified teachers in each of the schools participating in the cooperative. Through these Internet-based courses, VHS significantly enhances the curricular offerings of each school and at the same time integrates technology into the academic curriculum.

The VHS cooperative is built on a simple concept. Each participating high school selects an innovative and technologically adept faculty member who has subject-matter expertise to teach over the Internet. These teachers receive online training in how to teach NetCourses, or online courses, in ways that are student-active, maximize the use of Internet-based resources and use the best in multimedia technology.

In exchange for each teacher released by the school to teach one course, the school is able to register 20 students to take a NetCourse offered by any of the participating schools. Because the teachers for these 20 students may be in 20 different schools, each school provides some release time for a site coordinator who acts as a local VHS administrator, guidance counselor and technical adviser for students who are taking NetCourses. Therefore, in exchange for a teacher's time to teach in the collaborative, a school is able to make available to its students a vast array of specialized courses.

Although other online programs use the phrase "virtual high school" in their title, the name Virtual High School and VHS are registered trademarks of the Concord Consortium. Hudson Public Schools and the Concord Consortium, which have run the program from its start, turn over management to VHS Inc., a separate nonprofit corporation, on Oct. 1 when federal funding ceases.

For more information and a listing of all VHS courses, contact the Virtual High School at 3 Clock Tower, Suite 100A, Maynard, Mass. 01754 or visit www.govhs.org.

Sheldon Berman and Elizabeth Pape