West Virginia Board of Education
Educational Technology for 21st Century Learners
Strategic Work Plan 2005-2008
Integration/Instruction Committee Report
April 17, 2006
The Working Committee report to the Advisory Committee will indicate:
1. Progress, updates and work completed on each action step;
2. Documentation associated with the completion of action steps/task (may be link on web site or attached to report);
3. Summarization of task findings and recommendations to date.
Please number the “Progress of Action Steps” information to correspond with the associated “Action Steps.”
Tasks / Action Steps / Progress of Action Steps / Documentation /2. Provide students an equitable access to curriculum/ instruction offerings through the use of technology. / 1. Review data regarding course offerings and determine areas of need.
2. Summarize in the CRF the existing courses and define new rigorous courses that may be delivered via technology (virtual courses).
3. Maintain existing online rigorous courses that align with WV CSOs and meet SREB evaluation guidelines.
4. Submit to the Legislature a budget to support new virtual school courses.
5. Develop or procure additional online courses that align with WV CSOs and meet SREB and WV Virtual School online course evaluation guidelines. / 2.1.1 Data studied as follows:
· State list of course offerings in WV schools
· List of courses offered through the West Virginia Virtual School and a matrix of the courses offered through video-conferencing technologies in the state.
· Graphs posted reflect the results of online needs assessment completed in the spring of 2005. The graphs compare student need to course offerings in the Virtual School as well as student enrollment numbers
· Areas of need were determined by survey results as well as by the course requests that have been made to the WV Virtual School. Many requests were met; where courses were not available, the requests have not been met.
2.2.1. We examined the state course-offerings available in face-to-face classrooms and those offered through technology. Comparing the course offerings available to the stated need, the committee considered the following:
o Schools need to provide the opportunity for more students to take the many rigorous courses that have already been evaluated and approved for the West Virginia Virtual School. (This will take more funding to serve more students since the WVVS expended the funding available for tuitions by October in each of the past two school years.)
o Schools continue to provide the opportunity to students to take the rigorous courses available to them through video-conferencing technologies.
o The West Virginia Virtual School continues to evaluate newly developed coursework from emerging course providers in order to find those with rigor and appropriate CSO alignment.
o The West Virginia Virtual School begins to develop a few courses a year that would provide the rigor and CSO alignment needed.
2.4.1. A Virtual School budget is being developed which includes funding for a three-tiered approach to providing appropriate coursework. Those three tiers would provide funding for the following:
· Tuitions for student enrollment in courses that have already met the evaluation standards for rigor and are appropriately aligned with the CSOs.
· Purchase, with rights in perpetuity, courses that have met the evaluation standards for rigor and are appropriately aligned with the CSOs. These would be courses for which there are large enrollments, and for which it would be more cost effective to own the course and provide delivery with our own teaching staff.
· Development of a limited number of courses for subject areas in which existing courses, that meet our WV CSOs, are not available from other course providers. / 2.1.1.1.
A. List of Course offerings in WV.
B. Original, unabridged document can be found on the WVDE website.
C. Student Need / WVVS graphs
D. List of Course Needs and List of Graduation Requirements
E. Video conferencing courses in K-12 schools
F. Video conferencing self-reported data
2.5.1.1
A. List of courses that need to be purchased or developed, based on requests and student need.
Task 2 Work Committee Findings:
Finding 1. In order to more completely serve the number of Virtual School requests and provide more equitable access to courses, current funding must be increased.
Finding 2. There must be enough money to fund new enrollments past the October cessation date of the past two school years.
(When the tuition funds had been expended, by October in both 2004 and 2005, new enrollments had to be paid for by either the parents or the local school or district.)
F1 Finding 3. Presently, not all students have experience with on-line courses prior to graduation and preparation/exposure to on-line learning is essential for future work/college success.
Finding 4. Not all schools in West Virginia are able to offer a wide variety of both core and elective courses. This results in few course choices, and therefore, fewer educational opportunities.
As cited in the Recht Decision, distance-learning technologies can provide a large selection of rigorous coursework to students, resulting in equity across the state.
Finding 5. Virtual School is not a replacement for a quality high school experience; it assists in providing equity, enhancing rigor and providing flexibility to students to complete a quality academic program.
Finding 6.Currently, the state aid funding does not meet the county needs and should not be reduced in our effort to fund the virtual school program. In order to secure equity for our West Virginia students, separate funding must be provided without reducing funding at the local level or decreasing FTE allocations.
Legislation has chosen to follow a model that does not take funding away from the individual counties to fund the WVVS.
The Florida Virtual School model, because it takes funding away from local districts to fund virtual programs, should not be used as a model for West Virginia.
Finding 7. Local districts do not always adequately research available online courses, provide opportunities for staff development on mentoring / facilitation of virtual students, or fully evaluate the student’s ability to successfully complete rigorous coursework. (Finding based on completion rate data from the WVVS.) This lack of course completion results in a loss of funds paid for enrollments.
Finding 8. Research and experience have demonstrated that distance-learning technologies have strengths and weaknesses. Each technology tool provides a unique learning environment for complete courses that can be approved for academic credit.
Because of changing technology, very few satellite courses are still available to schools.
Video-conferencing, by the design of its synchronous presentation, cannot offer a large number of a variety of courses with “on-demand” scheduling.
Online courses can provide the scalability to a statewide population with very large numbers as well as a very rich variety of coursework which can be accessed from anywhere at any time.
The West Virginia Virtual School was established with statewide input from ninety-nine educators, SREB, other states, research and lessons learned. It has a demonstrated and proven success record, having been researched and documented by a team of national researchers.
Finding 9. There exists a need in West Virginia to provide technology assisted learning opportunities for students of all ages in every educational program. / Task 2 Work Committee Recommendations:
Rec. 1. Considering the depth and quantity of information we have gathered so far, we recommend that this subcommittee continue to study the following tasks:
· Analyze data and gather specific information as to the number of 9-12 schools teaching Advanced Placement courses, as well as the specific courses they teach.
· Study data of the WV schools that offer three credits in one or more foreign languages.
· Study the data to determine the ideal curriculum for West Virginia’s secondary schools in AP courses and foreign language courses delivered by both technology and traditional course delivery models
Rec. 2. Determine what is the best way to deliver this ideal curriculum to WV students. How much of it should be delivered face to face and how much of it could / should be delivered via technology?
Rec. 3 The High School Task Force considers inclusion of on-line classes within their recommendations & policy revisions.
Beginning with the 2008 9th grade class, all students will complete at least one comprehensive structured on-line instructional learning experience such as:
· Preparation courses for SAT / ACT
· WV Middle School Spanish Program
· Foreign Language Courses
· AP Courses
· Self-Improvement courses
In addition, students are expected to have on-going structured online support activities such as:
· Writing Road Map (online content for face-to-face classrooms)
· Other on-line curricular content used to augment classroom instruction, such as SAS in Schools and Bridges.
Rec. 4.All students, across the state, beprovided equity of access to rigorous courses, through online and distance learning activities,
· by providing a minimum number of AP (4) & foreign language (up to level 3) courses in every high school.
· by providing for increased availability of comprehensive, diverse course offerings, linked to the West Virginia CSOs.
· by providing virtual courses taught by a highly qualified and appropriately certified teacher
· by ensuring consistent rigor by continuing to evaluate course offerings through the West Virginia Virtual School evaluation process.
Rec. 5. When access to a course is not available to students in their own physical school facility, those students may be provided virtual coursework to provide a more complete academic program.
Rec. 6. In order to provide equity across the state, by providing tuitions for a curriculum aligned with our West Virginia CSO’s, the West Virginia Virtual School should be fully funded separately. (See Budget Considerations)
In order to not take state aid away from local counties, the West Virginia Virtual School should receive full tuition funding.
Rec.7. In order to ensure local accountability, and appropriate registration of students in the virtual school, a structure must be developed to encourage the completion of virtual school courses at a 90% level.
In order to ensure highly skilled mentoring, selected facilitator / mentors must be required to have the appropriate professional development offered by the West Virginia Virtual School, before mentoring virtual students.
Rec. 8. The needs of all of our students must be met in a statewide initiative. The West Virginia Virtual School, with a well-defined and successful program already in place, should be fully funded in a way that will permit it to expand and meet the requests that are currently not filled because of lack of funding.
Rec. 9. A comprehensive committee should be formed to examine the needs of adult education, adult literacy classes and vocational education offerings to determine what distance learning technologies will meet those needs and address economic development. Distance learning technologies and appropriate content should be defined and a report with additional budget considerations be completed by this committee by July 2007.
Task 2 Advisory Committee Input:
Task 2 Recommendations Requiring Budget Considerations:
Recommendations 3-8 / Budget Consideration:
· The budget includes funding to move the West Virginia Virtual School to a 21st Century Virtual School by addressing teacher need, purchasing of coursework and course development.
· Funding is included for the West Virginia Virtual School for tuitions for currently approved courses, subsequent course purchase, course development, and staffing to teach and administrate the delivery of the courses over a five-year phased in expansion.
·
$1,794,055 – Year 1
$3,573,116 – Year 2
$5,219,969 – Year 3
$6,496,388 – Year 4
$7,151,494 – Year 5
This budget was developed to include funding for a three-tiered approach to providing appropriate coursework. The three tiers provide funding for the following:
· Tuitions for student enrollment in courses that have already met the evaluation standards for rigor and are appropriately aligned with the CSOs.
· Purchase, with rights in perpetuity, courses that have met the evaluation standards for rigor and are appropriately aligned with the CSOs. These would be courses for which there are large enrollments, and for which it would be more cost effective to own the course and provide delivery with our own teaching staff.
· Development of a limited number of courses for subject areas in which existing courses, that meet our WV CSOs, are not available from other course providers. / Suggested Implementation:
Year 1: Addition of staffing, increase in tuition funding, and initial course development to meet current demand (course requests that cannot be met because of lack of funding).
Year 2: Expansion of tuition based student numbers, addition of purchased courses, further course development and staffing to deliver and administer the expansion to reach 25% of the goal of 4 AP courses and Level 3 of a foreign language offered at every high school. Expanded funding to cover administrative costs.
Years 3, 4, and 5: Continued expansion of tuitions, course purchases, developed courses and adequate staffing to effectively deliver the courses to the students. Year 3 targets 50% capacity to deliver AP and foreign language courses as well as other rigorous courses. Year 4 identifies a 75% capacity and Year 5 targets a 100% capacity to deliver the targeted coursework as well as other rigorous coursework. Expanded funding covers administrative costs and advances the West Virginia Virtual School beyond current course offerings. / Documentation:
Attachment: Breakdown of the Advantages and Considerations of the top three ranking technologies for delivering courses over a distance.
Task 9 Advisory Committee Input:
9. Provide schools with access to Technology Integration Specialists. / 1. Analyze current data to determine availability of existing technology integration specialists.
2. Determine areas of need.
3. Summarize in the CRF the recommendations for staff and funding requirements.
4. Submit a report to the Legislature for required funds to support technology information specialists. / 9.1. 1. Data examined indicates the following:
· 26 federally funded TIS in WV schools for the 2005-6 school year. County districts fund several other locally funded TIS positions.
· The federal evaluation of the program indicates that the TIS model is a highly successful model.
· The spreadsheet that lists TIS positions is not all-inclusive, and many of the county-funded TIS are not following the WVDE model.