Contact Us
 
 
 
More Students Learning from long distance

reprinted from an article by Aman Batheja, Fort Worth Star Telegram 3-10-05

FORT WORTH - Chris Bigenho was in the midst of teaching an advanced-placement environmental science class Wednesday when he had to leave early to make another appointment.

So he typed to his students, who had gathered in an online chat room, that they were to continue reviewing the lesson plan without him.

"I told them I'd be pulling the transcript up later to check their work," said Bigenho, director of technology at Greenhill School, a college-preparatory day school in Addison.

He then closed his laptop and began leading a discussion in downtown Fort Worth on the use of Web-based learning.

At the Renaissance Worthington on Wednesday, 600 educators converged at the Texas Distance Learning Association's annual conference to discuss how more students every year are learning just like Bigenho's students -- with no pencils and a lot fewer books.

Distance education, in which students learn from an instructor in a different location, was the main focus of the conference, where panels were held on how videoconferencing, blogs and online message boards can enhance learning.
PI-CEU
P.O. Box 8040
Fort Worth, TX 76124

Distance education is gaining converts around the country, with students in more than a third of U.S. school districts taking courses over the Internet or through videoconferences, according to a Department of Education study released last week.

The courses are especially popular in rural areas, where smaller districts can offer classes that only appeal to a few students, the study said.

State lawmakers have noted the trend. Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, has proposed a bill, House Bill 1445, that would create a "state virtual school network" that would promote online education in Texas.

"This is an opportunity to expand the opportunities available to kids," Madden said.

He said that online classes will only become more popular as students become more tech-savvy.

"We've got kids right now that are certainly more capable on computers than I am ... and they're in the second grade," Madden said.

At Dallas County Community College, not even physical education is safe from an online counterpart.

After six months of work and an investment of about $150,000, the school now offers a "Becoming Physically Fit" course via the computer, said Martie Mooney, an instructional designer at the college's LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications. Using a mixture of video segments, animation and interactive lesson plans, the course teaches the basic principles of health and nutrition and guides students into developing workout plans and diets.

"There really isn't any difference in the course except it's handled totally online," said Mooney, who gave a demonstration of the class Wednesday at the conference.

Although the physical-education class at DCCC has been extremely popular, distance-education classes in high schools have faced trouble retaining students, said Linda Gillis, education specialist for the Region IV Education Service Center.

Part of the problem is that many of the online courses are little more than a textbook posted on a Web site, said Calli Shelton, distance-education specialist for the Region IV Education Service Center.

"There has to be a community among the students," Gillis said. "There has to be a vigorous discussion area and regular phone calls from the teacher."

(use your browser's BACK button to return to the page that brought you here)

 
Copyright 2005. All right reserved by Cat's-Eye Intelligence Service