Module 2: What is the Online Learning Movement?

This week's module was a refresher for me. I have been in the program for two semesters and a lot of my assignments had me creating and developing. This week's readings and videos helped me revisit and reflect on the why. Why do this? Why is blended and online learning important?

What did I learn?

At this time online learning is available in the majority of the United States. The majority of participants in online learning courses in K-12 are high school students who are looking to take core subjects and world languages. The type of student taking online courses varies from those who want an accelerated or more challenging course load to those who want to take courses that may not be offered in their local school. Online courses can be beneficial to those students who need or require an alternative learning setting. These can be students who are traveling too much to attend their local brick and mortar school to those who are homebound.
Although the type of students who take online courses may vary it seems the skills they need to be successful are the same. Students need to be self-driven, organized and have the digital learning skills required to complete a course online. Unfortunately, it seems that we still struggle with equity in student representation in areas of online learning. Minority students are underrepresented in online learning as are free and reduced population. These digital learning gaps are something we need to be concerned with as the online learning movement continues.

In Fairfax County, we do offer online learning programs predominantly to our high school population. To assist with closing the digital learning gaps FCPS has launched FCPSOn. This program provides students with their own computer for academic purposes. I have been a part of this pilot program for the past three years. We have issued laptops to all students in our elementary school. This year Fairfax County expanded the program to all high school students by providing them all with their own laptop for academic purposes. I have seen first hand how this can be an amazing tool for students but is also still necessary to teach students how to use it properly.

Why is it important?

As technology becomes more integral in our education system some people question why do we need libraries and librarians. If everything is at your fingertips on the computer there is no need. This week's readings help reinforce the why for me. Just because students have been exposed to technology from birth does not mean that they can use it in a way that helps them learn and understand. They need to be taught the skills. As stated in the article "Do Learners Really Know Best? Urban Legends in Education" research has shown that students who have grown up with technology do not get to college with skills beyond the basics (email, word processing, surfing the internet). We need to stop assuming that our students are "digital natives". They need to be taught how to use technology in an educational way. This is where educators and librarians come into play. We need to recognize that we have to teach the skills necessary for students to be successful in an online or blended learning setting. We can't just hand out the technology and that is that. Below is a great video explaining why libraries and librarians matter in the digital age. I think it really reinforces a lot of what was shared in our readings and videos this week just with a library media focus.

How Can I Use This Information?

As I read over the assignments for this week I reflected on the fact that we need to make sure we don't assume our students know how to use technology properly for academic purposes. As a librarian, I am a specialist that supports not only students but teachers. As the school librarian, I have the privilege of being able to interact with every student and teacher. This gives me access to the front line to educate and model to my students and teachers proper digital learning skills. I can also show how we can properly integrate technology and blended learning into our curriculum at all levels to support all learners.