[nfbmi-talk] online education in mi and why it is important

Thu Mar 27 12:28:15 UTC 2014

It is right in there. The source is Lauri Higgins, Detroit Free Press. It's 
right in the opening.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nadia Cioffi" <nadiaacioffi at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 8:03 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] online education in mi and why it is important


> It would be a good idea to source your reading.:When given a topic to 
> support I always want to know the source, their research meathead and 
> credibility. Adding a source explaining or at least stating the other view 
> point adds to your credibility. Consider instead of trying of writing to 
> persuade, If start off informing and stating the other view point, you 
> sound like understand the facts and thus may persuade someone without 
> directly saying oplrso. Source your facts and builds to your credulity as 
> well. The source of this my college English course and my personal 
> experience when provide proof besides yourself or people trust  ir more, 
> so source other credible people.
>
> Nadia
>
> On Mar 27, 2014, at 7:20 AM, "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net> 
> wrote:
>
> Fellow Federationists:
>
>
>
> The article after my signature line might not seem germane at first blush 
> to this list. But, it is. Regardless as to the merits of online education 
> what we need to be concerned with is the accessibility, or rather, full 
> and complete accessibility of these programs to blind students, educators 
> and even blind parents.
>
>
>
> This is precisely why the TEACH Act is so important and why the recent OCR 
> ruling under the ADA and 504 is so important.
>
>
>
> I urge all to work to ensure that these systems in Michigan are fully 
> accessible and NFB of Michigan should, in my opinion create a task force 
> on this critical issue.
>
>
>
> Joe Harcz
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Online classes surge in popularity among Michigan K-12 students By Lori 
> Higgins Detroit Free Press Education Writer The number of K-12 students 
> taking online
>
> courses in Michigan surged 52% in the last three years, according to a 
> report released this week that provides a first-of-its-kind - but 
> limited - look
>
> at the effectiveness of online learning in the state. During the 2012-13 
> school year, 55,271 students took at least one online course, up from 
> 36,348 during
>
> the 2010-11 school year. The overall number of courses taken surged from 
> 89,921 to 185,053 during the same time period. The effectiveness data was 
> mixed.
>
> Of the students taking a blend of online and traditional classes, the 
> completion/passed rate for the online classes was just 60%, compared to a 
> completion/passed
>
> rate of 72% for non-online classes. But the researchers caution that 
> limitations in the data could affect those completion rates. For instance, 
> completion
>
> rates for summer school classes were not available when the data was 
> analyzed, said Joseph Freidhoff, executive director of the Michigan 
> Virtual Learning
>
> Research Institute, which conducted the research at the request of the 
> Michigan Legislature. The students who took the summer classes in 2013 are 
> listed
>
> as incomplete, but many of them may have passed those classes, Freidhoff 
> said. "We know this data isn't perfect," said Jamey Fitzpatrick, president 
> and
>
> CEO of the Michigan Virtual University, the state-created nonprofit that 
> includes the research institute. "This is a giant first step in trying to 
> wrap
>
> our arms around what we know is a growing trend. State Superintendent Mike 
> Flanagan said in a news release that the information in the report will 
> help
>
> impact instruction and policy in Michigan. "The findings ... provide an 
> important baseline to evaluate online growth and effectiveness over time," 
> Flanagan
>
> said. Fitzpatrick said the report puts Michigan years ahead of other 
> states in evaluating the effectiveness of virtual learning. More work will 
> be needed
>
> to ensure that there is uniformity in the way schools are submitting data 
> to the state. The researchers analyzed data from several sources: Students 
> enrolled
>
> in courses through Michigan Virtual School , which is part of Michigan 
> Virtual University; students who take all of their coursework online 
> through a cyber
>
> school; and students who take online courses via other means, such as 
> courses provided by their districts or another entity. While there's been 
> a growing
>
> push for students to take advantage of online learning, the data suggests 
> students perform better when they only take one or two classes online. Of 
> the
>
> students who take a mixture of online and non-online courses, the 
> completion/passed rate was higher - 68% - for those taking one or two 
> online classes
>
> than for those taking three or four (59%) and those taking five or more 
> (55%) online courses. Some additional findings: ¦Completion/pass rates for 
> students
>
> in grades K-5 ranged between 87% and 94%, while the rates for older 
> students in grades 6-12 ranged from 47% to 77%. ¦The overall percentage of 
> students
>
> taking online courses still remains relatively small, particularly at the 
> elementary grades. In grades K-7, fewer than 1% of students have taken an 
> online
>
> course. The highest percentage was in 12th grade, where 15% of seniors 
> have taken an online course. Fitzpatrick says he's concerned that the data 
> suggests
>
> that a large number of the students taking virtual courses are students 
> who are behind academically and need to catch up on credits. He said there 
> needs
>
> to be more discussion at the local level on how to ensure online courses 
> are an option for all students. "We have to ask ourselves from a policy 
> perspective
>
> - if a student is struggling and they need more help and assistance, is 
> loading them up with five or six online classes going to increase their 
> chances
>
> of success? The data suggests no.
>
>
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