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

[joe harcz Comcast]

The efficacy of online learning in my opinion isn't the point here 
Christine. The point is that we as advocates for the blind need to ensure 
full accessability as those are civil rights already granted, but not fully 
enforced under the ADA, Section 504 and IDEA.

Our kids and indeed again even blind teachers and or parents need to have 
equal access to all instruments in the educational process or we'll be left 
behind and will in fact have our civil rights both individually and 
collectively violated over and over again with disasterous consequences.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christine Boone" <christineboone2 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 8:50 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] online education in mi and why it is important


Very interesting article.  You are right that the Federation needs to 
continue to strengthen our partnership with the Department of Education on 
both the state and local levels.  It is essential that these on-line courses 
be fully accessible to students who are blind.  The fascinating part of this 
story to me, is that younger students who take on line classes receive 
grades between 89 and 94 percent, or B+ to A-, while older students top out 
at only 77 percent, which is a C- at best.  I would not have expected that 
the difference would be so extreme between these 2 groups.  The more I 
experience technology and its impact upon our world, the more I see value in 
the methods of learning and communication that we used before the electronic 
information age.  But that is a subject for another day.

Christine

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.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nfbmi-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/christineboone2%40gmail.com


_______________________________________________
nfbmi-talk mailing list
nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
nfbmi-talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/joeharcz%40comcast.net