While our topics were organized under the headings of Distance Education and Technology in Education, they were not limited to higher education and thus, some of the presenters had topics that related to K-12, language training, and teacher training.  What amazed me about this year’s conference is that most of the presenters in our segments were from traditional educational institutions.  At APUS we embrace technology as it is the platform that serves as the foundation for our campus.  Because of that, we usually present at conferences with distance education or technology as the theme.  With themes of lectures at this conference ranging from training traditional college professors to build and teach in an online class, teaching fractions to fifth graders using a smartphone app, and using Twitter as a means of engaging students outside the traditional classroom, the other presenters represented a segment of educators that I have generally not seen at the more technical conferences.

Education is criticized for its slow rate of change.  While some of us have been utilizing technology to deliver instruction online for nearly 20 years, perhaps 2011 is the year we will look back and see a significant increase in the adoption of technology to enhance traditional K-12 and Higher Education instruction and learning.  In Disrupting Class, Clayton Christensen and his co-authors predict that 25 percent of high school classes will be online by 2014 and half by 2019.  Until this past week, I did not think that their prediction had a chance of being correct.  Today, I am much more optimistic.

Chronicle Research Services released the first of a three part report last month that describes the characteristics they predict that we will see in college graduates of the class of 2020.  The fundamental themes of the report are that as the class of 2020 (today’s first graders) enter their college years, their demands on colleges and universities will be drastically different from what students have previously expected, forcing higher educational institutions to reconsider their curriculums, formats, and basic characteristics.

Even today’s youngest students have integrated technologies into their everyday lives.  The authors, Martin Van Der Werf and Grant Sabatier, note that approximately 50 percent of middle and high school students surveyed indicated that they would use mobile devices and online technologies to communicate with classmates outside of the classroom, conduct research for projects, and engage in proactive learning strategies if provided the opportunity.  This gives credence to the notion that these students feel hindered by school systems that have not yet embraced such technologies as supplemental learning and teaching tools.

As colleges and universities struggle under burdensome economic conditions, they will be forced to find new ways of attracting students.  In addition, if these institutions are to increase enrollments, middle and high schools must address the rising drop-out rates among students at an early age.  Citing the report, “Diplomas Count: School to College: Can State P-16 Councils Ease the Transition?” the authors note that “’nearly 1.23 million members of the public high-school class of 2008 will fail to graduate with a diploma.  That amounts to a loss of 6,829 students from the U.S. graduation pipeline per day.’”  In addition to addressing the issues associated with increasing high school dropout rates, colleges and universities will be faced with the task of educating students and their parents about the means by which students can achieve college educations, both academically and financially.

The demographic makeup of the student population in the United States is continuing to change in dramatic ways.  The growing number of minority students enrolling in public middle and high schools in the United States means that colleges and universities must find more creative and compelling ways of drawing them to their institutions.  The report notes that income differences between the various minority groups will impact the college choices of students from those groups. 

Interestingly, the report contends that many students are inadequately prepared for college curriculums.  One solution to this particular problem that the report provides is developing a five year curriculum in colleges and universities with the first year being remedial and providing students with the skills to be able to successfully complete subsequent college courses.  This seems somewhat contradictory; if students are forced by tough economic times to strongly consider college costs in making their choices, adding an additional year would mean adding additional costs.  Ideally, our college schools of education should work more with local K-12 systems to provide guidance on what works best to prepare students for college while in high school.

Our definition of traditional college students is that they fall in the 18 to 24-year-old age range.  The authors note that is changing and institutions of higher education must develop ways of attracting older students if they are to succeed in the decades to come.  Van Der Werf and Sabatier write that “in 2000, 60 percent of college students were ages 18 to 24, and 21.1 percent were ages 25 to 34.  In 2016, 58.8 percent will be 18 to 24, and 24 percent will be 25 to 34.” 

The authors have provided substantial support for their claim that for-profit educational institutions are leading the charge in revamping the world of higher education to suit the needs of today’s students.  For example, they contend that “computers will be even more central to the educations of younger students now rising through elementary and high schools.”  They cite the findings of the “Speak Up 2008” report published by Project Tomorrow which conclude that today’s K-12 students are “’in fact a ‘Digital Advance Team’ illuminating the path for how to leverage emerging technologies effectively for teaching and learning.’”  According to the report, for-profit institutions are far more likely to provide distance education courses to students, allowing flexibility for students to pursue careers, families, and other opportunities while continuing their educations.  Thanks to this flexibility, for-profit institutions are able to attract students older than the traditional college student, benefitting from the fact that more adults are returning to college to supplement their skills in order to advance their careers in an increasingly competitive job market. 

Data cited in the report indicates that between 2000 and 2007, “enrollment in distance-education courses nearly quadrupled, from 3,077,000 to 12,153,000.”  Arguably more “nimble” than their non-profit counterparts, for-profit institutions have managed to develop a market niche in the higher education industry that has allowed for their overwhelming growth in enrollments.  Whereas more traditional institutions struggle to integrate new and existing technologies in the classroom, technologies that students are already and will increasingly expect and demand, the for-profit educational sector has responded more quickly with the implementation of innovative and modern technology in the classroom.  Citing a 2008 paper published by Harvard Business School professor (and, author of Disrupting Class), Clayton M. Christensen, the report states that “by 2019 half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online.” 

K-12 students in many states are already enjoying the benefits afforded by online education.  The Florida Virtual School, for example, enrolled some 63,000 Florida students for the 2007-08 school year.  According to Van Der Werf and Sabatier, “all 16 states represented by the Southern Regional Education Board now have a virtual public school at some stage of development.” 

Undoubtedly, the most elite schools in America will continue to attract significant numbers of applicants; they have successfully developed a brand and reputation that will allow them to weather the current financial storm.  For-profit colleges will also remain strong in the face of economic uncertainty and will surely gain in popularity.  Other colleges and universities, however, particularly those without well-known names and brand recognition, will struggle to attract students who will continue to make demands for innovative uses of technologies and flexibility in learning formats as they make their choices in which colleges to attend. 

While some of these publications are available to the public, the report was a worthwhile purchase in that it provided greater focus to the issue of what to do to prepare for future college students.  Indeed, as described in a May 31 article in The Boston Globe, the “traditional” college path is no longer the norm.  Four-year graduation rates are mythical, according to Neil Swidley, author of the article.  At the most elite private schools, four-year degree completion rates remain steady.  At other schools, however, the four-year degree is quickly turning into six years or even longer.  According to Swidley’s article, the number of adults who took the “’traditional’” path through college, receiving their bachelors degrees within four years, is less than ten percent, based on data from 2005.  In short, the definition of “traditional” is changing both in the way we characterize students and in the path we expect them to take to earning their degrees.  If higher education is to meet President Obama’s goal of bringing America back to its preeminent position as a global leader in college graduation rates, the industry as a whole must realize that fact.

Online education has gained tremendous momentum in the last several years.  A November 2008 report titled, “Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008” published by the Sloan Consortium notes that during the fall 2007 semester, some 3.9 million students were taking at least one course online, representing a twelve percent increase over the previous year.  During the same semester, twenty percent of all college students were taking at least one course online.  An Eduventures report from November 2006 predicted this growth; that report found that half of the 2,000 potential students surveyed indicated that they would be interested in completing a degree online.

Though the recently released Department of Education report focuses on online formats for K-12 education, the findings are relevant for online education in general.  The 2006 Eduventures report notes that online education was most popular among adult learners.  The Department of Education report, however, notes that “the number of K-12 public school students enrolling in a technology-based distance education course grew by 65 percent in the two years from 2002-03 to 2004-05.”  In total, the report states that more than a million K-12 students took online courses during the 2007-2008 school year.  Such statistics are promising for online colleges and universities like APUS.  If K-12 students excel in online education in their early education, it seems likely that they may continue with the online format for undergraduate, graduate, and even doctoral degrees.  In Disrupting Class, authors Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and Curtis Johnson predict that 25 percent of K-12 classes will be online by 2014 and 50 percent by 2019.  (For a review of Disrupting Class, see my August 2008 blog article.)

In considering the reasons why online courses are growing in popularity, the Department of Education report notes that the ability for students to use their time in a flexible manner boosted online education’s popularity.  According to the study, “learners in the online condition spent more time on tasks than students in the face-to-face condition” finding “a greater benefit for online learning.”  There are obvious cost-saving benefits to online formats and some that are not as obvious including the ability to attend class from one’s home and saving money on the gas a traditional student needs to commute to classes at a brick and mortar institution. 

Additionally, online education expands access to many who may otherwise lack educational opportunities.  Online education could provide significant benefits to those living in rural areas, for example.  The diverse student population found in online classrooms promotes a meaningful exchange of ideas and points of view that is often absent in more traditional classrooms which, especially in traditional K-12 schools are comprised of students from a particular geographic location.  Christensen and his co-authors argue that advances in technology will allow K-12 educators to meet the needs of their students more than ever before.  In the event of smaller school districts with limitations of special teachers, foreign languages like Arabic and Mandarin Chinese could be offered online.  Already, there are providers who offer online advanced placement courses for school districts unable to find qualified teachers.

The implications of the report’s findings for the online education industry are significant.  A recent article in Inside Higher Ed quotes Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as saying of the meta-analysis and its findings, “’This new report reinforces that effective teachers need to incorporate digital content into everyday classes and consider open-source learning management systems, which have proven cost effective in school districts and colleges nationwide.’” 

Today’s students are embracing technology in almost everything they do.  Cell phones, MP3 players, laptop computers, and portable gaming devices are the norm for anyone who can afford them and the cost of technology continues to decrease every day.  The online education market is a part of the technology revolution.  Institutions that embrace online degree programs are expanding access to education for many of America’s students.  Higher education is notorious for its perceived conservation of traditional pedagogies and unwillingness to utilize new technologies to transform the ways that students learn.  With the advent of online education, however, the world of higher education is breaking out of that mold and students are benefitting in the process. 

In addition to affording students some flexibility in their schedules, opportunities for learning are dramatically increased in the online format.  Because students are not tied to classrooms and able to complete work on a more flexible schedule, they are also able to dedicate time to even more non-traditional educational opportunities including volunteer work, memberships in clubs and organizations, and other extracurricular activities that certainly provide invaluable experience.  Working individuals often find that earning a degree online allows them the ability to continue with their careers while working toward attaining their degrees.  In general, I believe that such opportunities help encourage the development of a more well-rounded student and individual.

The meta-analysis released Friday by the Department of Education is not the first study that recognized the advance of online education for students’ learning outcomes.  Coming from the arm of the federal government, its recognized stature makes this report more significant.  As the nation struggles to develop citizens who can effectively compete in our globalizing world, online education is becoming an appealing alternative to traditional brick and mortar classrooms.  With the current economic crisis unfolding as it is, many more individuals will find the economic benefits of online education (ie: lower tuitions, no commuting costs, etc.) worthwhile, allowing online program providers the opportunity to enhance the technologies offered in their classrooms.

A 2006 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau states that there are 6.8 million teachers in the United States, approximately one-third of them teaching at the elementary, middle and high school levels (the other two-thirds teach at preschool, kindergarten or college levels).  According to the Census Bureau report, teachers in Connecticut enjoyed the largest salaries in the nation, an average of $57,300, while teachers in South Dakota earned only $33,200 per year, the lowest in the nation.  The national average teacher salary in 2006 was $46,800.  Considering the importance of the job the nation’s teachers perform, such striking salary discrepancies are disappointing.  The recent budget crises in most states don’t offer much hope that teacher salaries will improve in the near future.

Across the nation, teachers and even students are uniting to bring attention to the plight of America’s public schools in the face of drastic budget cuts.  A Washington Times article from last month noted that Broward County, Florida is facing a $160 million deficit in its education budget, forcing that county’s school board to have some tough discussions which may lead to the cessation of several sports and other after-school programs.  The same article describes how students in Richmond Heights, Ohio may be facing the possibility of no school sponsored sports at all in the next school year.  In that school district, school sponsored band programs have already been eliminated.  The situation in some public schools is so dire, according to the article, that one principal in Detroit “drew national attention after she called on parents to donate light bulbs and toilet paper to get them through the school year.”

A National Public Radio (NPR) report from April 15 notes that Los Angeles public schools are facing one of the biggest deficits in the nation (some $600 million) and are anticipating slashing thousands of jobs in the coming year.  The school district, according to the article, is expecting to receive $360 million from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (also known as “the stimulus package”) but that falls tremendously short of the total needed just in Los Angeles public schools, not to mention the hundreds, possibly thousands, of millions that would be required to cover the deficits facing all the nation’s public school systems.

Even with the best intentions of law makers, including California’s Governor Schwarzenegger who claimed that 2008 would be the “Year of Education” in California, there is little doubt that teachers are forced to work harder with fewer resources.  While America’s public schools are grossly underfunded, public policy researchers are calling for better preparation of our K-12 students for college in order that President Obama’s goal of “ensuring that America will regain lost ground and have the highest proportion of students graduating from college in the world by 2020.”  Additionally, President Obama has expressed his intent that all Americans enroll in at least one year of higher education or job training.  Looking at the trends in our higher population growth states, that level of preparation will be a tough challenge with the increasing percentage of students who do not speak English as a native language and the lack of funding for our teachers in order to work with students with language, culture, and other issues.  The Pew Research Center estimates that seven-in-ten Hispanic students enrolled in US public schools, for example, speak a language other than English at home.  The 2008 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) “Challenge to Lead” report for Texas noted that that Texas could expect a 24 percent increase in K-12 student enrollment between 2006 and 2016 while the national average for the same time frame is only 14 percent.  The growth in student enrollment in Texas will be predominantly from Hispanic populations and the Texas public school system will be required to find ways to integrate these students who may require additional attention to develop their English language skills.

Similar projections are estimated for California, Florida, and North Carolina, as well.  A 2008 report published by the Pew Research Center notes that in 2006, Hispanic students accounted for nearly half of all public school students in California, up from 36 percent in 1990.   According to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), California’s Hispanic population will continue to grow so that by the 2015 white non-Hispanic students will account for only 28.9 percent of the California’s public school graduates while Hispanic students will represent nearly half of California’s graduates.  Between 2006 and 2016, according to SREB, Florida’s population is expected to increase by 20 percent, the highest growth rate in the region.  The number of Hispanic students in Florida public schools is expected to increase from 19 percent to 36 percent between 2004 and 2018.  In North Carolina, for the same time period, the number of Hispanic students in public schools is expected to increase from 3 percent to 33 percent.

Our nation’s colleges and universities need to update our teacher education curriculums to prepare teachers, principals, and counselors for some of the ongoing and future challenges.  Technology can help, according to Clayton Christensen in his book, Disrupting Class, by leveraging the skills of skilled teachers with the multiple learning differences experienced in today’s classroom (see my August 2008 blog article for more information on this book and Christensen’s analysis of how technology can be used to develop student-centric teaching styles).  We have to identify and instruct future teachers how to use the technologies.  States and cities have to assure that funding for training and equipment purchases is available as well.

Given the current state of affairs vis-à-vis the nation’s economic situation, teachers today are without question forced to perform one of the most important public services with very few resources.  This week and indeed all year, teachers, I commend you for your efforts and applaud your dexterity in managing bureaucratic stresses while continuing your focus on educating our nation’s young minds for the future.  Thank you for all you do!

Some of the prescient points that the authors make in the book are:  increasing spending on the wrong items (like more computers) won’t necessarily help improve K-12, blaming the problems solely on the teachers’ unions won’t improve K-12, and unless students and teachers are motivated, problems won’t necessarily get solved.

I have already recommended this book to several people I know who serve on Boards of Education at the state and county levels.   My reason for recommending the book is that it presents a well-organized and researched approach to resolving some of today’s biggest educational dilemmas.  The authors provide cogent reasoning about students learning in different ways, the positive force behind disruption, and how K-12 education in America is constantly changing.  They provide examples of how technology can be harnessed to develop student-centric teaching, tailoring the education program to a specific student’s learning style.  Christensen’s expertise is in innovation, and he and his co-authors discuss the difficulties in getting to stage two learning by implementing the disrupting technologies outside of K-12 education before bringing them inside the K-12 classroom. 

A fascinating read for me was the research supporting the fact that changes in education need to occur before individuals reach the age of three, primarily citing the work done by Drs. Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley.  The authors add that education research in schools of education in higher education have not consistently supported consistent results with consistent improvement.  Lastly, they provide a toolkit for administrators to implement a successful improvement plan.

For those of you looking for a thoughtful read on K-12 education improvements, this is one of the best that I’ve read.  With improvements in technology leading to disruption in how children are educated, Christensen and his team predict that by 2019, half of high school classes will be delivered online and 25% will be online by 2014.  Reading the book will provide an understanding of the factors influencing his prediction, but it will also provide educators with some thought-provoking ideas that are not out of the realm of practical possibilities for implementation.