Jorge Werthein

Connecting School Reform to Online Instruction in K-12 Classrooms: The Next New Thing by larrycuban Why have the results of computers entering schools in the past thirty years so disappointed champions of high-tech? From Europe (OECD Report 2008) to the U.S., from developing nations buying One-Laptop-Per-Child (OLPC) to developed nations counting on schools preparing children and youth for a high-tech world, the same dreary statistics and conclusions emerge: teacher and student use of high-tech devices in daily lessons is minimal and even where usage is optimal, student outcomes in improved achievement and other indicators fall well below expectations. Blame for this dismal outcome has fallen on resistant teachers, traditional administrators, mindless policymakers, eager philanthropists, and self-promoting vendors. Taking a step back from finger-pointing and the self-indulgent I-told-you-so is hard to do since bloggers and pundits offer splendid one-liners and quotable phrases that make for great bumper stickers. But if analysis means breaking down a problem into its constituent parts and reassembling those parts in ways that explain better what is going on than do slogans, then taking that one step back, taking that pause is crucial to understanding a problem before rushing in to solve it. For many years I have written, spoken, and taught about the history and the intricacies of school reform in the U.S. For many years, readers, audience members, and students have asked me about computers in schools and the directions that technology has taken in the larger society and its limited use in schools for instruction. Every time, without exception, I have replied that the history of technological innovations in schools is a sub-set of school reform, not an exceptional case at all. If you want to understand what happens to technological innovations when they are adopted and end up in classrooms, know what occurred to major school reforms that succeeded and failed. (See posts of September 30, 2010 and October 15, 2010). Although skeptical looks and words, albeit polite ones, came from those who asked the questions, I plunged on and said that anyone determined to transform schools, especially classroom teaching and learning through technology should first understand that the history of school reform is filled with recurring efforts by promoters of one reform or another to adopt and put into practice the next "new" thing. For example, nearly two hundred years ago the major school reform was to establish the common school for everyone; a half-century later it was  age-graded schools; in the late 19th century, it was the kindergarten; in the early 1900s, reformers pressed for social/medical services, adult education, and vocational education in schools. All of these were successful in eventually becoming part of the contemporary U.S. school. Yet there were many launches of innovations that had little staying power.  Recall the non-graded school, the open classroom, instructional TV, programmed instruction, vouchers, and too many others to mention. I could go on but the point is made. And that point is that bringing high-tech devices in schools to transform teaching, learning, and bring schools into the 21st century must be seen within the larger picture of U.S. public schools as targets of reform for the past two centuries. If that simple statement is a fact, as I believe it is, than here is the place to note that online instruction for K-12 for is being promoted as a "disruptive innovation" that will transform the age-graded school--introduced over 150 years ago--into a place that will permit students to proceed at their own pace in learning both knowledge and skills and achieve at higher levels than in self-contained classrooms with one teacher and 25 to 30 students. Online instruction in K-12 will revolutionize teaching and learning--so the claims go. Again, the technology is the lever that will upend the traditional world of schooling. The larger reform thrust within which online learning is situated are the current bipartisan political- and business-influenced agendas that have Common Core Standards, charter schools, evaluating and paying teachers on the basis of student test scores on the to-do list. Within this reform framework that online instruction fits. Of course, there is no one version of K-12 online instruction. There are many. Credit Recovery programs,  rural students taking Advanced Placement courses,  blended schools like the Rocketship charters, the School of One, and even mandating high school students to take online courses in schools--all come under the umbrella of online instruction. Central to the current surge of interest is that the high-tech innovation can "disrupt" K-12 learning and create an entirely new system of tax-supported public schooling. No surprise, then, that amid cuts in educational spending due to the Great Recession of 2008, many cyber schools (e.g., Agora), blended or hybrid schools (e.g., Carpe Diem) and similar ventures (e.g., Flex Public Schools) have attracted great interest among entrepreneurs, CEOs, educators, academics, and many policymakers.