Enable Students to Learn from Any Place at Any Time

The following success stories, case studies, research, and evaluation reports support this vision statement.

Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students
K-12 Education - Research
Conducted by members from American Institutes for Research and Education Development Center, Inc.
Using a randomized control trial design, this study tested the impact of offering an online Algebra I course on students’ algebra achievement at the end of grade 8 and their likelihood of participating in an advanced mathematics course sequence in high school. Sixty-eight eligible schools in Vermont and Maine were randomly assigned to one of two study groups during the 2008-09 school year. The study found that algebra-ready students who took the online course scored significantly higher on the assessment than the control group and those who continued with the normal mathematics curriculum were twice as likely to follow an advanced course sequencing in high school than the control group. The results also indicate that offering an online Algebra I is an effective way to broaden access to the course in schools that do not typically offer it in grade 8.

The Effects of Distance Education on K-12 Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis
K-12 Education - Research
Produced by Learning Point Associates
Conducted by C.Cavanaugh, K.Gillan, J.Kromrey, M.Hess, and R.Blomeyer. 2004.
This study reviews the effects of distance learning in an effort to better gauge online learning as an option for an effective student learning environment. It examined 14 programs used between 1999 and 2004 and found that distance education can have the same effect on student achievement as traditional instruction. Tested factors included content area, grade level, role of the instructor, and many others.

Labeled Postings for Asynchronous Interaction
Postsecondary - Research
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACCE), Volume 17(4). Lih-Juan ChanLin, Yong-Ting Chen, and Kung-Chi Chan. 2009.
This research focuses on improving online interaction by using labeled postings embedded in the e-Forum discussion tool developed for this research. Data from the study reveal that the design of labels for postings promoted interactive responses among learners, and the frequency of personal discussion increased. Self-improvement and the development of new subjects from discussion forums were also observed among learners.

Policy brief: E-learning in tertiary education
Postsecondary - Research
Produced by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2005)
OECD, in partnership with the UK-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), carried out a survey of e-learning in 19 tertiary education institutions in 13 countries. Answering the questions: What is e-learning? How fast is e-learning growing? How to encourage academics and students to make better use of e-learning? Can online learning help cut costs? How to make further progress in e-learning? The qualitative findings of the project were complemented by an OBHE survey of online learning in Commonwealth universities undertaken in 2004. This Policy Brief looks at the results of these surveys, and likely future trends in e-learning at university.

Wake Forest University becomes a completely wireless campus.
Postsecondary Education - Case Study
Produced by Cisco Systems
Challenging the assumption that liberal arts universities are not leaders in technology, Wake Forest University has chosen Cisco Systems to help make its Winston-Salem campus wireless. The school recognized that their prior limited and user-unfriendly system would not satisfy their student body accustomed to easy and consistent internet access. With the help of the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), the university established 750 access points. Now, students can connect from anywhere on campus.

Blackboard Managed Hosting and K-12: Poway Unified School District and Walnut Valley Unified School District
K-12 Education - Case Study
Produced by Blackboard K-12
As technology becomes an increasingly vital part of their daily lives, K-12 students and faculty alike are demanding more from their e-Learning environments. Read about two school districts implementing Blackboard Managed Hosting to provide twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week access, enough storage space to accommodate growth and upgrades, the ability to recover data during outages, and properly train faculty.

The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning: Profiles of emerging models
K-12 Education - Case Studies
Heather Staker with Innosight Institute and About Charter School Growth Fund. May 2011.
This article profiles 40 organizations that have blended or have plans to blend online learning with brick-and-mortar classrooms. Each case study represent a range of operations, including state virtual schools, charter management organizations, individual charter schools, independent schools, districts, and private entities.