The article I found speaks of an online survey done by eRepublic’s Center for Digital Education (CDE) in conjunction with the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. The survey was titled “Online Learning Policy and Practice Survey: A Survey of the States” and found that there has been a significant increase in the use of online education. It states that 25 states now lead statewide online-learning initiatives. There were only 15 states a year ago. The CDE also ranked these states, with Florida’s online-learning program at number one. The survey says that out of at least 27 states that have online-learning initiatives, 2 states have programs that are not state-led. Four more states also have plans to start online-learning programs, too. Most of the states with online-learning programs have seen a large increase in enrollment since last year, some as much as 50 percent.

As far as funding these programs, 9 states with state-led virtual schools fund their institutions with the same formula used by traditional schools. However, they differ from the traditional schools in that they also receive tuition funding from the district level or from students. Of course, there are other funding plans as well, some even creative like Nevada’s plan to reimburse traditional schools for students in online classes.

The CDE predicts that as long as more grade levels and courses are made available online, there will be an increase in virtual school programs. The survey also states that online schools also have helped students in rural areas who could not take certain classes before because they were not offered or couldn’t be afforded in the traditional way. The CDE, however, says that there will be obstacles in the states’ way to online learning, mostly about funding.

Despite the obstacles ahead, this article gives hope that online learning is the answer to the future of education. With the recession in our economy over and computer and Internet technology on the rise, the road to future online education may not be quite as rocky as predicted.

ADHD (or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a serious problem both at home and at school. It is also a problem for the person with ADHD and everyone around him or her. The worst part of ADHD is that scientists and doctors don’t really know what causes it. There are treatments, such as medication and therapy, that can help with the disorder, but there is really no cure. The main symptoms of ADHD include a short attention span, hyperactivity, and the tendency to act rashly without good judgment. Sometimes, a child may show these symptoms without having ADHD, and sometimes a child may have ADHD and not show all the symptoms. It is up to the child’s doctor to observe the child’s behavior and symptoms and determine whether he or she really has ADHD and if so, what treatment to use.

ADHD can be a major problem in the classroom. A child with ADHD may cause chaos in the classroom or may just hurt themselves academically. A teacher must meet with the child and their parents and learn all they can about the child and the extent of their condition. The teacher must also come up with a plan on how to deal with the child in the classroom, making it known that they can do well while not getting the child’s hopes up too high. The teacher must make sure that they do not single out the child due to their condition either. There are also some other techniques to have the child use to help them out with schoolwork. One way is to have the child take notes of the assignments and let the teacher sign off on them. Another thing to do is to have the child break large assignments down into several smaller, easier assignments. The child could also use flash cards to split assignment questions up into categories: questions the child knows the answers to, questions the child isn’t so confident about, and questions the child doesn’t know at all. These techniques usually work well with children who have ADHD and can also be used for any student who may have trouble learning.

This is an article from Campustechnology.com that discusses the benefits of educators using Second Life, an online virtual world, in the classroom. While many parents don’t see how social Internet technology, such as this website, can benefit students in the classroom, teachers who have used Second Life have a lot to show for it. Second Life is an amazing tool that can be used in the classroom or as the classroom by creating a virtual campus. All the resources are already right there on the Internet. Teachers can show Power Points and videos on the site and can even construct the learning environment in a way that was impossible before. Teachers can create the setting of a book, the prehistoric world, or even the surface of another planet and make it all interactive and entertaining, so learning doesn’t have to be boring. Students and teachers can also communicate by microphone or text. You can even visit different websites while you’re online and it doesn’t matter where you live, classes on Second Life can be taken from any computer anywhere.

Right now, there are thousands of people using Second Life for educational purposes. Some universities, like Harvard, even have Second Life virtual campuses. Even though the site is free to join, there are fees for virtual “land.” Educators do get discounts, however. There is also the problem of the computers used. It takes a good computer to run the graphics. Fortunately, almost all computers sold today are capable of using the site easily. Despite these minor setbacks for some, Second Life seems like a very good alternative to traditional teaching and may even one day become the standard teaching style.

From what I gather, the Obama Administration here in the U.S. wants to start formal education at an earlier age. Right now, most American children start kindergarten at around age six. We do have preschools, but many kids don’t go. The problem with teaching kids at an age earlier than six years is that children (even at six or seven) will only pay attention to things that only interest them. Learning basic skills through play is entertaining for children and will help them learn without them even knowing it. However, you can’t necessarily keep this up throughout a child’s life, all the way through high school. Children become more focused as they get older and the play-learning method won’t necessarily work as well down the road. Young children can be taught, through play, basic skills and manners that will translate into the classroom later, so they won’t have to be taught in formal school. It would be hard to teach a three year old reading, writing, and mathematics without playing games, and playing wouldn’t even help a child that young learn these things since all the child would be interested in is playing. By age six, the child will be more able to learn these things without as much entertainment. I believe that the method they are wanting to try in the U.K. (teaching basic social and classroom skills before age six and formal education after age six) is much better than the proposed plan in the U.S. (start formal education before age six) simply because children before age six won’t learn as much or as efficiently with a formal education as a child of six years or older.

As far as the debate between traditional “brick and mortar” schools and online schools goes, the two are actually growing closer. As the article points out, in the earlier days of online education, teachers and school officials were totally against this alternative learning, but after a while they lightened up and eventually accepted the online education. Many teachers even see how it could benefit children more than traditional schooling and are pushing to expand online education. Many traditional schools are even housing computer labs for students to use for online classes away from home. I think that with the big push in the federal government to restructure the education system, and with the new president’s connection with the younger generations and newer technologies, we may see a time very soon when most students in the country are enrolled in online schools instead of traditional schools. With more and more people (parents, students, lawmakers, and educators) acknowledging online schools, the future looks bright for online education.

Of course, there is one obstacle that online schools must overcome that may be a little too tough in this economy and that is cost. In the long run, it may cost less to convert solely to online education since facilities would have to be set up for people who can’t afford to have computers at their own home, and of course the cost of computers and technology to supply to the students. There also may be a problem with power (blackouts, especially in winter in areas such as southwest Virginia, can be a really big and unexpected problem). You wouldn’t want to be in the middle of a lesson and have the power go out, cutting off your computer. However, with technological advances coming faster and faster, this may not be much of a problem in the future.

In my opinion, online schools are just as good as, if not better, than traditional schools. Of course, it would be hard for some to let go of the traditional way of teaching (math and science are pretty easy to teach over a computer, but art and music just aren’t as fun unless you’re actually with a group of people, in my opinion). There is proof, however, that some students have learned better with online schools than with traditional schools, so I would ask the question “Why not at least give it a try on a bigger scale than what is being done now?” Maybe if the economy gets better and laws are changed so that it would be easier to set up online schools, we could then try it on a nationwide scale and see which type of education is really better.

The Commonwealth Governor’s School (CGS) is a magnet school based in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area. It was founded in 1998. It is one of eighteen governor’s school programs in Virginia. A magnet school is a public school with specialized courses, such as AP English and AP Math. CGS uses the school-within-a-school method in five local area high schools: Colonial Forge, North Stafford, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Riverbend high schools. Students who attend CGS classes do so at one of these schools via television and microphones. They also are required to attend CGS field trips. The classes are set up so that juniors and seniors take CGS classes in the morning and freshmen and sophomores take their classes in the afternoon. CGS students are required to take their four core classes (Math, English, Science, and Social Studies) through the governor school, while taking all other classes through their own local high school (which may not be one of the five CGS high schools). Students who do not regularly attend one of these five schools are transported there each day when it is time for their CGS classes. The CGS has had much success in the past. Only 10 % of its students have dropped out in past years (usually for good reasons) and the vacancies were promptly filled. The average SAT scores for CGS students in 2007 were 668 verbal, 633 mathematics, and 647 writing. The average GPA for the class of 2008 was 4.1. Out of the 88 graduates that year, there were 5 Valedictorians and 6 Salutatorians. 100% of these graduates went on to higher education for the 2008-2009 school year and were awarded a total of $2,711,700 in scholarships.

The students who attend classes for the CGS can be seen as a tightly knit group. They are all very intelligent students who are able to manage their time and work well. Being able to take more high-level classes while still getting to be around friends and family at their own school gives CGS students a competitive edge over other students. They are able to keep a normal social life and not be too stressed out while also appealing more to higher level colleges with their CGS class grades and status.

Earlier this week, President Obama announced that he was going to look into expanding the time kids spend in school. According to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, “Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today.” Right now, most public school students enjoy a nearly three month summer vacation. President Obama wants to change that for the benefit of the children’s education and to help the U.S. compete with other countries around the world. Even though U.S. students spend more hours per year in school (1146 hours per school year as compared to 903 hours in Singapore, 1050 hours in Taiwan, 1005 hours in Japan, and 1013 hours in Hong Kong), students in these other countries have more days in their school year (190-200 days as compared to 180 days in the U.S.). Traditionally, these Asian schools have had higher math and science test scores than the U.S. The President, along with others in the government and education, want to offer the same kind of education time to U.S. students as those in Asian countries get. Understandably, most U.S. children wouldn’t like this idea since it could mean less of a summer break or fewer hours in the day at home, but most would agree that more school time does help to improve grades since that means more time for teachers to help students in class or extra time for tutoring classes. Many private and charter schools have longer years or days and some public schools have shortened summer vacation and lengthened other breaks to have school year round. The only drawback this article points out is that it may cost and extra $1300 per student. However, many schools do receive federal and state financial aid to help out with the costs.

This article has many good examples showing why expanding school time would help set U.S. test scores on equal terms with those of other countries around the world. According to Karl Alexander, a sociology professor at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, poorer children in the U.S. are at a disadvantage at learning to wealthier children. The reason, he explains, is that wealthier kids’ parents put more effort into getting their children into summer camps, sports, music, and other extracurricular activities. Poorer children don’t always have these opportunities and during summer break, with no school, they tend to forget some of what they learned the previous year. Opening schools more days in the year or adding more hours to the school days will help these less fortunate children and should help U.S. test scores overall.

The Characteristics of a Good Teacher

http://www.helium.com/items/844863-the-characteristics-of-a-good-teacher

This article lists twelve aspects of a good teacher, whether that teacher is in a classroom, a family member, or a friend. According to this article, the twelve aspects of being a good teacher are, in short: love what you do, good communication, be admirable, use positive reinforcement, be fair and just, be a leader, be committed, be understanding, be compassionate and caring, be confident, be prepared, and be professional. The article states that there are many qualities to being a good teacher, but these are the most important.

This article makes a very good point overall. All these qualities are characteristics of a good teacher (maybe even a great teacher if they have all of them). These twelve qualities are very important and all teachers should do their best to acquire them all. There is one quality that wasn’t really mentioned that would be very good though. That quality is to be interesting. It wouldn’t hurt (especially in an elementary school class) to try and be entertaining to your students. If the students are bored to death in a class, they may not learn anything. With today’s levels of entertainment, students can get bored very easily. If a teacher could combine this quality with the other twelve mentioned in this article, then I believe they would make a great teacher.