R_+D2

Discussion Prompt -- D2


 * PART ONE.** Based on the topic/issue you identified and described in DISCUSSION 1, you need to access the UWG library database for two refereed or peer reviewed articles published after 2004. This will bring your article count to 4. Summarize each article for its general contents. Specifically identify the research problem that each article is trying to address or answer. Then, share these with your peers in this discussion board (150-300 words each). Make sure you include an accurate APA (6th ed.) citation of each article in your posting. This will be your first initial posting. A pdf copy of the actual article should be attached to this initial posting.

Subject: Huett-Articles

Article 1 In //A comprehensive look at distance education in the K-12 context//, Rice (2006) has provided an overview of the K-12 distance education field. She explains that while there is an abundance of research studies related to distance education for adult learners, much of what has been implemented in the K-12 sector (e.g., virtual schools, blended learning) has relied on the research on distance education for adults. In her article, she provides an overview of the types of distance learning, including both traditional (e.g., non-internet), adult-oriented practices as well as online, K-12 practices. Rice provides information on which policy decisions have led to the opening of nontraditional learning opportunities, such as the publication of the 2004 National Educational Technology Plan and the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. From there, Rice moves into mapping out the extant research on K-12 distance education, noting that the emphasis is on online (i.e, web-based) learning technologies.

One of the most common types of research available in the area of K-12 online learning is comparative studies, which compare online courses to face-to-face counterparts. Rice notes that the chief difficulty in conducting comparison studies comes with attempting to control variables. She points to several meta-analyses by Cavanaugh and others as promising sources of research. Rice moves then to outlining studies related to quality of teaching and learning. In her conclusion, Rice offers a gentle critique of the body of research on K-12 distance education, citing a lack of well-trained researchers in the field among other things as culprits in the paucity of solid research. She offers recommendations for areas of research that need to be explored. One of her recommendation is that researchers "develop valid and reliable tools for identifying interactive qualities in course design and instruction," (p. 442) which relates to my particular area of interest.

Research Problem: As the number of K-12 course offerings continue to grow at all levels, there is a need for a solid research foundation specific to K-12 teaching and learning. Up to this point, most research is borrowed from the field of adult-student-oriented distance education. This article seeks to identify what research exists in the field of K-12 online learning to support future research endeavors in the field.

Article 2 In //The holistic model for blended learning//, Stone (2008) uses the example of Pennsylvania to illustrate an issue that is appearing across the country. As Stone puts it, "public schools need a way to compete with cyber charter schools" (p. 56). In Pennsylvania, enrollments in online charter schools were increasing rapidly from 2004 to 2006. For various reasons, students were opting to attend online schools instead of the traditional "brick and mortar" public schools. Stone argues that the tuition allocations that follow the students from the public schools to the charter schools pose a threat to the stability of the public school system. In his article, he seeks to offer a model to those public schools that would attempt to establish their own online course offerings in order to keep students. Stone explains how online charter schools function and provides an overview of online charter school models (e.g., deficient model, patchwork model, holistic model, etc.). He concludes by recommending the "holistic model for blended learning," arguing that this model places the least amount of strain on existing public school infrastructure.

Research Problem: As students in Pennsylvania opt to attend online charter schools, their tuition allocation dollars follow them, and their counterpart "brick and mortar" schools get less money. Public schools are not aware of their options in terms of crafting online course offerings for students. This article offers a model for public schools to follow to establish online courses and programs to keep students in their schools.

References Rice, K. (2006). A comprehensive look at distance education in the K-12 context. //Journal of Research on Technology in Education//, //38//(4), 425-448. Stone, A. (2008). The holistic model for blended learning: A new model for K-12 district-level cyber schools. //International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education//, // 4 //(1), 56-57,60-71.


 * PART TWO.** Secondly, based on these readings and at this point in your thinking about potential research projects, identify a research problem related to media and instructional technology that would like to pursue. Please explain your reason for it (at least 150-300 words). How different is your research problem from the ones you identified in the articles you selected to discuss here? Make sure that you include at least a reference to key ideas from chapters or articles you read. This will be your second initial posting.

Subject: Huett-Topic/Issue

A research problem, as defined by Johnson and Christensen (2008), is " the educational issue or problem with a broad topic area." With this in mind, I would like to present my research problem as it currently exists. I welcome feedback on changes I should make.

Spurred by a variety of pressures, including maintaining student state tuition allocations (Stone, 2008), K-12 schools are increasingly migrating their courses into blended and online formats. As such, they are faced with new challenges associated with designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the quality of their online course offerings.

I believe that the methods I will use in my research will be of the mixed variety, as there are both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The sources of information that I will use will include not only refereed journal articles (as required by this class), but also books, reports, interviews, and other sources. In attempting to categorize my research, the best I can come up with at this point is that it is "exploratory" in nature.

The articles I pulled for this discussion are similar to my research in some ways, but neither of them was about exploratory research. Rice's article seeks to map out the research available in the field of K-12 online learning, and Stone's article seeks to offer a model for creating online courses and programs in a public school setting. Both of these will inform my own work.

As I continue learning about research in this course, I am pulled more and more into the various "conversations" that are taking place in the field of K-12 online learning. I am referring to Huff's (2009) conception of the term, which describes to the scholarly topics of discussion in a given field. I am seeing names recur in the articles, and I view this experience as invitation to join the conversation. If I accept the invitation, I have to commit to hard work and study of the concepts and ideas at play.

As we have not yet completed a literature review, completing the flowchart at Figure 3.1 of the textbook (p. 64) is a challenge, but I am attempting it. Perhaps next week, with the study of research methods, more of this will become clear.

References Huff, A. (2009). //Designing research for publication//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. (2007). //Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches// (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Stone, A. (2008). The holistic model for blended learning: A new model for K-12 district-level cyber schools. //International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education//, // 4 //(1), 56-57,60-71.