Initial Thoughts

  Since I am part of the CTER program, it's probably obvious that I think virtual education is a good thing.  I  applied to this program because I knew that it was impossible for me to be able to get a master's degree in any other way.  I have a full time job and 4 very active children, and I knew that there was no way that I would be able to commute to any university on a regular basis.  I simply don't have the time or energy to do that on top of my already full life!

    I feel that virtual education will hold a very important place in the future.  It can provide otherwise unavailable classes to students in small schools that don't have the resources or faculty to offer them.  It can bring resources from around the world into any classroom.  And it can help people like me who need the opportunity to get an education without having to leave home.

After Reading Cerny's Paper

    This paper served to reinforce what I already thought about virtual education.  Her examples of how it is used echoed the ones that I stated above.  It seems to me that virtual education that is well implemented can only produce positive results. As Cerny stated though, this requires extensive training and lots of enthusiasm on the parts of the teachers.  It also requires a great deal of funding in order to ensure that students at all locations are on an equal technological footing.

After Watching the Video

    I had heard about the Illinois Virtual High School, but I didn't know much about it.  After seeing the video, it seems to me that the opportunities that this kind of technology creates for students is wonderful.  The Virtual High School can solve problems that are created by teacher shortages, small numbers of students wanting to take a particular class, and scheduling conflicts.  It can also help students who cannot attend school for health or disciplinary reasons.

    As an elementary teacher, I kept thinking about how this kind of technology could help students in the lower grades where choice of courses and scheduling are not an issue.   Virtual schooling could also help students at this level to keep up with the curriculum if they cannot attend school for an extended period of time .  What I would like to see is a program where students could actually participate in the regular class environment via teleconferencing or the internet.  I think this would be of great benefit to students who are home or hospital bound because they can still feel like they are a part of the class.  I think this would also help special ed students who cannot handle being in the actual classroom but who could benefit from participating in this "least restrictive environment."