Socialization in virtual schools

The "lack of socialization" ranks as one of the top three answers given by parents who remove their kids from virtual schools.

Virtual schools scratch their heads because they point to all of the field trips (virtual and in-person), clubs, and activities they offer as evidence of plenty of opportunities to socialize.

And yet "socialization" continues to be a problem for virtual schools. In response, virtual schools typically offer more field trips, more clubs, and more activities to try to solve this dilemma.

Socialization is defined as "learning the customs, attitudes, and values of a social group, or community."

What if the parents say "socialization" but have a different definition in mind?

In my Virtual School Manifesto: Nine Essential Ingredients for a Successful Virtual School, I make the argument that students (and parents) are not seeking socialization. Rather, they are searching for what I term connectionalization.

One of my Essential Ingredients is for virtual schools to become Human Connection schools. Rather than focus on socializing, focus on connecting students.

Connecting is intimate, personal.

Socialization occurs in the all-class meetings. Connecting occurs in the hallways. It's organic, viral, and student-crafted.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat -- they all succeed because they help people connect. Virtual schools can and should do the same thing -- help students (and families) make connections.

Students want a place to belong. Belonging occurs when connections are made.

Don't add another field trip. Instead turn your field trips into connecting opportunities.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Ten Things Students Want in Virtual Schools

10. Give me test after test without telling me what they mean for me

9. Teach me how to take and master the state test

8. Give me lots of practice time and problems so I can demonstrate how good I am at the state test

7. Add more to my plate beyond my regular class schedule

6. Tell me you care about me then call me by my first name when I go by my middle name

5. Tell me all the things I am behind on and assume it is because I don't care, or I am lazy

4. Sell me on your school with promises you don't intend to keep

3. Tell me how flexible this is for me right before you tell me "No, you can't do that, or that either."

2. Ask me why I didn't show up for the online club after my 10-hour day filled with Class Connects and regular coursework

1. Blame me for not engaging with your rigorous curriculum

houston@figment-consulting.com

7 Questions for Virtual School Leaders

Do you know who you are?

What matters most to you?

What do you spend most of your time thinking about?

What are you afraid of?

Who are you trying to change?

What do you want that change to look like?

Do you believe you can do it?

houston@figment-consulting.com

"I know, let's pretend to be ourselves." The Mad Hatter

It was a quick line uttered by The Mad Hatter last night and I barely heard it. My family and I spent last night at Mickey's Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. Our oldest kids were off to Neverland, or Space Mountain after the stage shows and fireworks display and my wife and I were touring the property with our youngest watching for Disney characters and treat stands where they passed out candy.

Now, there are several characters I enjoy watching perform while they are on stage, and The Mad Hatter is one of them. So, we paused to listen in and observe as others stood in line for their photo opportunity with Hatter and Alice.

As the group, including the characters, lined up for their photo, that's when I heard The Mad Hatter say, "I know, let's pretend to be ourselves."

I love the play on words. I especially love the deeper meaning behind it.

I also believe they are words of wisdom for virtual schools. In my Virtual School Manifesto one of my Nine Essential Ingredients is Be a Specialist.

On the surface being a specialist means you serve a niche instead of attempting to be all things to everyone. At a deeper level it means virtual schools know who they are, why they exist, who they can best serve, and then carve out a space that is uniquely theirs. It's more than merely differentiating from competitors, It's more than merely positioning and branding. Being a specialist is knowing who you are, owning who you are, and being who you are.

Then the story you share with the world is an authentic one because you are pretending to be yourself instead of someone else.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Is blended learning the answer?

iNACOL Symposium 2014 begins tomorrow and the schedule appears to be heavy-laden with sessions around the concept of blended learning -- part-time classroom, part-time online (though it actually has multiple definitions and variations).

It appears to be taking the reigns from virtual with projections stating that 50% of all high school courses will be delivered online by 2019.

Is blended learning the answer?

houston@figment-consulting.com

Measuring quality in blended and online learning

A friend passed along a blog to me that shared some initial insights into how educators measure the quality of blended and online learning programs. The blog is published by an online curriculum and services provider.

It was an interesting read, but it did forget to state how the provider and the districts they serve measure up to the standards identified by the educators in this survey. And, I will also bypass the nuance of it being an "annual" survey when the provider itself just launched earlier this year. Instead I want to focus on the results of the survey of educators.

When specifically asked how educators gauge the quality of an online or blended course, following were the top four responses:

·         The student has high attendance and active participation in the course.   

·         The student scores at or above the level of other similar students on end of year standardized tests.

·         The student passes the course.

·         The student re-enrolls in other online courses after completing the current online course.

One of the main issues with the current virtual school model is attendance and participation. Attrition rates approaching 40-50% within the academic year seem to undermine this first response and causes one to wonder how well the virtual schools are measuring up on this one.

Currently, virtual schools are not performing well on state tests compared to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Simply Google this topic and you will quickly see the results.

Students passing the course is quite difficult to ascertain without inside knowledge on each school. However, retention rates from year-to-year continues to be a struggle for most virtual schools and they must constantly find new students to replace those who have departed.

What this means is, by all accounts, the current model is broken because very few are measuring up to the quality standards identified by educators.

It's time to re-imagine virtual schools. It's time to build something truly remarkable instead of continually attempting to apply a fresh coat of paint to cover up the decay.

It is also time to take a survey of parents and students to determine what their quality standards would be, and determine if current virtual schools are meeting them.

houston@figment-consulting.com