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The rise of K-12 blended learning
[Click here to download the full white paper]
By Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker
With contributions from Alex Hernandez, Charter School Growth Fund
Bryan Hassel, Public Impact
Joe Ableidinger, Public Impact
Online learning is sweeping across America. In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K–12 students took an online course. In 2009, more than 3 million K–12 students did. What was originally a distance- learning phenomenon no longer is. Most of the growth is occurring in blended-learning environments, in which students learn online in an adult-supervised environment at least part of the time. As this happens, online learning has the potential to transform America’s education system by serving as the backbone of a system that offers more personalized learning approaches for all students.
In Disrupting Class,* the authors project that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online. This pattern of growth is characteristic of a disruptive innovation—an innovation that transforms a sector characterized by products or services that are complicated, expensive, inaccessible, and centralized into one with products or services that are simple, affordable, accessible, convenient, and often customizable. Think personal computers, the iPod and mp3s, Southwest Airlines, and TurboTax. At the beginning of any disruptive innovation, the new technology takes root in areas of nonconsumption—where the alternative is nothing at all, so the simple, new innovation is infinitely better. More users adopt it as the disruptive innovation predictably improves.
Online learning fits the pattern. It started by serving students in circumstances where there is no alternative for learning—in the advanced courses that many schools struggle to offer in- house; in small, rural, and urban schools that are unable to offer a broad set of courses with highly qualified teachers in certain subject areas; in remedial courses for students who need to recover credits to graduate; and with home-schooled and homebound students.
Nearly all of these instances tended to be in distance-learning environments initially—outside of a traditional school environment and removed from an in-person teacher. A simultaneous explosion in home schooling—from roughly 800,000 students in 1999 to roughly 2 million today—was fueled by the rise of online learning and full-time virtual schools.
There is a limit, however, to the number of students in America who have the ability to be home-schooled or attend a full-time virtual school. The same analysis that shows that 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online by 2019 reveals that home schooling and full-time virtual schooling will not substitute for mainstream schooling, as their rapid growth flattens out at around 10 percent of the K–12 schooling population.**
In classic disruptive fashion, online learning is expanding beyond distance learning. Educators and entrepreneurs are increasingly creating blended-learning environments—where rather than doing the online learning at a distance, students learn online in an adult-supervised school environment for at least part of the time. At the outset, this occurred in areas of nonconsumption, such as credit-recovery labs and dropout-recovery schools. A small but growing number of schools, however, are now starting to introduce blended learning into their core programming for mainstream students.
Bleak budgets coupled with looming teacher shortages amidst an increasing demand for results are accelerating the growth of online learning into blended environments. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently described a “new normal,” where schools would have to do more with less. Blended learning is playing a vital role, as school operators begin to rethink the structure and delivery of education with the new realities of public funding.
The growth of online learning in brick-and-mortar schools carries with it a bigger opportunity that has not existed in the past with education technology, which has been treated as an add-on to the current education system and conventional classroom structure. Online learning has the potential to be a disruptive force that will transform the factory-like, monolithic structure that has dominated America’s schools into a new model that is student-centric, highly personalized for each learner, and more productive, as it delivers dramatically better results at the same or lower cost.
Policymakers and education leaders must adopt the right policies for this to happen. There is a significant risk that the existing education system will co-opt online learning as it blends it into its current flawed model—and, just as is the case now, too few students will receive an excellent education. State elected officials, districtsuperintendents, and school principals must act now to prevent the cramming of online learning into the traditional system and to foster its transformative potential. As policymakers open the gates for innovation by creating zones with increased autonomy, they must simultaneously hold providers accountable for results so that the adoption of online learning leads to radically better outcomes for students.
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*Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Curtis W. Johnson, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008).
** Home and full-time virtual schooling requires significant parental involvement. Given the socio-economic condition and family structures for most K-12 students, 10 percent is likely the maximum number of students who could even contemplate a home-schooling experience. The majority of students in America need school–or a supervised place to learn. Various societal stakeholders “hire” schools to do many things for their children, just one of which is learning. A custodial job–keeping children safe–is equally important for many. From the perspective of many children, having a place to have fun with friends is also vital.
Hi,
I’m a K-8 music teacher at Putney Central School in Putney Vermont. It was good to read about blended learning and feel that it correlates with the reality of my classroom. I have wireless internet and my computer is connected to a projector with speakers. There is a cart with laptops for the kids. We use composing software with an interactive environment.
Thanks
Dan Seiden
Blended learning is indeed a potential major shift in education, but there is a major problem with the instructional designs used on line. If one is to read a chapter, view a lecture, do a worksheet, and perhaps participate in an online discussion, then the dropout rate and what is learned will be small. High Think models that are collaborative in nature, constructivist, and join personal expertise with collaborative intelligence need to form the basis of online instructional designs. Online can’t be deadly boring like the face to face classroom can be. It has to be more engaging, more powerful, creative, collaborative, real, and more project oriented. Then it becomes disruptive.
[...] the Innosight Institute put together a list of actionable policy items to increase blended learning as the education model [...]
This is timely. Last month I visited one of the schools mentioned in the white paper, Flex Academy of San Francisco, and wrote about it in my blog:
http://k12reboot.com/forum/academics-curriculum/new-flex-school-for-21st-century-learning/
The blended model has the potential to broaden academic offerings in a time of very tight budgets and provide more individualized attention than most students receive in traditional classrooms, all while also making more efficient use of limited educational budgets. Not a panacea, but definitely worth a look!
Schools need to adopt a blended strategy for credit recovery using newly developed innovative and interactive models. There are reasons why the student didn’t get the credit in the first place and if they are presented with the content in a different way, they just might get it and gain confidence in their learning abilities. However, we do need to train teachers to be effective with their approach and implementation.
[...] This week, Innosight Institute released a report about this phenomenon and opportunity titled “The rise of K-12 blended learning”. [...]
The rise in blended learning is one born of both necessity and increasing access to technology. Many see the potential of this model of instruction as limited to credit recovery or distance learning, but it is a model that has an amorphous definition and can be molded to meet a teacher’s individual needs.
Teachers in traditional schools can use an online component- as I do- to replace uninspired worksheet style homework assignments. Instead of requiring my high school English students to complete analysis questions or reading comprehension questions that take hours to grade, I now use my structured online discussion forum- Collaborize Classroom- to engage students in dynamic student let discussions. I have tried blogs and wikis with students to little success, but my Collaborize site actually lets me post different types of questions- multiple choice, yes/no, vote and suggest and forum- to structure discussion and add variety to conversations.
I did spend a great deal of time building a firm foundation for online communication to ensure students understood this was an extension of our classroom. They participated in online icebreakers and group assignments to build relationships too. It was a priority of mine to establish and maintain a safe space in our online discussion site.
Now, they continually surprise and impress me with their questions, insights and overall quality of discussions. These online discussions have directly impacted our class as well. Students use each others’ names, feel comfortable commenting directly on each others’ ideas and ask questions more frequently. There work online has given everyone a voice which has made our in-class community stronger.
I realize now that in the past students who were quiet, shy or needed more time to process questions did not have an opportunity to be active participants in our class. Since adopting an online discussion platform, they have become valued voices (and resources) in our class.
Using a blended learning model also gives students a real opportunity to collaborate asynchronously online. I have been able to facilitate a Challenge Based Learning Project, literature circles, expert groups, learning teams, etc. Using my online site which has given students a space to meet, discuss and work together that is marked by flexibility and convenience.
This emerging blended learning model has so much potential to make teachers more efficient, effective and innovative!
Very interesting to read about the real world pilot programs. I would also like to see an online media/arts network that connects students, teachers, parents and administrators for digital documentation and networking that seeks to increase home-based learning and parental involvement. More at http://nyarteacher.wikispaces.com/-Online+Media-Arts+Network+%28OMAN%21%29
Blended Learning continues to ” open the learning door ” to modalities our divergent learners need to succeed. As students’ choices increase, so do their chances of success. We must continue to integrate diverse learning into our communities if we are going to meet the educational and psychological, and emotional needs of our children. As technology continues to develop, learning becomes the responsibility of the community, not just the brick and-mortar-schools.
[...] Horn’s newest research last week that shows that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. “The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning”, co-authored by Heather Staker, confirms that 50% of all high school courses will be taught [...]
Moving away from the traditional 2D model (ubiquitous Blackboard) that often encourages a lateral movement in instructional methodology (didactic), towards a 3D modeling that tends to increase immersive senses might be explored even further.
While I agree that we, as educators, need to do whatever we can to help our students succeed, I am wary of online classes diminishing the importance of human interaction. Today’s youth has already begun to rely far too much on technology to solve all their problems, and, in turn, have become a somewhat antisocial group. Students have a “machine” to do the difficult parts of their work for them and no longer need to ask for help.
Blended learning sounds like a happy medium between online learning and learning in brick-and-mortar schools, but it runs the risk of not only the students becoming too dependent on technology, but the teachers, as well. I fully agree that online learning can benefit both advanced and remedial students, but find no need for a general education class (e.g. 5th grade history) to be taught outside of a brick-and-mortar school.
I do not wish to decrease or stop the evolution of education and learning, I simply value human interaction. This may stem from my position as a Physical Education teacher. I have a very hard time picturing my content area utilizing online or blending learning as an effective alternative to class in a brick-and-mortar school. It seems difficult to be physically active while sitting on a computer.
Very interesting to read about the wonderful experiences that are possible with blended learning. With the advancement of technology and a more individualized approach to education, our students should be more successful.
Hi Joe — No disagreement with your sentiments. I’ve written about this a few times on my blog (search socialization). But check out Florida Virtual School’s “online” PE class. It actually turns out to be very very effective at building lifelong healthy habits in kids as they workout without negative peer pressure on a daily basis and report their results online. I’m sure they would do a better job at answering questions about it. It blew my mind when I learned about it.
I’m including a discussion I had with my grade 6 students who realized that they don’t really need me as a traditional teacher.
http://heidisiwak.blogspot.com/2011/01/kids-get-it.html
Our school board is using online learning for math instruction for students in grades 6,7,8. If a student reaches an impasse, he or she can go to a computer with a tablet and headset and call up the math facilitator at the board office. The facilitator helps the student work through the difficulty.
We also have online math assistance for grades 7-12. Students can dial up for homework help until 9:00 pm. Mon – Fri.
[...] at the same or lower cost,” says Michael Horn, co-founder and executive director of the Innosight Institute, which just published a study called “The Rise of K-12 Blended [...]
[...] report, titled “The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning,” by Michael B. Horn, co-founder and executive director of education at the Innosight Institute, [...]
Heidi:
How common is dial up trouble shooting for on-line learning? Would seem ‘so logical’ to have a pool of talented, home bound tutors all across the country receiving calls on as needed basis. Tutors would be able to see the student, see the screen causing problems and could talk the student through the situation. Overwrought students or those needing ‘more” could be quickly identified as needing local help on realtime class ‘progress’ screens monitored by teacher. What do you think?
[...] article, based on a report titled, “The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning” points out the potential ‘dangers’ of cramming blended learning into our current [...]
Kent — There are services and companies that do this very thing. Check out http://www.smarthinking.com/ and StraighterLine, as well as Advanced Academics’s teaching model, just for starters. You could also check out this: http://edreformer.com/2011/02/open-high-blazing-new-path/
I think this is a phenomenal idea. Think of all of those retired experts who could help. Have a look at Sugata Mitra’s Ted Talk. He is doing work in this area and his findings are very interesting.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
Kent, our students have no problem with dialing up during school hours. I’ve heard that sometimes there can be a long queue on the highschool online math. this just shows that the service is in demand. My own daughter has used it and loved it. What is interesting is that while in the queue, students can hear all discussions while they wait for their turn.
The bigger problem with online in my board is finding teachers willing to adapt their practice and send their students to online math. Teachers are not yet comfortable with the idea of sending their students away from the class and not knowing what they are doing at the computer. Our school is very receptive to new technology. We are the primary users across the county. We’ve had teachers in to observe how we use virtual math instruction, but adoption has not yet become widespread. I think it should be mandated that teachers begin to use it. it is just so effective. Students want to use it. Last year they would race to the Resource Room during their breaks in order to get access to a computer.
We have successfully implemented a blended model. We call this the Flipped Classroom. It works in many settings and in many grades and subjects. I encourage you all to look at a 2 min video which explains what the Flipped Model is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc
[...] be studied and also compared with 100% online and 100% bricks-and-mortar learning environments. (“The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning” by Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker from Innosight [...]
Here’s a post about my blended 3rd and 4th grade classroom. Can’t imagine not doing it blended. http://bigthink.com/ideas/31466
I, too, work in and love my blended setting. I currently teach in a non-traditional program that serves a variety of needs for our district’s high school students, including both credit recovery and accrual opportunities.
I am also a doctoral student interested in the experiences of teachers working in blended environments (flex and lab-based models with certified teachers as facilitators) and would appreciate any assistance identifying additional programs (beyond those mentioned in the white paper).
While at HYBRID schools one does not seem to be so concerned about the traditional social distractions, one could be concerned with the interruption of the ” voice within” TM, (Harmon 2009).
At what point will we disolve the pararelationships humans have with AI? if ever?
We were so impressed with the new technology during it’s infancy, now like a rebellious teenager, we must ask… ” can it be controlled?’
While the benefits of hybrid and online schools are obvious: less commute time, green education, global access.. do we teach students to look and listen from within? Is there a paradigm is there a controversy?
Will our current and future generations manifest egocentric perspectives or respect greater “otherness”, will the notion of human interaction and compassion be enhanced or diminished??
If given $1 billion, what would be the best way to improve education in the U.S.?…
In response to Chris and Jannsen: Jannsen, very interesting response, I agree with a lot of what you have said. One thing that is missing, and I believe Chris touched on this with the point about motivated, self-directed learning being difficult to ach…
This is an interesting discussion. I have been teaching strickly on a distance education platform for 22 years. That being said, the first 10 years, I had audio contact with the students during a preset classtime and controlled what was viewed on the classroom computer. Up to five schools were linked into the classroom at one time. We did indeed fill the gap for many schools who could not offer our class. Now however, the dynamics have changed. We are online with Blackboard and have no contact with the student unless they call on an 800 number, email, or attend an online netmeeting type session.
The idea of creating a classroom community in an online setting is loafty and time consuming goal. It can work to a certain extent in the University setting, but is much harder in the secondary education setting. The reality of teaching six sections of students (25 per) online is more time consuming than anyone can believe. To answer 125 posts in discussion board with substitive information becomes daunting. When the day comes that there can be real time interaction with the instructor during online classtime, online will be more effective. Due to internet speeds and cost this is not practical now.
The shift has also turned to “credit recovery” in our State. This means the student is less prepared to do the work required to pass the course. Since we can document every minute detail of their work time, it seems logical to policy makers to have online courses instruct these students. It however is not logical to an online instructor, who knows it takes a self-starter with good reading and analytical skills to do well in an online course.
Online instruction will feed on itself as “the newest kid on the block” for a while, but the face to face classroom setting serves a major role in our society, not just for learning, but for socialization of the student.
Synchronous communication does appear to be possible in many states though thanks to tools like Elluminate and many many others. This seems less of an issue today then described in this post, although it seems significant there.
[...] report from The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning, authored by Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker of the Mountain Vi…labels six types of blended learning [...]
[...] Horn, author of The Rise of Blended Learning, and I hosted a webinar last week in which we featured AdvancePath, a dropout prevention network, [...]
[...] "The Rise of Blended Learning" by the Innosight Institute, best summary of innovative school models around the [...]
[...] encouraged the superintendents to start by reading The Rise of Blended Learning and to work with their state colleagues and develop a three year transition plan to personal [...]
[...] would Matt look only at weak examples and skip the 40 blended models featured in Innosight Report, The Rise of Blended Learning? Why not interview with Susan Patrick, iNACOL (where I’m a [...]
[...] The blended learning movement is still in its infancy and needs time to prototype, experiment, make mistakes, and figure out what works. It would benefit greatly from incorporating decades of learning from the PBL community around what engages students and leads them to producing the highest quality work. The PBL community, similarly, should embrace the power that blended learning offers. [...]
[...] Take your school. How many are aware of, and could explain the significance, of the Artificial Intelligence course at Stanford? Or the online high schools at George Washington University, at Stanford, or the Insight School of Washington. Or, for that matter, the rise of K-12 blended learning? [...]
[...] http://www.innosightinstitute.org/media-room/publications/education-publications/the-rise-of-k-12-bl... [...]
[...] lead and pass “blended learning” legislation (for the uninitiated check out this and this). The question will not be whether blended learning has a role in public schools, but how districts [...]
[...] insight from some smart people in the field, like Michael Horn at the Innosight Institute, who has studied this issue intensely and spent time looking at lots of different approaches, and Gisele Huff at the Jacquelin Hume [...]
Pods or cludters of teachers can handle this situation, trickle down protocol, have qualified, degreed volunteers answer the questions, or at least creat a pre fyio faq forum.
Unless the criteria is set in stone, discussion enhances solutions, discussions and higher order thinkijng skilss.
The electronic age has surpassed the air and is now, in my humble opinion transmitting into the very fiber, core of humanity, the human mind, we are now integrating the mind thought of others into our human developmental processes.
Some for good, some not so good.
The question is can we as a race archive our thought sdigitally for future generations, raising the best that humanity has to offer while seperating the worst that is of humanness?
The advent of open courseware now allows everyone access to knowledge.
Invest in learning systems, I think, continue to teach and adhere to the rules of the profession, be flexible enough to integrate technology and clearly understand it has integrated itself into human development.
To paraphrase the scientist from Jurassic Park, we were so excited to know that we could have the technology, did we bother to ask if we should initiate the technology.
I have been in sped classes with whiteboards and they are astounding!
I have been in low tech settings and the students are just as apt to learn, given healthful parameters have been met.
Now we are offered digital gap solutions so all who wish to access, may access technology, status quo of the learning curve quadrants, if you will.
My suggestion?
have the more learned or the initiated teach the plebes and the novices, keep the body of knowledge growing exponentially, archive the entire process, send it into space for future generations, carpe diem and smell the roses folks, it only gets better from here!!
Yours in Education, Jeri