An emerging research base has highlighted various roles and responsibilities that parents of students with disabilities accept when they enroll their children in online schools. Since finding and using online texts and using various programs and applications that require search and evaluation skills to do work are typical for online learning, it…

This case study uses an equity-focused research lens to accomplish two tasks using data from two North Carolina community colleges. First, it situates community college virtual exchange programming within a pre-existing program typology to explore the extent to which community college virtual exchange is included in current conversations in…

Collaboration and teamwork are essential aspects of the work of a professional middle level teacher and an integral part of AMLE Standard 5. Preservice teachers typically experience collaborative practices firsthand during field experiences, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many schools to shift instruction online thereby limiting the…

In recent decades, in line with improvements in technology, schools have increasingly opted for Online Credit Recovery Programs (OCRPs) over traditional face-to-face courses. Despite sharing a common goal with traditional face-to-face programs--providing a pathway for students to get back on track, to avoid failing additional courses and falling…

The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a difference between novice and experienced teachers' perceptions of the working conditions at the K-12 virtual school. This study examined the teachers' total years employed at the school to determine if a difference exists in the groups' perceptions of the teacher working conditions. Teacher…

This qualitative study used survey research to examine a blended co-taught model of instruction designed for students enrolled in an Occupational Course of Study via the North Carolina Virtual Public School. While blended learning has successfully served the needs of students with disabilities, face-to-face and virtual teachers identify the need…

"Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning 2016" marks the thirteenth consecutive year Evergreen has published its annual research of the K-12 education online learning market. Throughout the past thirteen years there has been a constant presence that has become the backbone, supporting the growth and success of online learning--the array…

During the past 10 years, there has been a growing use of distance education, including the practice of holding classes in virtual world educational formats such as Second Life. Both the psychiatric and medical fields have caught on quickly to the functionality of virtual world teaching, yet social service educators have not ventured likewise.…

This article reports on the cognitive and affective development of students being mentored in virtual reference interview skills by professional librarians. The authors present a case study which examines the impact on student learning resulting from librarian mentor participation and collaboration with students on a course assignment. This study…

This qualitative study involved five beginning teachers who had theopportunity to participate in an online mentoring program provided through auniversity/school partnership. These teachers were selected from a group of 65 teachers who had participated in the online mentoring program. In this program of two time periods lasting two months each,…

Across the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast Region there is growing interest in strengthening the presence of online learning in all public schools to help equalize education opportunities for all students and prepare students for a digital future. For instance, the North Carolina General Assembly has required that the state transition to…

This study is based on survey research conducted in 2010 and 2011, involving graduate students using a 3D immersive environment for their coursework. Investigators examined students' perceptions of community and presence via coursework offered in the immersive world. Utilizing the Sense of Community II index and the Communities of Inquiry survey,…

In many ways, specialized computer labs are the black holes of IT organizations. Budgets, equipment, employees--even space itself--are sucked in. Given a choice, many IT shops would engage warp drive and escape their gravitational pull forever. While Captain Kirk might have looked to Scotty for a fix to the problem, colleges and universities are…

The long awaited and hotly debated "disruption" of public education may finally have begun. Technology, the force that has transformed one industry after another, from the industrial revolution through the information age, is on the cusp of reshaping schools fundamentally. This is heady talk. Historically, schools have been quite adept…

Using the Social Presence Model (SPM), the authors explore the teacher and student experience at the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS), the largest public online secondary school where teachers design and develop the curriculum. Through a series of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, this two-year mixed methods study investigates the…