There is a perfect storm brewing in post-secondary education (PSE) in Ontario. Four major forces are combining in this storm, an ever growing higher education participation rate, the growing demand for effective and timely knowledge delivery, the need to drastically alter how one views teaching and learning, and accelerated technological changes.…

As Florida school districts scramble to meet a looming state mandate to offer full-time online instruction for K-8 students, and as high school enrollments in such courses continue to climb, lawmakers are mulling restrictions and budget cuts for the state's nationally known virtual school. Together, online-learning advocates say, the growing…

The education system of our times has transformed greatly due to enormous developments in the IT field, ease in access to online resources by the individuals and the teachers adopting new technologies in their instructional strategies, be it for course design, development or delivery. The field of Distance and Online Education is experiencing…

Nearly all Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have a state-sponsored virtual school, and the remaining states are either planning or beginning initial implementation. Just 12 years ago, none of the 50 states used the Web to provide courses to middle grades or high school students. By 2000, several SREB states, including Florida,…

This report on state virtual schools outlines the recent trends associated with virtual high schools over the last 15 years. It notes that early trends indicate that virtual schools are on the rise. The report provides reasons for why the trends have occurred, and describes the Southern Regional Education Board's role in providing information and…

This article presents an overview of online learning, particularly for elementary- and secondary-school students. Online learning has much to offer certain students under the right circumstances. However, questions remain about policies regarding online learning and the suitability of the approach for younger students. (Contains 6 online…

In the current economic situation, most academic institutions would like to plan new courses to increase enrollment. Often, these changes do not follow with a proportional increase in cost or staff numbers to the institution. For cost-efficiency reasons, a reduction in student contact hours is most desirable, providing that this can maintain the…