2.3 Towards the virtual k-12 educational organization: an emerging  (Page 6/11)

"I think one, they have to be reasonably comfortable with just the technology and the interface to the technology. Two, I think they have to be comfortable enough to realize that the students know more than they do about technology and be comfortable in learning from the students around the interface to the technology. Three, they should be secure that they are the experts in the content, not necessarily the modality in which it’s going to be delivered. I also think if the teachers focus on helping the student to rationalize and interpret and make decisions about the information that they’re getting and learning about with the content that the teacher is the expert in, they’re giving them an extremely valuable skill from the learning standpoint."

If there is such a thing as the traditional role of teacher as the source of knowledge through which information is absorbed through a lecture, that role is being challenged in this district. As another administrator succinctly stated: “So, the kid manages his own learning and the teacher simply facilitates it.”

Individualized/personalized learning for quality

The school district in this study had a solid history of technology use going back a decade. However, prior to this study the school district piloted a project to supply a cohort of 8 ^th grade students with high quality laptop computers. This project served as a foundation for encouraging an interest and desire for student-centered learning. As much as the teachers moved incrementally in the direction of technology driven pedagogy to facilitate learning, the students moved even further and faster toward an acceptance and use of technology.

"I think the number one impact is student engagement. They’re tuned in. Students are tuning in . . . They’re engaged. They’re going to learn more. When they’re thinking about what’s going on, then they have questions. They’re able to apply it a little bit better. So, I think that’s where I see the number one impact. And, it’s immediate . . . like immediate engagement in the learning."

Another administrator viewed the adoption of the technology/software structure as a fundamental change that shifted power and control to the learner. Although this shift in power and control forced more responsibility on the student, it also changed the work of the teacher:

Q: Does virtual instructional delivery alter the teacher’s authority and control of student learning?

A: I think it does because it puts more responsibility on the student to learn and take control of their learning. In my mind it does require the teacher to help the student learn how to learn. And, I know that maybe this sounds, I don’t know, too theoretical or educational, but so much of what—at least when I was in school—was about memorization, wasn’t about the learning itself.

The reason for investing in technology/software involved an overall commitment to higher quality learning across the organization. Thus, another organizational structure—assessment and accountability—appeared to be a component of a system responsibility to measure learning progress to ensure higher levels of achievement within an individualized and personalized curriculum: