The centralized bureaucratically arranged school district of brick and mortar buildings clustered within a village, town, or city is in the process of changing to a hybrid virtual school system linked by computers, software, and the Internet. The educational system of the future will be designed around the capabilities of software that can personalize the curriculum to make learning more meaningful. This case study outlines how one K-12 school district is managing change related to teaching, leading, and learning as it shifts to a more student-centered approach to education within a distributed, bureaucratically arranged, virtually enhanced structure of schooling that combines bricks with clicks.
Ncpea publications
This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. In addition to publication in the Connexions Content Commons, this module is published in the
NCPEA Handbook of Online Instruction and Programs in Education Leadership, ISBN 978-1-4507-7263-1.
This chapter has been revised and Marlena Bravender joins as co-author, authoring the video version. This chapter was derived from another publication,
NCPEA Education Leadership Review, Volume 12, Number 2 (October 2011)ISSN 1532-0723. In addition to offering readers this chapter in print, authors James Berry and Marlena Bravender offer you the chapter in "virtual formatted video," Towards the Virtual K-12 Educational Organization. You may also utilize (copy/paste) this URL into your browser for viewing:
http://www.youtube.com/v/txMLMjwb4II
Video version of towards the virtual k-12 educational organization
Editors
- Janet Tareilo, Stephen F. Austin State University
- Brad Bizzell, Virginia Tech
Associate Editors
- Beverly Irby, Sam Houston State University
- Rosemary Papa, Northern Arizona University
- Thomas Valesky, Florida Gulf Coast University
- Theodore Creighton, Virginia Tech
About the Authors
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James E. Berry is a professor of educational leadership at Eastern Michigan University. He also serves as the Executive Director of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. Berry has a wide expertise in teaching with technology and has a special interest in improving teaching and learning in K-12 schools.
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Marlena S. Bravender is an educational technology consultant and founder of Bravender Solutions, LLC. She is an invited presenter for national conferences and frequently lectures on teaching with technology. She has special interest in assisting organizations with the influence of digital schooling as it evolves into the future.
Introduction
The American educational system is about to make a transition into the future that will alter its structure as well as the core technology of teaching and learning. The potential value of technology as a tool for teaching and learning has not gone unnoticed. Gaining a better understanding about how technology integration may influence a school district is valuable to any educational organization. The adaption of technology is spreading among school districts for any variety of reasons including the ability to exploit Internet access or as a government-funded initiative. The data gathered from this case study indicated one school district is in the formative stage of developing a virtual organizational structure based upon a convergence of high quality software, Internet connectivity, and capacity building to support digital teaching and learning. Fully supported teaching and learning will require a commitment to an organizational structure(s) that builds capacity for a more virtual school system.
