Research
- Education Week: A Special Report on the Emerging Policy Debates in Virtual Education (May 2010)
- iNACOL Research Committee Issues Brief: An Exploration of At-Risk Learners and Online Education (April 2010)
- Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-level Policy and Practice by John Watson, (November 2009)
- IESD Comprehensive Technical Report: Evaluation of the Social Skills of Full-Time, Online Public School Students (May 2009)
- Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2006-07 (National Center for Education Statistics, December 2008)
- NACOL Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills, written by NACOL and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (November 2007)
- Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education, written by Bill Tucker (June 2007)
- E-Learning Frameworks for NCLB Published by the U.S. Department of Education (2004). Author: Sue Collins, CollinsConsults
- How Can Virtual Schools Be a Vibrant Part of Meeting the Choice Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act? Published by the U.S. Department of Education (2004). Author: Brian Hassel, Public Impact
- K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators, by the Sloan Consortium, released March 2007
- Cathy Cavanaugh’s Online Learning Research References
Dr. Cavanaugh has an excellent and comprehensive website listing books, articles and journals for online learning (she is the NACOL Research Committee Chair). - Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-level Policy and Practice by John Watson (November 2006)
- The International Perspective of K-12 Online Learning: A Summary of the 2006 NACOL International Survey is a new study of the state of K-12 online learning in 17 countries by Allison Powell and Susan Patrick. Countries were surveyed on issues such as funding, content, initiatives, professional development, obstacles, and trends. A short summary can be found in the International Matrix.
- Technology in Schools: What the Research Says is a new meta-study--or study of studies--on the use and effectiveness of classroom technologies. Produced by Cisco Systems and the Metiri Group, the report summarizes general trends and representative studies in areas such as television and video use, calculators, engagement devices such as interactive whiteboards, portable or handheld devices, virtual learning, in-school computing, and one-to-one computing.
- SREB Report on State Virtual Schools 2006 - The report provides detailed information about state virtual schools in SREB states. The growth in one year is significant. Most SREB States now have a state virtual school. Several others have legislation in process or have pilots. Student enrollments compared with the data in the 2005 report have grown by nearly 100%. The number of and variety of online courses for middle and high school students also continues to expand to meet the diverse needs of students.
- NACOL Opposes New Criteria Restricting Online AP Science - NACOL is recommending the College Board allow virtual labs in AP Science courses. Please reach out to the College Board President, Trustees and others to express our deep concerns about the new criteria for auditing AP courses.
- Students' Perception of Online Learning: A Comparitive Study (2006) Journal of Information Technology Education
- Online Education in the United States 2005 (Higher Education only) Sloan-C
- Guide to Elementary/Secondary Virtual Education - This guide provides recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting.
- White Paper: Impact of Synchronous Online Learning in Academic Institutions: Elluminate, Inc. - While formal research results about the benefits and impact of synchronous online learning are not widely available today, Elluminate, Inc., a leader provider of live eLearning and web collaboration solutions, has worked with hundreds of academic institutions to change the way they communicate, educate, and collaborate. The company's white paper, "The Impact of Synchronous Online learning in Academic Institutions: Customer Experiences from K12 and Higher Education," discusses current issues in academia, examines available independent research, and describes the experiences of a wide variety of institutions with this enabling technology.
- Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03 (2005) - The first national survey to explore distance education courses for public elementary and secondary school students. The report provides distance education course and enrollment numbers, examines the reported reasons for having distance education courses, the instructional level of the populations served, entities delivering the courses to students, and other data pertaining to online courses.
- Who Should Fund Virtual Schools? - A report by the Appalachian Technology in Education Consortium. ATEC recommends a two phase funding model. During phase one, they recommend states heavily subsidize the cost of public online courses and in phase two implement a charge for courses.
- Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues
- A Brief History of Virtual Schools (an excellent article on the background of virtual schooling and K-12 e-learning)
- Learning Point/NCREL’s Synthesis of New Research on K-12 Online Learning
- Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning 2: A Review of State-Level Policy and Practice
- Exploring E-Learning Reforms for Michigan: the New Education (R)evolution
- Building an Online Learning Program
- 7-12 Online Learning Resources
- Online Learning Research
- State Policies & Programs
- Federal Policies & Programs