Summary of the History of K-12 Online Learning

The main thing that I take away from reading about the history of K-12 online learning, is that it's going to take time to get it where we want it. I didn't realize how far distance education dated back. I know that we are moving in the right direction for students, but we must stick it out in order to change education the way we know it. We are on the right path, but there are still several obstacles to overcome. Clark (2006, Clark, in press) described a number of these issues that we must overcome. The three big ones he discussed are policymakers, public attitude, and local schools. The fact that colleges and universities have embraced distance education, will force the hands of those people. Students must gain experience in this avenue before moving on to college.

Clark, T. (in press). The evolution of distance and online education in American schools. In M. G. Moore, (ed.), Handbook of Distance Education, 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.