Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008a) contended that Instructional Designers (ID) need to stay current in ID literature and theory to develop quality online instruction (pp. 70-71). They lamented about the current quality of online classes suggesting that students do not distinguish between quality online courses and poorly developed online courses. This phenomenon has tarnished the publics’ image of online learning in general (p. 71). Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) warned that conclusions made for post-secondary online learning should not be transferred to secondary online education and that original literature needs to be conducted specifically on secondary education (p. 63). They evaluated students currently taking online secondary classes and concluded that these students make up a different population than the students identified in the literature as prone to online learning success (pp. 64-65). Simonson (2000) introduced Equivalent Theory. Equivalent Theory states online students should learn in “acceptable and appropriate (p. 29)” methods instead of exactly the same methods as traditional students learn.
All of the authors presented the need for distance education to evolve. There are many students benefiting from distance education today. The student population enrolling at the secondary level is not the same population of learners succeeding at the post-secondary level. Distance education needs to adapt and evolve to be able to accommodate different learning styles. I agree with Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman’s (2008) observation that K-12 specific research needs to be conducted for distance learning. This was the same conclusion I came up with in my first Knowledge Area Modula (KAM) (Harms, 2010, p. 51).
References:
Harms, D. (2010). Knowledge Area Module One. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Educational Technology, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minisota.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008a, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 1: Training and Development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008b, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.
Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29–34.
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Dave Harms's Blog 
Do you think distance education will ever evolve at the K-12 level as it has at the post-secondary level? If so, do you think students at that level could handel an online course?
Brandy,
I believe that distance education will evolve at the high school level for a certain population of students. I work at a Career Technical Center. Many of the students at this school would benefit from distance courses so that they could work to support themselves or their families. It is very difficult for 16 year olds with children to support their children and maintain a traditional school day schedule. I am not supporting this behavior; just recognizing it is a real situation for many young adults.
Dave
My boys just switched to an Online format for middle and high school through the Washington Virtual Academy. It will be interesting to see how ID concepts are used to deliver K12 instruction in this environment. I agree that more work needs to be done in the development of theory and practice in this environment. What directions do you think should be pursued in this arena?
Thomas,
Many virtual schools have parents sign a contract that require an adult supervisor for the student. I believe student motivation should be addressed as well as differentiated lessons for different learning styles. Another issue that virtual schools struggle with is socialization. In my last KAM, I found a school that has monthly picnics so the students can meet each other and their teacher. I attended a session at a conference given by the Ohio Virtual Academy and the presenter said the only time she sees her students is when she helps administer the Ohio Graduation Test. Even then, she only sees the students from her section of the state. Some of her students have never met her face to face. She shared some of the community building techniques she and the school use in her presentation including virtual pep rallies and competitions between different classes.
I hope your children have an excellent online learning experience.
Dave Harms
Hi Dave,
I believe it goes beyond learning styles; we actually need to think about how our students brains work to process the information that they are given. A child and an adult process differently and this impacts how they learn. Instructional design should take these facts into account when developing for their participants. One of the challenges that I face is that I develop professional development for K-12 educators. Therefore, I must consider both the teacher and the student learning needs at the same time. A challenge for sure!
~April
April,
I agree that k-12 students learn differently. Our school added a tenth grade program three years ago. The difference between teaching eleventh and twelfth graders and the tenth graders is immense. I can not imagine teaching primary school students.
Thanks for the comment,
Dave Harms
Good coment.
What do you think of the idea that successful learning in the online education and learning arena is based on the participation of a certain type of student? Do you think such students would also perform just as well in the conventional classroom? Throughout history, polities have attracted certain character types, who often were found to be unsatisfactory to the populace. Perhaps DE is the reverse, where learners with an affinity for the different elements within DE are attracted to the modality and other types of learners favor other models.
Yes I also do agree with you that the major problem with the online education is the development of the materials to use to suit the programs at stake so that they can be of a value to maiximize the potential of the particular area of studies with due acceptance.