Pursuing professional development (PD) is contractual for some, and oxygen for others. As technology has increased access to anytime-anywhere learning, many of the hurdles for conquering time and space constraints have been addressed with online learning in web-based classroom environments, webinars, and even some of the newer social networking…

While virtual schools, which currently serve only a tiny fraction of the nation's 48 million K-12 students, get all the buzz, a much bigger, largely untold story of online learning is unfolding in America's brick-and-mortar classrooms: a simple yet profound merger of virtual-school technology and the traditional classroom is taking place. This…

In this article, the author reports on how several models are meeting the challenges of time, technology, and motivation. Some of the models discussed are videoconferencing models, the Anytime, Anywhere learning initiatives, and Educational Impact, a larger-scale provider of professional development resources that addresses this challenge by…

Also known as online learning, virtual learning, and distance learning, e-learning relies on the Internet as a way to deliver instruction to students. This article explores the differences between virtual schools, and virtual courses, and discusses the differences between the two, and the benefits of both. In both virtual schools and virtual…

This article presents an expert's insider's view of the current issues and struggles around state adoptions of Web-based instruction. Back in 2001, when "cyber-charters" began capturing headlines in the education press, a betting person might have laid even odds on whether this virtual school thing was a phenomenon that would last. In…