Cyber charter schools are public charter schools which are entirely online and typically serve all grades from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Pennsylvania implemented widespread charter school legislation as early as 1997. This has offered a great number of Pennsylvanians options in their public schooling. One of these options has been…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Strategies for Increasing Student Success," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the CCRC Assessment of Evidence…

This interim report produced by the Colorado State Board of Education Online Education Task Force examines key issues related to online education. Task force members agree that: (1) online education has become a viable element of Colorado's public education system; (2) the role of technology in educating our children will continue to grow; and (3)…

In 2008, the Center for Digital Education (CDE) conducted a review of state policy and programs to determine the status of online learning policy and practice across the United States. CDE interviewed state education officials across the nation to evaluate the overall landscape of online learning. The rankings reflect the vision, policies,…

The Internet has become a powerful force in transforming organizations in both private and public sectors, including public education. Some educational reformers now view virtual schools, in which the majority of course content is delivered online, as a viable alternative and innovative means of educating K-12 students. As of September 2007, 42…

This project examined: states' organizational and financial models of virtual colleges and universities (VCUs); statewide goals for which VCUs were created; and policies, programs, and student participation in VCUs. Data came from a survey of all known statewide and systemwide VCUs and interviews with VCU leaders. Overall, VCUs are gravitating…

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 paper was written to assist institutions in understanding the costs associated with providing online courses. An accompanying Web site was created to allow users to enter data specific to their institution in order to estimate costs associated with a venture into online courses. The paper addresses: (1) background of online courses…

This third edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, some of the best work from 2008-09. It features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Measuring Skills for the 21st Century (Elena Silva); Beyond the Bubble: Technology and the Future of Student Assessment (Bill Tucker); Testing the Limits (Bill Tucker); Changing the Game: The…

Argues that community colleges should require students to own laptop computers, and that costs should be calculated into the need for financial aid so that no one will be deterred from owning laptops. States that requiring students to own laptops dramatically reduces technology costs for colleges. (NB)

The California Educational Technology Initiative (CETI) for California State Universities proposes a ten-year, four-billion-dollar revenue partnership with a private consortium to finance educational technology. Due to the great increase in college enrollment and decreased state funding for higher education, some believe that online courses would…

How may an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing focus on success? How can we as professionals best promote environments that will facilitate achievement and positive outcomes for these individuals? "Planning for Success: Initiatives for Positive Outcomes," the PEPNet conference held in April 2004, was a conference dedicated to…