July 27, 2008
TECHNOS QUARTERLY Summer 1998 Vol. 7 No. 2
The Learning Odyssey — Extending the Net
By Walter Koetke
The first complete educational curriculum available over the Internet will be up and running in September. It is designed to instruct students in nontraditional learning situations—home and adult learners, children in foster care or in the judicial system, children of migrant families, and students in vocational education, drop-in centers, or American schools abroad—but can also be used in traditional classrooms. Here the creator of The Learning Odyssey tells what to expect as educational technology takes its next step forward.
The Learning Odyssey is a new groundbreaking educational program delivered entirely over the Internet. It provides a comprehensive, easy-to-use curriculum for grades 4 through 9, complete with placement testing, hundreds of student lessons at each grade level, benchmark assessments, and a year-end standardized test.
Created at the Agency for Instructional Technology, publisher of TECHNOS Quarterly and developer of numerous widely used K–12 instructional materials over the past 36 years, The Learning Odyssey is designed for use by home-based, in-school, and alternative-location learners as directed by student need or guided by an adult.
The
Learning Odyssey is unique in that it provides a complete, comprehensive
curriculum for a full school year, including English, mathematics, science,
history, art, music, technology, and personal development. Many educators
and educational futurists have discussed the possibility and even inevitability
of using the Internet to do this, but The Learning Odyssey is the first
full implementation of the idea. (See “The Complete Menu, Available Worldwide”.)
But
we also knew that persons responsible for a student's continuing education
must ensure that most of the student's efforts follow the direction of some
well-defined curriculum. Any good teacher certainly takes advantage of tangential
learning and looks for those wonderful teaching moments when students are
ready and willing to learn, but any good teacher also knows that at the end
of a school year there are some basic elements students are expected to know.
Side trips are important, but the major effort between teacher and student
must be to make measurable progress within a prescribed curriculum. As a result,
even the best Internet sites are of limited use in most educational programs,
because they weren't designed to meet the real day-to-day needs of those responsible
for a student's long-term education.
It is part of a teacher's job, of course, to find ways to integrate new material into current lesson plans. But finding time to do so is a real problem. A teacher who would like to use material from the five excellent Internet sites already mentioned needs to spend at least an hour visiting each site to determine how the material can be integrated into the student curriculum, whether the lesson is at an appropriate reading level, and whether students have the background needed for the material presented. But how does the teacher find this extra time in an already crowded schedule?
As market research reports often note, teachers want supplementary material that is related to what they are responsible for teaching. Present Internet sites would increase their usefulness if they told where their units interrelate with widely used textbooks and which state content standards their units address. Some textbook publishers have started to provide such information but often refer teachers only to their own texts.
Designing
Difference
We developed The Learning Odyssey to be in a category of its own, completely
different from the other Internet sites. This Internet package provides a
well-organized, educationally solid, full year's curriculum in all subject
areas, not just a bit of supplementary material. Users need spend no time
at all determining if or where it fits a curriculum.
To better understand what The Learning Odyssey has to offer, consider how a typical student might use the package.
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Assessment
The student's first step is to complete an assessment to determine his or her placement within the curriculum. The Learning Odyssey is based on well-defined content and performance standards. This initial assessment permits students to skip lessons on content standards they have already mastered. The result is that students begin their instruction at individually determined entry points in each subject area. This is very different from the common point-of-entry for all children that is still prevalent in classrooms. -
Lesson Choice
After completing the initial assessment, the student is presented with a short menu of lessons from which to choose. The menu contains lessons based on the student's present development in each of eight subject areas. The lessons from which the student can choose are designed to help the student develop skills needed to master new content standards. -
Online Test Option
After the student completes lessons that suggest he or she may have mastered a new content standard, the option of taking an online test for that standard is added to the menu of lesson choices. If the test indicates that some of the performance standards related to that content standard are not yet mastered, then subsequent menu choices include additional, not repeated, lessons for those standards. -
Paper-and-Pencil Test
When a student demonstrates understanding of all content standards associated with a particular grade, the student has the option of taking a standardized paper-and-pencil test to underscore his or her proficiency with the material.
FAQs
In discussing The Learning Odyssey with other educators, we have been
asked a number of important questions.
The Learning Odyssey FAQs
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What are the sources of the content standards and performance standards on which The Learning Odyssey is based?
The content standards and performance standards for The Learning Odyssey are based on the respected content standards and performance standards published by several states and private organizations. The result is a curriculum that can be aligned with that of virtually all the states and educational organizations. Because each student can control the curriculum of The Learning Odyssey, the curriculum includes those items unique to some states as well as those common to all. The important idea is that all standards and their supporting lessons are included. A student or teacher has the option of omitting one or more of them when using The Learning Odyssey.
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Is The Learning Odyssey intended for any particular group of students?
The majority of students in grades 4–9 can use The Learning Odyssey. There are, however, certain groups of students for whom the product is especially well suited. Students being home schooled will find a complete educational package. The customizable curriculum will meet their state requirements as well as reflect their own priorities. The Learning Odyssey can provide attendance and performance records that meet state requirements as often as needed.
The Learning Odyssey can provide an at-home resource for students enrolled in public or private schools. The package is an appropriate source of individualized tutoring, effective for those catching up as well as for those getting further ahead. In a traditional classroom, The Learning Odyssey might be used to replace some of the usual learning materials, to help individualize instruction, to provide accelerated or remedial help, and to assist the teacher with record keeping.
The Learning Odyssey is appropriate for students in nontraditional learning situations: children in the judicial system, hospitals, a variety of long-term care centers, or after-school drop-in centers; adult learners; children in American schools in foreign countries; and children anywhere in the world who desire an American education in grades 4 through 9. No longer does location need to be a barrier to learners' having a continuous, stable environment that brings structure and opportunity to their learning experience.
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Does The Learning Odyssey replace the need for a teacher?
Absolutely not. While it is true that a motivated student can complete most of the material with little supervision, the design of The Learning Odyssey assumes that a local mentor is available to the student. In addition, when a student begins The Learning Odyssey, a full-time, qualified teacher is assigned to work online with him or her. This teacher looks at material the student submits, makes suggestions, and returns it to the student. The teacher monitors the student's progress and contacts the local mentor by email or phone if areas of special concern are noted. The teacher also answers questions from either the student or the student's mentor. The Learning Odyssey is an Internet-based service, but it includes very real, qualified personal attention for each participant.
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What kinds of online help are available for the mentor?
The mentor can preview each lesson shown on the student's menu. Special online consultation is available to help the mentor assist the student with specific learning activities and to alert the mentor to possible difficulties. The Learning Odyssey includes a chat area where mentors can discuss learning problems and teaching strategies that they've found effective. The program is designed to help develop a community of mentors as well as a community of learners among students.
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How much control does the local mentor have over the curriculum?
The local mentor has as much or as little control as he or she chooses. The mentor can add or delete lessons from the alternatives offered the student. If the mentor considers the topic of a lesson inappropriate, that lesson can be removed before the student even sees it as an option. If the mentor wants a student to review a particular lesson or performance standard, the mentor can add the desired lesson to the list of options. The mentor always has access to all of the lessons available within The Learning Odyssey. For example, one mentor might choose to omit the lessons relating to long division of two-digit numbers because he or she doesn't consider that an important skill. The same mentor might choose to add lessons on mathematical problem solving because he or she considers that a crucial skill. The Learning Odyssey curriculum is comprehensive and tailored to the demonstrated needs of the student, but the local mentor can always modify the curriculum.
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Are students expected to sit in front of a computer and use the Internet all day long?
No. The Learning Odyssey requires Internet use, but students are not expected to stare at a screen hour after hour. Many of the lessons require doing things away from the computer. For example, students are asked to write in notebooks; to conduct science experiments; to visit a public library; to read books, magazines, and newspapers; to create and use math manipulatives; and occasionally to attend movies, musical performances, and art exhibits.
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How can The Learning Odyssey be used in a public school classroom?
The Learning Odyssey assumes that each student has access to the Internet. Assuming that a classroom has sufficient Internet access, there are two ways The Learning Odyssey can be used. First, the teacher can assume the role of mentor for all students and take full advantage of the program's curriculum and record-keeping features. Second, The Learning Odyssey can help teachers provide more individualized instruction. The curriculum can be used to equally good advantage by students who are well ahead of the class and by those who need additional lessons on material already completed by most of the class.
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How can students enrolled in public schools use The Learning Odyssey at home?
The Learning Odyssey is an excellent tutor. If a student is having difficulty in school with a particular topic, the related performance standards can be noted and the student can work with several lessons from The Learning Odyssey—all intended to present the topic in different ways. This approach is much less expensive than hiring a tutor. Students can also use The Learning Odyssey as a way to review for tests or to move a little faster than their peers. Using The Learning Odyssey over the summer is an excellent way to preview a new grade.
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Does use of The Learning Odyssey eliminate the many benefits of student-to-student learning?
Maintaining the benefits of student-to-student learning is an essential part of the design of The Learning Odyssey. In the chat room, students can interact with each other. They can correspond with each other by email if their mentors give permission to share email addresses with other students at the same grade level. Many of the learning activities require students to perform tasks away from the computer, and students are frequently encouraged to work with others. The Learning Odyssey includes several optional activities in which students are likely to want to share ideas, writings, interests, and accomplishments with each other.
To learn more, visit The Learning Odyssey Web site: www.tlo.net.
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The Complete Menu, Available Worldwide The wheel of education reform has many spokes. Public and private schools have been joined by alternative schools, charter schools, home schools. Partly as a result of the addition of these new spokes, accountability for the results of education has become a major issue. And as public demand for accountability increases, politicians appear anxious to pass control of education into someone else's hands. The federal government wants the states to be more accountable for educational outcomes. State governments are anxious to see that accountability is a local concern. And in many localities, the authority and duties of central office administrators have been transferred to site-based school councils. The educational pendulum, fueled by a seemingly endless supply of contradictory research, swings from phonics to whole reading and back again, from memorization of facts to developing problem-solving skills and back again, from politically correct history to empirical history and back again, from dumbing down to raising the bar and back again, from well-funded small classes to underfunded large classes and back again. Although educators and their critics spend much time promoting their particular spoke, most are able to keep the same end in view: achieving the best education for each student. The spokes may differ radically—some broken, others already replaced—but the student remains the hub of the wheel. But what about the rim? The rim of the wheel is as important as the hub, and each spoke is connected to both hub and rim. The rim can be thought of as the foundation that holds all the diverse spokes together. Opinions differ regarding what makes up the rim. Some observers claim that the real foundation is money: more money means better education. Others suggest that the rim is the family: strong family support of education represents a giant step toward a student's success. Others claim that teachers are clearly the backbone of education: where would any student be without them? One could also argue that a strong administration makes a huge difference in the quality of education in a school district or building. Actually, all of these elements are vital parts of the rim. And fortunately, one or two outstanding elements can often compensate for one or two that are weak or missing. A career in education has convinced me that the spokes will remain in a constant state of flux. Careers and even companies can be based on a single spoke, but no spoke is going to cause a major overhaul of the hub or the rim. Most spokes are likely to be helpful to some students and, it is hoped, do no harm to the rest. A career in education has also convinced me that real opportunities to change the rim, to change a basic building block of the educational process, are very infrequent. I believe that the Internet offers a vehicle for such an opportunity. That is why we are excited to be associated with a new effort that utilizes the remarkable capabilities of the Internet: The Learning Odyssey. This new initiative has the potential to substantially strengthen the rim by combining effective, individualized education with Internet delivery. The Learning Odyssey can extend the menu of educational choice for students throughout the world. The Learning Odyssey is not just one more spoke in the wheel; it is a solid addition to the rim. Parents have another educational option for their sons and daughters. With The Learning Odyssey, the student remains the hub—the curriculum, learning activities, and support provided to student and mentor are all driven by a desire to help the student learn. With The Learning Odyssey, the spokes have not changed. They can and probably will remain as diverse as ever. But the strength of the rim has increased substantially. The Learning Odyssey is available throughout the world to anyone interested in any or all parts of a grade 4 through 9 American education. The menu of American education has indeed been extended with an affordable and effective new choice. |
Walter
Koetke is director of The Learning Odyssey, AIT's new Internet-based
curriculum. Koetke was previously director of the Math, Science, and Technology
Center for the Lexington/Fayette Public Schools and director of technology
for Scholastic, Inc. He is a widely published author and frequent speaker
on education, computing, and technology.