Author Archives: Brian Bridges

About Brian Bridges

Director, CLRN

Are Charter Schools More Disruptive than Traditional Schools?

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After reading the @ChristensenInst report, “Is K-12 Blended Learning Disruptive? An introduction of the theory of hybrids”, I felt a need to ask the next question, are charter schools disruptive? Are they more likely to promote the eLearning disruptive innovation or are they creating and implementing sustaining innovations? One is a hybrid, a temporary solution. One is revolutionary.

So, we looked back into our 2013 California eLearning Census data to find out if charter schools are more disruptive than traditional school districts. The answer is not what you may think.

First, we eliminated all elementary  (K-8) institutions. Our data, and the Christensen/Horn/Staker report shows that online and blended learning is primarily occurring in secondary schools. Check out our disaggregated blended learning models here to see how differently elementary and secondary schools are approaching blended learning.

Of the 55 direct-funded charters that remained, 16 are full-time virtual schools, the majority which are operated by K12, Inc. 37 secondary (k-12 or 9-12) charter schools are blending their learning.  There were 136 K-12 or 9-12 school districts in our sample. 33 operate an on campus virtual school, 18 of which also blend their learning with other students.  Below is how charters and districts compare.

charters2 The short answer to our question is “no”. Direct-funded charters are not more disruptive when it comes to online and blended learning. Unified and high school districts are actually implementing more disruptive technologies than charter schools. Of the four blended models, Rotation is a sustaining innovation that is implemented in traditional classrooms. While Rotation grew in this year’s eLearning census, traditional school districts seem to be more disruptive than their direct-funded charter competition.

Enriched Virtual: 37% to 35%

Flex: 28% to 27%

A La Carte (formerly Self-Blend) 50% to 43%

Rotation: 38% to 38%

 

eLearning Census Infographic: eLearning Populations

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How many students are participating in online or blended learning in California? The answer may not be as important as you think. With our second California eLearning Census, it’s the trend lines that seem more important, particularly the rise in median populations. This year populations rose in all categories: overall totals, averages, and medians. Blended learning was up 17%. Virtual learning rose 23%. Medians, the number where half of all districts have more and half have less, are more telling. This year median populations for both virtual and blended populations rose 25%. Download the entire report here. 

You don’t want to miss our second annual eLearning Strategies Symposium which will be held December 6th and 7th at the Hilton Costa Mesa. Governor Bob Wise and Dr Eric Mazur will keynote on the 6th. Early-bird registration is just $159.

 

Disrupting Class: The Epilogue

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After reading this post, you must download and read the Clayton Christensen Institute’s latest publication, “Is K-12 Blended Learning Disruptive? An introduction to the theory of hybrids.”

This year’s report from Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and Heather Staker is the definitive follow-up to Disrupting Class, the 2008 tome that alerted many, including CLRN, that the online learning revolution was not only coming but that it would hit a tipping point in 2012/2013.  Disrupting Class is why CLRN changed course and began creating a review process for online courses three years ago.

eLearning did tip and now we’re faced with the question, “What’s next?” How will online and blended learning evolve over the next decade? Which forms are truly disruptive and which are stopgap measures that only sustain the same teaching and learning paradigm?

Following up from their 2011 and 2012 reports that provided a new and clear definition of blended learning and also reported about the four blended models they’ve observed, the theory of hybrids describes the journey we’re currently on. Having passed the tipping point and before we hit critical mass, they see a variety of paths ahead and they provide evidence of the paths that are in place. As it turns out, three of their blended models are proving to be disruptive, while one, which gained in popularity this year in CLRN’s California eLearning Census, is a sustaining technology , a hybrid technology, that allows traditional schooling to make use of online or blended learning. In the long run, though, it will be the disruptive blended learning models that will reform teaching and learning.

The Institute’s previous reports that provided a new blended learning definition and outlined the four models were important. They provided a common vocabulary we could all use. However, “the theory of hybrids”, for me, is their most significant work since Disrupting Class.

I’ll be writing much more about their report. It is THAT important. In the meantime, download and read it.

 

eLearning Census Infographic: How Districts Blend Their Learning

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During the 2012 California eLearning Census, we were not surprised to find that the predominant blended learning model was the Self Blend (now renamed A la Carte). After all, eLearning was just reaching the tipping point and a significant number of eLearners were disruptors, those students whose needs weren’t being met by traditional schools.

In 2013, though, we’re finding that districts and direct-funded charters are becoming more comfortable with online and blended learning. Numbers of involved students have grown within each district and 34% were utilizing more than one blended model. When we disaggregated the data, we found significant differences between how elementary (k-8) and unified (K-12 and 9-12) districts were blending. Some of this data is listed below. The complete California eLearning Census Report may be found here.

We encourage you to join us at the 2013 eLearning Strategies Symposium that will be held December 6th and 7th at the Hilton Costa Mesa. Governor Bob Wise and Dr. Eric Mazur will keynote on Friday, December 6th. Early-bird registration is just $159 and groups of two or more may register for $149.

eLearning Census Infographic: Districts Planning to eLearn

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Yesterday, CLRN published our second annual California eLearning Census report, a detailed look at how school districts and direct-funded charters are implementing online and blended learning in California. The report includes five, themed infographics and each day this week, we’re highlighting one on this blog. The entire report may be downloaded here.

While 46% of all districts and charters are implementing online and blended learning, we asked those that aren’t if they were currently discussing or planning to eLearn. While overall 26% said they were, the disaggregated data shows that 44% of unified (K-12) and high school (9-12) districts were actively engaged.

 

 

eLearning Census Infographic: Districts Learning Online

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Today, CLRN published the 2013 California eLearning Census report, and you’ll see out executive summary below this post. Download the full report here. Below is the first of five, themed infographics that detail census data that was collected from 516 school districts and direct-funded charters.

 

 

California eLearning Census Report

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CLRN is proud to publish our second annual California eLearning Census report that shares and analyzes online and blended learning data from California’s districts and direct-funded charters. This morning, the SIA Cabinet Report also published a story about our census and CLRN’s future. The report is linked below our summary and we’ll be publishing themed, infographics over the next five days. With online and blended learning growing rapidly in California, you may wish to register now for this December’s eLearning Strategies Symposium in Costa Mesa. Governor Bob Wise and Dr. Eric Mazur will keynote Friday and a special guest to be announced soon will keynote Saturday. Early-bird registration is just $159.

Census Executive Summary

The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN,) a statewide education technology service of the California Department of Education and administered by the Stanislaus County Office of Education, wanted to better understand the full-time virtual and blended learning landscape in California. On March 1st, CLRN distributed a survey to 1014 California public school districts and 763 direct-funded charters. We received 516 responses accounting for 29% of the total. 46% of districts and direct-funded charters reported having students participate in online and blended learning. Of the districts and direct-funded charters whose students were not participating, 26% reported they were discussing or planning implement online or blended learning.

 The rate at which eLearning is being adopted, the blended models in use, and the desire to implement online or blended learning varies greatly depending on the district or charter grade span. While 46% of all respondents are implementing online or blended learning, just 19% of elementary districts (K-5 or K-8) engage in eLearning while 73% of unified and high school districts and charters (K-12 and 9-12) participate.  Although 26% of those respondents who aren’t eLearning shared they are currently planning to implement online or blended learning, just 20% of elementary districts are discussing or planning implementation as compared with 44% of unified and high school districts.

Even how schools blend their learning differs between elementary and unified districts. Overall, the top three blended models are Rotation (47%), Self-Blend (40%), and Enriched-Virtual (33%). When disaggregated by grade span, we found that the predominant blended model in elementary districts is Rotation with 80% saturation. Just 15% of elementary districts are utilizing more than one blended model. However, in unified and high school districts, the top three models are the Self-Blend (48%), Rotation (39%), and Enriched Virtual (37%). 38% of unified and high school districts employ more than one blended model. 

Online and blended populations grew last year. The census counted 125, 265 online and blended students in 2012-2013, an 18% increase over the 2012 total. However, full-time virtual students rose 23% to 24,383 while the number of blended students rose 17% to 100,882. Median populations in all categories rose 25%. In 2013, the median virtual population was 70 students, up from 56 in 2012. The median of blended students rose from 80 to 100 students. The average number of summer school, virtual, and blended students all rose in 2013. Appendix A includes five, themed infographics detailing much of the census data.

Download the 2013 California eLearning Census Report (5.7M)