Running head: DISTANCE LEARNING WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS

Distance Learning with High School Students

Harrison Boltin

Liberty University
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Abstract

This paper addresses the concern of using distance learning in a secondary setting. The goal of

the paper to is answers three questions: what is distance learning, what do high schoolers taking

these courses look like, and why should distance learning be used. The paper looks into statistics

taken from a study and from experiences that are known from life.
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Distance Learning With High School Students

Communities have often put a great value on education and sought to have a location

where the young minds of tomorrow could be filled with facts and ideas. Historical epics such as

the book and television classic Little House on the Prairie, romanticized the idea of students

traveling for miles daily to attend the one room schoolhouse. It often created drama when a

student could not travel to the schoolhouse because that simply meant that the student would not

be able to learn. Thankfully, with the advent of distance learning, that is not the case anymore.

Distance learning is flooding into high schools to as an educational tool for traditional and non-

traditional learners. As this learning style increases in use, educational literature has sought to

understand and define what distance learning is, who uses it and why it should be used,.

Definition of Distance Learning

Distance learning is a new phenomenon that was in its infancy a mere ten years ago.

Despite its relatively new nature, the literature available about this topic has produced an

understandable and encompassing definition-

[D]istance learning is the delivery of educational programs to students who are

off site. In a distance learning course, the instructor is not in the same place as the

student; the students may be widely separated by geography and time; and the

instructor and students communicate with each other using various means, from

the U.S. mail to the Internet (What Is Distance Learning?, 2012).

As is implied by the name, distance learning is largely defined as learning that

encompasses students and teachers who are geographically separated. Middle school students

reading the popular assigned book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Girl, will remember the

correspondence courses that the inhabitants of the secret room took to entertain themselves
DISTANCE LEARNING WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS 4

Though by definition these are distance learning courses, this paper will confine itself to the

distance learning courses that are offered over the internet, as these are the more common ones to

be presented to high school students in America today.

Geography is not the only separator when it comes to distance learning though. Students

are separated from the teacher and each other by time. A teacher may post an assignment before

their dinner and student may reply the next morning over breakfast. Negatively, a student may

ask a much needed question online when a teacher is unable to answer promptly. This allows

freedom, but it also puts a need for online learners to manage their own learning. Students

involved in online learning must monitortheirownthinkingandactionastheyworktowards

theobjectivesofthecourse(Wang, Peng, Huang, Hou, & Wang, 2008). In light of all this,

what kind of student is typically involved in this education that demands self-monitoring because

of the time and space separation?

CharacteristicsofHighSchoolDistanceLearners
Withtheriseofdistancelearning,researchhasbeenconductedtostudywhatstudents

typicallyparticipateinanddowellwithdistancelearning.Thisevergrowingbodyof

researchhaspresentgeneralizationsofthisstudent.Itsuggeststhatstudentswhoparticipate

indistancelearningareoften very academically capable, highly motivated, self-disciplined,

and independent (Kirby & Sharpe, 2010). In addition to this, it is likely that these students have

high literacy, are comfortably adept with technology, and maintain plans to attend college upon

graduation (Kirby & Sharpe, 2010).

In an attempt to present a more detailed image of this student, Kirby and Sharpe (2010)

use a survey from two Canadian provinces consisting of 35 public schools to gather information

on who distance learners in secondary schools are. This survey gathered information such as

socioeconomic status and highest parental education. They also looked at the grade the student
DISTANCE LEARNING WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS 5

earned for the highest level of mathematics that was taken as this represented academic rigor

(Kirby & Sharpe, 2010). Though most students still do not participate in distance learning

(62.5%), a growing percentage now does include distance learning in their high school

curriculum.
According to this survey, the 37.5% of high school students were more likely to be

females (67.0%), hold an academic average of 80% or higher (52.7%), complete homework

assignment two or more days per week (87.4%), and hold a positive attitude toward school

(63.1%). In addition to this, most of the students (79.5%) did not complete an advanced level of

mathematics as part of their secondary school curriculum. Outside of school hours, these

students spent their time volunteering (91.1%), participating in extra-curricular activities

organized by the school (76.6%) or other organizations (58.9%) instead of using the internet for

more than 20 hours a week (61.3%). In comparison to the numbers participating in the

previously mentioned activities, relatively few worked a part-time job after school (21.4%).

Despite the low number of hours spent on the internet, the vast majority of the distance students

were confident about their ability to use computer technology (93.8%). In their academic areas

most hold confidence in their reading (99.1%), writing (76.8%), and mathematics (63.4%) skills.

Upon completing their high school careers 51.8% of the students expressed a desire to continue

their education in a university setting. (Kirby & Sharpe, 2010).

This data reveals a student who has a priority of education and a confidence in their

abilities in the educational realm. They utilize their time outside of school in organizations and

other structured settings. They are also comfortable with the technology that they use to complete

their schoolwork, which allows them to more easily maintain the level of academic
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accomplishment that is common for this group of students. With a type of student revealed, a

questions still lingers on why students who are already successful in many areas of secondary

school should participate in distance learning.

Distance Learning in High School

Distance learning provides benefits for students in high school and in educational settings

beyond secondary. While in high school, distance learning provides a way for students who need

to complete courses and do not have the ability to do so within the school day. Students who

wish to graduate early and lack a few credits can complete them through distance learning. High

school students who transfer schools mid year sometimes are not able to complete courses

needed or at the very least will struggle to catch up. This also allows students to take summer

courses without having to go into a classroom. Summer course via distance learning can be used

as credit recovery for students who failed the previous year or credit refreshers for at-risks

students who need continual review so as not to lose the knowledge over the summer.

Distance learning can be used within the typical classroom setting as well. Teachers can

blend parts of distance learning in their classroom with many technology solutions and apps

available. When this blending is accomplished, there has been a positive increase in the academic

achievement averages of the students (Ibrahim&Demirkol,2014).Not only was there a positive

increase from the baseline of students, but students in classes that were identical barring the use

of distance learning blending did not see this increase. Therefore, the blended learning scenario

not only helped students improve from their knowledge, but they surpassed their counterparts in

traditional learning classes (Ibrahim&Demirkol,2014).

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In South Carolina, there is a virtual school open to any students in local private or public

schools to take courses. This helps students in private schools take courses that are not offered at

their smaller institution, such as sign language, French, etc. Students in smaller schools may also

have scheduling conflicts with required classes due to fewer offerings of courses. Distance

learning makes it possible for these students to still complete their degree requirements.
Once these degree requirements are complete, students who have completed distance

learning courses have a leg up in comparison to other students. The student depicted in the

survey above is one that many students would strive to be, and studies have reported that perhaps

the distance learning courses are a contributing factor to this perceived success. Though it is

admittedly based on a limited amount of research, one study hypothesized that students who

complete online courses in high school attend postsecondary education, especially university-

level education, in comparatively greater numbers to those students who did not take distance

learning classes in high school (Kirby, Sharpe, Bourgeois, & Greene, 2010). Theoretically, the

distance learning courses made the students view universities as achievable options. Not only did

the students who took distance learning courses attend universities in larger numbers, but they

performed better academically during their tenure at school. Taking distance learning courses in

high school also raised their likelihood for the student to persist after the first year of university

(Kirby, Sharpe, Bourgeois, & Greene, 2010).

Beyond the success in universities, students gained skills that they took outside of the

education world. One study commented that, Web-based education is a new education model

which can be used to support the acquisition of new information skills and for the enrichment of

students learning habits and experiences (Ibrahim & Demirkol, 2014). The habits and
DISTANCE LEARNING WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS 8

experiences learned in distance learning add to the hypothesis that distance learning is beneficial

in producing self-discipline and a positive attitude towards education.

Conclusion
In comparison to the long-standing tradition of a teacher and students in a classroom,

distance learning is the new kid on the block. Despite this, researchers agree that it is here to

stay. Though the permanence of distance learning is a source of aggravation for some, distance

learning in high school has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on students. The emotional

toil it takes on some students should not be ignored, and further research is needed in the areas of

technology anxiety (Oluwalola, 2015), timely feedback (Lemley, Sudweeks, Howell, Laws, &

Sawyer, 2007), and the usage of distance learning with students with learning disabilities. As

distance learning is used more, the areas where it lacks will mend themselves. Though it will

probably never completely replace the traditional classroom, it is a tool that needs to be taken

advantage of, especially in preparing high school students for life, work, and post-secondary

schooling.
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References

Ibrahim, Y. K., & DEMIRKOL, M. (2014). Effect of blended learning environment model on high

school students' academic achievement. TOJET : The Turkish Online Journal of

Educational Technology, 13(1) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1519880148?accountid=12085

KIRBY, D., & SHARPE, D. (2010). High school students in the new learning environment: A

profile of distance e-learners. TOJET : The Turkish Online Journal of Educational

Technology, 9(1) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1288355731?accountid=12085

Kirby, D., Sharpe, D., Bourgeois, M., & Greene, M. (2010). GRADUATES OF THE NEW

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: A follow-up study of high school distance e-learners.

Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 11(3), 161-173,193-194. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/854050135?

accountid=12085

Lemley, D., Sudweeks, R., Howell, S., Laws, R. D., & Sawyer, O. (2007). THE EFFECTS OF

IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED FEEDBACK ON SECONDARY DISTANCE LEARNERS.

Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 8(3), 251-260,294-295. Retrieved from

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accountid=12085
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Oluwalola, F. K. (2015). Effect of emotion on distance e-learning -- the fear of technology.

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Wang, Y., Peng, H., Huang, R., Hou, Y., & Wang, J. (2008). Characteristics of distance learners:

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1728. http://doi.org/10.1080/02680510701815277

What is Distance Learning? (2012). In B. Romaniuk (Ed.), The College Blue Book (39th ed., Vol. 6,

pp. 3-9). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from

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