Online learning opinions and facts

MVU began as an agent for change in education, promoting the expansion and improvement of online learning in Michigan. That role focuses on the K-12 community, providing online learning products, services and solutions for students, teachers and administrators.

This collection of reports and articles is intended to provide some of the latest research and thought regarding MVU and online learning.

Focusing on how students learn best
In his January 2012 budget message, Governor Rick Snyder asked MVU to accelerate technology innovation in Michigan’s schools and establish a center for online learning research and innovation. To assist in articulating a vision for Michigan’s education system, MVU commissioned Public Sector Consultants Inc. (PSC) and the Citizens Research Council (CRC) to answer two questions:

What is the future of education in Michigan?
What role does/could technology play in that future?

To answer these questions, PSC and CRC interviewed more than 30 state and national education leaders identified by MVU, PSC, and/or CRC. In addition, the research team conducted an extensive literature scan including policy briefs and academic papers either recommended by MVU or one of the interviewees or identified by PSC/CRC’s own independent research.

The result was Moving Michigan Farther, Faster: Personalized Learning and the Transformation of Learning in Michigan, a 16-page report that includes recommendations for students, teachers, schools, technology, data, and quality and accountability. Click the link below to read the report.

Moving Michigan Farther, Faster: Personalized Learning and the Transformation of Learning in Michigan (PDF)

Measuring Quality From Inputs to Outcomes: Creating Student Learning Performance Metrics and Quality Assurance for Online Schools
Online learning is growing rapidly in Michigan and across the nation. A report released at the recent International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) virtual school symposium in New Orleans asked as "online learning is becoming more common, is it the better way for students to learn than traditional schools?"

Measuring Quality From Inputs to Outcomes: Creating Student Learning Performance Metrics and Quality Assurance for Online Schools (PDF)

Planning Guide for Online and Blended Learning
MVU published the Planning Guide for Online and Blended Learning as a means of helping facilitate a strategic planning process to expand the use of online and blended learning. Please contact our offices to explore how we can help you develop an implementation plan for online learning in your district.

Planning Guide for Online and Blended Learning (PDF)

MACUL Journal articles
MVU is a regular contributor to the MACUL Journal, a quarterly publication of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning. Recent editions include articles about online professional development, project-based learning and online assessment.

Social Networking: Personal, Educational and All Mixed Up (Winter 2013, pages 18-19)
Designing an Online Professional Development Learning Experience for STEM Teachers (Fall 2012, pages 14-16)
MVU Partners in Innovation to Define Future in Online Learning (Conference 2012, page 14)
Inch Your Way Toward Integration (Conference 2012, pages 10-12)
Promoting Higher-Order Thinking with the iPad (Winter 2011-12, pages 12-13)
MVS: Bringing Your Classroom into the Cloud (Fall 2011, pages 8-9)
The Medium Is the Assessment (Spring/Summer 2011, pages 14-15)
Well-trained Teachers Are Essential for 21st Century Learning (Conference 2011, pages 14-15)
MVU Offers Online Teaching and Learning Mastery Program Developed with Project-based Learning Concepts (Winter 2010/11, page 11)

Mackinac Center report recommends expansion of online learning
A report released by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Virtual Learning in Michigan's Schools, written by the center's Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek, extols the benefits of online learning and says that "Michigan should expand leadership role in online education." The study analyzes the financial costs and academic benefits of online learning, and it explores how it could further benefit Michigan students.