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Oct. 19, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Military tries out virtual schools

Students, classes will move together

By RICHARD LAKE
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

When members of the military are stationed overseas, they usually bring their families. They live in Germany or Japan or some other faraway place with a military base and, often, a school run by the Department of Defense.

But members of the military often move from base to base, forcing their school-age children to switch schools time and time again.

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    • The agency wants to make the transition easier, which is why it has partnered with education officials at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to develop what they're calling a "virtual high school" curriculum.

    "The virtual high school is not intended to replace face-to-face schools. It is a supplement to them," said Greg Levitt, the lead subject matter expert for UNLV on the project.

    The Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, the branch responsible for the education of military members' children, operates nearly 200 schools worldwide with more than 90,000 students. The agency has standards similar to those in any public schools.

    But if a student were to transfer to a new school that was not offering a course they needed at the time, it could mean the student would have to complete an old-fashioned correspondence course to fulfill graduation requirements.

    Agency officials noticed the problem, and sought out experts who could help them solve it.

    It awarded a $6.2 million contract to UNLV's Division of Educational Outreach to develop 33 courses that would encompass the virtual high school.

    Officials say students should no longer run into problems about missing courses. The virtual courses will stay on track with the courses in the actual schools.

    "So, if a student was taking a course in a DoDEA school and had to leave midsemester and move to another DoDEA school where the course wasn't offered, the student could pick up where he or she left off through the virtual class." Patricia Riley, chief of the defense agency's distance learning, said in a statement.

    Christine Ditzler, UNLV's senior instructional designer on the project, happens to know a lot about the problem.

    Ditzler was raised mostly in Europe, a child in a U.S. military family. She switched schools often and graduated high school in Germany.

    "I've gone to three different schools within one year."

    The virtual high school will help keep students' school lives more stable, she said, by keeping them on one track throughout high school.

    Ditzler, with the university's distance education department, said current software makes it possible for students to videoconference with professors in real time and even exchange documents with them.

    Victor McGuire, the project director, said UNLV is scheduled to turn over results of its efforts to defense officials next summer. The defense agency will implement and run the program the UNLV officials have developed.

    If all goes well, the contract could be extended for a second phase, at $4 million for four more years. The extension would cover the development of more courses and teacher resource materials.

    The virtual high school program is set to go into effect in fall 2010.

    Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.

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    Alison wrote on October 21, 2009 11:54 AM: Fran, if you check scores for Dept. of Defense schools, you'll find they are at or near the top in all areas, at all grade levels. In particular, students of color do much better in DoDEA than in other U.S. districts. You're right, it is affecting children's educations... for the better! Test scores don't tell the whole story, and of course there are many things DoDEA could improve, but overall the district makes children's lives better, not worse.

    As for why we have troops "over there" during a recession, well, even if you don't buy the argument that it's necessary for national and international security, it's worth noting that Defense Spending is a huge part of our economy. If we reduced or eliminated our military, many people (including civilians who do things like build planes) would be quite suddenly unemployed.


    Msgt (ret) USAF wrote on October 19, 2009 09:50 AM: fran

    You have a valid question about troops stationed in Germany. You are just asking it in the wrong forum.

    As for military kids, they are not being shorted on their education no matter where their parents are stationed. Military life exposes them to advantages not shared by those of such systems as CCSD. Competent educators (not educrats) don't fool with fads. This article is an example of solving a problem without a lot of mumbo-jumbo from "consultants".

    Discipline is still practiced in military schools. Surely you understand that commanders will come down hard on parents who cannot/will not control their kids. You wont find gangs in this kind of setting.

    Of course it isn't a perfect system. It is a lot closer than CCSD.






    Frank M wrote on October 19, 2009 07:47 AM: I get it, Fran, you are clueless.


    Fran wrote on October 19, 2009 07:10 AM: I'm not the one who's been sleeping.


    Frank M wrote on October 19, 2009 06:57 AM: Go back to sleep Fran


    Fran wrote on October 19, 2009 03:29 AM: What on earth do we have troops in "Germany, Japan or some other faraway place" for? Not only is it a gross waste of our money during a depression, it is affecting the educations of all these children. Another excellent reason to end the U.S. global empire. It is making the world a worse place to live.