Nearing End of Pilot, Students Say Online Learning Offers Flexibiilty

Jessica Pucila is a busy teenager—she’s enrolled in six classes, is a member of three clubs and has a job where she works 10 hours per week after school.

She is one of 60 other students who are of eight school districts in partnership with Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Curriculum Center. Participating districts include Bedford, Chappaqua, Katonah-Lewisboro, Lakeland, Mamaroneck, Ossining, Peekskill and Yorktown.

By taking one of those classes online, Pucila's able to juggle her schedule by fitting in coursework whenever works for her—early morning, during a free period or after she gets home from work.

"Usually in school you have a teacher telling you what’s due the next day," said Pucila. "But [with online classes], the assignments are due at the end of the week—you decide what you'll do first and for how long." 

That flexibility has, not surprisingly, been a challenge for some students, said teacher Chris DeMattia, who designed and taught the course—Take Action! Support a Sustainable Community—to Pucila and students from three other school districts.

"There has to be a great deal of structure and we are always focusing on making sure every student participates," said DeMattia. This semester helped students develop checklists for managing their online tasks like watching videos and taking part in online discussions.

 was to expose students to skills needed in a 21st century learning environment—in high school, college and the workforce.

"This class definitely forced me to use technology I hadn't used before," said Pucila, who had to learn how to voice-record interviews and convert the memos to different types of usable files.

 had decided to participate in the program because the online classes offer opportunities students would otherwise not have been able to work into their regular school program. In addition, it allows students to learn from teachers with various talent and skills across the region, superintendent of Lakeland schools George Stone said. 

"Aside from the online content they read and take notes on, they are learning how to communicate electronically not only with their instructor but with other students in the course," he said. "This sharing of information through discussion boards creates more perspectives and often better understanding. Online courses and discussions are widely used in post secondary education programs, so students leaving high school with these experiences should be well equipped to adapt to similar situations in college."

Linda Brandon, manager of instructional technology in the Lakeland school district, said there are about 10 students participating in the program, whom she called "highly motivated and high academically achieving students."

She also agreed the blended learning program, which offers online courses as well as some face-to-face interactions, offers students opportunities to learn from teachers in the region and take courses their school districts don't offer. 

"They're learning to be independent-learners," she said. 

The  also participates as a pilot program to begin to learn about blended/online learning and how it may serve the student’s learning in the future, deputy superintendent Florence O'Connor said. Simultaneously, in Yorktown, school officials are forming a committee to study the role of online learning in the district. 

Interacting in meaningful ways with students beyond the brick and mortar of their own high school can be a powerful experience for students, said DeMattia, who worked with his students to identify projects to improve the environment.

"We had students from Ossining and Peekskill sharing with students from Bedford, using examples that were personal to them—sharing across geographic boundaries was enriching experience," he said. 

A new crop of students comes in January, said Diana Cunningham, an educational consultant to BOCES, who worked with teachers over the summer to develop the curriculum and gathered feedback during the pilot.

She said teachers would focus on learning technology tools earlier. "We're learning how to do it better," she said, noting they were also considering opening up the program to new districts.

Stone said he has supported the use of instructional technology and has seen "the natural affinity so many students have for learning through technology."

"While it can never replace a great teacher, a great teacher can use it in ways that will expand learning tremendously," he said. 

And that's just the beginning. 

"Technology will allow greater amounts of information to be accessed much quicker and programs to be integrated across curriculum," Stone said. "I believe classrooms of the future will be constructed of walls that are almost entirely multi-media, and student personal devices such as iPads will eventually replace traditional text books."

The BOCES project originated through the work of the PNW BOCES Curriculum Council led by Marla Gardner at BOCES. Click here for information.