Development and Management of Virtual Schools: Issues and Trends, by Catherine Cavanaugh

Development and Management of Virtual Schools: Issues and Trends, by Catherine Cavanaugh. (Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, 2004, 274 pages, $74.95 hardcover, $59.95 softcover)When I was first asked to design and lead professional development for teachers who would be providing virtual course work to our students through video and Web-based media, I spent many hours conducting literature reviews so that my work could be based on the latest research and wisdom from the field. I explored the varied and rich electronic resources provided by professional and research organizations and purchased those print resources that were offered by the authors whose names seemed to emerge most frequently. I was fortunate to work with leaders in the field of distance education and my steep learning curve was richly endowed. As I studied Cavanaugh’s text for this book review, I often thought about that earlier learning curve and wished that her book had been printed 9 years earlier, since it would have quickly become my mentor and guide to the varied research and practice that informed my efforts. Today, the need for reliable, definitive guidance to inform decision making in response to the growing need to define quality for virtual education initiatives is paramount. The following comments summarize the thought-provoking and informative material presented by Cavanaugh and the contributors that she has selected.Development and Management of Virtual Schools ably serves as a window to consider the successes and challenges that define the design, delivery, and evaluation of teaching and learning in the virtual environment. The topics that are addressed resonate with many facets of professional experience that pertain to virtual schools and also to the broader lens of school reform. The author states that “the purpose of the book is to share knowledge of issues and trends in virtual schooling, from the perspectives of virtual school administrators, course developers, educators, students, and other stakeholders,” so “that virtual school planners, managers, and educators can maximize their efforts for the education of students” (p. viii). The author keeps this promise in the collection of case studies and articles she presents. I would further suggest that the issues and trends discussed in the text are informative for all who strive to improve educational opportunities and quality in other settings.The book is organized into four sections that include: Administrative Issues, Standards and Accreditation, Virtual School Educators, and Course Development and Implementation. Each section contains chapters clearly selected to provide perspectives from a wide range of public, private, K-12, university, and private sector experiences and perspectives. Not surprisingly, given Cavanaugh’s expertise and experience and the credentials of the contributing professionals, each chapter includes references to research as well as to the reality of practice that is representative of the research base presented. The extensive bibliographies that accompany each chapter provide yet another rich resource.The opening chapter, by Glenn Russell of Monash University, Australia, provides a succinct historical view of virtual schooling and sets the stage for the chapters that follow as he shares current reports that have provided insights into the educational value, philosophical viewpoints, communication theories, and the problems inherent in virtual schooling. The chapter’s list of problems of virtual schools reminds one of the immensity of the task before virtual educators to establish high-quality systems of learning that meet the needs of all students. The immensity of the task is highlighted in the remaining two chapters of this section that present insights into the development and administration of the Houston Texas Independent School District virtual school initiative and the Canadian elementary and secondary school experience. Those who are considering the development of a virtual school would certainly benefit from the candid reflection and advice by these authors on both the challenges and the strengths exhibited during each program’s development.Cavanaugh begins this section with an explanation of a Resources-Practices-Results (RPR) iterative cycle that should guide the procurement and preparation of resources, the delivery of instruction, and the analysis of the results of virtual school education. She relates the success factors inherent in the cycle to various established state, regional, and national accreditation standards. The stated success factors for each phase and the appendix of surveyed schools become a valuable resource for virtual school program leaders. The chapter conclusion provides a lead into the next topic as Cavanaugh states that “One strength of distance education is the potential to focus the learning process on the student, regardless of the student’s unique needs and abilities” (p. 78).Cavanaugh expands on this important theme in Chapter V: “Distance Learning as a Form of Accommodation.” Through a discussion of the ways in which distance learning is an application of assistive technology to meet special needs, Cavanaugh reminds the reader of both the legal and educational responsibilities to students with disabilities and the ways in which the virtual school experience can address unique learner needs. This discussion is pivotal to the continued development of virtual schools that truly meet the needs of all students and the ongoing research that must accompany and inform these efforts. This chapter’s information should be required reading for all who administer and teach in a virtual school so that the benefits of distance learning are not relegated to advanced courses offered to carefully screened students.Sharon Johnston provides an operational glimpse of the teaching performances and routines that have been established to serve the students enrolled in the Florida Virtual School. Examples of teacher-student communication, teamwork, and student-centered learning illustrate how “Virtual educators are reshaping the routine learning modes of the traditional school day to a dynamic, interactive real-world learning environment that presents choices to parents and students and requires students to take ownership of the learning process” (p. 133). It is an interesting paradox that virtual schools are presented as offering real-world learning environments to a greater degree than our traditional schools offer.This section concludes with “Professional Development Recommendations for Online Course Designers.” The authors, Janice M. Hinson and Rachel Sellers Bordelon, incorporated the National Educational Technology Standards Project and the National Staff Development Council’s e-learning standards to suggest models for online professional development relative to the needs of those who are designing quality distance learning courses and programs.Having established a common language through the information and research presented in the previous sections, Cavanaugh presents two chapters of vignettes, examples, issues, and challenges by representatives of IBM Global Education, Florida Virtual School USA, virtual classes in New Zealand and the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Virtual Schooling Services in Queensland, Australia. The difficulty of the task before those who would transition from the best practices of the classroom to best practice in the online environment is stated by Schnitz and Azbell of IBM:This section provides a useful synopsis of necessary design elements that are especially informative when combined with the accessibility guidelines referred to in Cavanaugh’s earlier chapter.Completing the rich material presented in the book are various research models and lessons learned from their application in virtual school services. The discussions regarding the use of the Activity Theory Framework and Critical Incident Reporting to evaluate components of distance education provide a glimpse of the complexities inherent in assessing the impact of virtual school models. They serve to inform future development of virtual school initiatives. How I wish I had the tools being developed to accomplish the Critical Incident Reporting as I work in our rural state to help teachers understand the results of their instructional decisions!Chapter 12 adds a footnote to the rest of the book with an overview of Science Net, a university-science center partnership that serves the Singapore public. Leo Tan Wee Hin and R. Subramaniam provide a provocative summary of their virtual school extension:Science Net heralds mature knowledge acquisition and problem solving that is selfdirected, independent, and reliant on the validity of the expertise (and reputation) of those who offer the advice. This initiative begs the obvious question: Are our schools, virtual or not, equipped to adequately prepare all students to both contribute and consume with understanding and expertise?In summary, this book makes an important contribution to the study of virtual schools in particular and distance education in general, serving as an excellent resource for teachers, leaders, and policymakers to survey previous literature in preparation for their own research, program development, and evaluation. The chapters are written in an accessible yet scholarly tone that piques the reader’s curiosity to learn more about each topic and program.

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