1. Researching online distance
learning in schools in New Zealand
and North America
Michael Barbour, Wayne State University

3. Single provincial
programme
Combination of
provincial and
district-based
programmes
Primarily district-
based programmes
Uses programmes
from other provinces

4. VLN Primary

5. Research Purpose
To capture, in a range of ways, information that
will contribute to the knowledge base about the
development of virtual schooling in New
Zealand, in particular, how the Learning
Communities Online Handbook is being used to
assist and inform this development.

7. “Sites”
• 9 current or emerging clusters
• 3 VLN-related projects
• 13 schools
• 1 health school
• Te Kura
• 9 tertiary institutions

8. Data Collected
• Interviews
– 10 current & former ePrincipals
– 8 Principals & Deputy Principals
– 12 eTeachers, eDeans& Facilitators
– 18 Students
• Observations
– 12 video conferencing session
– 10 asynchronous work locations
• Document Analysis
– reports, courses, data, school newsletter, cluster info, etc.

9. Project Deliverables
• Online artefacts
– minimum of ten artefacts
– minimum of three digital stories
• Final report in print and digital formats
– summary of observations, findings and
recommendations

11. Common Obstacles
• Funding and resources
• Lack of vision
• Lack of consistency
between clusters
• Lack of co-operation
– inter-cluster
– intra-cluster

12. Pockets of Innovation
• Changing teacher
practice
• Opening classrooms
• Mentor teacher
• Considering student
learning space

25. Future Research
• a national survey of
distance education
activity & processes
– # of students
– # of teachers
– # of courses
– which courses
– resource model
– technologies/software
• include VLN clusters, Te
Kura, health schools,
tertiary groups

26. Your
Questions
And
Comments