Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 17

Internet Learning
a subset of K-12 online school programs.
Research on a broad scale is required to
measure the impact of social and nonacademic
programs on K-12 online student
engagement, retention, and success.
These efforts can build upon theoretical
foundations established in higher education
such as the CoI model (Garrison, 2011;
Garrison et al., 2001) and the work of NSSE
(Kuh, 1996).
As innovations in instructional
formats and school infrastructures continue
to be implemented, program developers,
policy makers, teachers, and administrators
look beyond the big data of K-12 online
growth and use technological opportunity
to redefine education in positive and
responsive ways. Research is needed in
many areas of online teaching and learning.
Guided by both data and imagination, it will
be possible to craft, implement, evaluate,
and refine new and innovative instructional
models that will enrich and redefine K-12
education in the 21st century.
References
Boston, W., Diaz, S., Gibson, A. M., Ice,
P., Richardson, J., & Swan, K. (2009). An
exploration of the relationship between
indicators of the community of inquiry
framework and retention in online
programs. Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 13(3), 67-83. Retrieved from
onlinelearningconsortium.org/sites/default/
files/v13n3_8boston.pdf
Chang, D. (September, 2015). “Generation Z:
The digital game changers.” Sawubona, page
20.
Garrison, D. R. (2011). Elearning in the 21st
century: A framework for research and practice
(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer,
W. (2001). Critical inquiry in a text-based
environment: Computer conferencing in
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Kuh, G. D. (1995). The other curriculum:
Out-of-class experiences associated with
student learning and personal development.
Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155.
Layne, M., Boston, W. E., & Ice, P. (2013).
A longitudinal study of online learners:
Shoppers, swirlers, stoppers, and succeeders
as a function of demographic characteristics.
Online Journal of Distance Learning
Administration, 16(2).
Miron, G., & Urschel, J. (2012). Understanding
and improving full-time virtual schools.
Retrieved from http://nepc.colorado.edu/
publication/understanding-improvingvirtual
National Center for Education Statistics.
(1995). Extracurricular participation
and student engagement (NCES 95-741).
Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/
web/95741.asp
National Center for Education Statistics.
(2012). Higher Education: Gaps in Access
and Persistence (NCES 2012-046). Retrieved
from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012046/
chapter3.asp
National Survey of Student Engagement
(NSSE). (2015). Survey Instrument. Retrieved
from http://nsse.indiana.edu/html/survey_
instruments.cfm?Flag=yes&sy=2015
Swan, K., & Ice, P. (2010). The community
of inquiry framework ten years later:
Introduction to the special issue. The
Internet and Higher Education, 13(1-2), 1-4.
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