Journal of Interactive Online Learning – I chose the article by Feng Liu, Erik Black, James Algina, Cathy Cavanaugh, and Kara Dawson titled The Validation of One Parental Involvement Measurement inVirtual Schooling since I have a high school student and thought the information might be interesting.
The Parental Involvement Mechanisms Model was the chosen research tool. The paper discussed the original Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of the parental involvement process. The model looked at mechanisms of influence such as parental encouragement, modeling, reinforcement, and instruction. The study was completed with surveys from students in an online setting in high school courses. The study showed the need for more research to be done, but the model was a good tool for measurement. This paper looked more at data testing and validity than ways to encourage parental influence in a virtual classroom.
It appears that there is much research ongoing regarding distance learning. After taking an online class, I can see first hand the pros and cons of on line learning. There is information to be gained with the on line approach, however I think a lot will be lost without having in-person interaction within the classroom
2:07 pm - 10-18-2010
A lot of students selected this article. I do agree parental involvement is important. We will have a speaker from the Virtual Academy and this is a great topic to address with her.