Week 1 Reflection

What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? How has your thinking changed as a result of this week's learning?

I appreciate both sides of views presented in the readings and the postings. I've certainly gained greater understanding of the merits of virtual schools. Frankly, though virtual school concept is not entirely new and that I am in the educational technology field, I do not see many successful cases (success herein refers to improvement in students' standard in national diagnostic).

Especially in other parts of the world outside US, I observe that it is an uphill task to set up virtual schools. Maybe there is "first-mover advantage and that virtual schools can be accessed from any part of the world, the origins of virtual schools seem to be from US, UK and Australia. And, my guess is that due to cultural norms in certain countries, people may not be used to virtual learning and there may be a lack of a complete ecosystem to support the setting up of virtual schools.

Given the case studies and some statistics provided, I am now more convinced that virtual schools is a viable model for learners.

With this learning, I hope that in future weeks into this module, I can learn more about how to work on some challenges of virtual schools - quality, scale and sustainability.