Reimagining schools: The potential of virtual education

The K-12 education environment is poised for tremendous change, and virtual education is central to that transformation. This swift increase has been dramatic, as almost all states now have some form of distance education program for K-12 students, most at the secondary level. Virtual education offers a chance to reimagine how schools could function in ways that truly connect to digital age learners. To responsibly guide the emerging virtual education movement, four areas should be addressed, research, policy, teacher preparation and new possibilities. New research in this field should be based on triangulated, data-based evidence, and go beyond generalizations and current practices. Research on K-12 virtual education should also be content-focused. Such research could include the role that mobile devices, informal learning and the use of social media might have on virtual learning. Teaching in a virtual environment requires specific instructional skills involving new forms of communication, assessment, community building and related technical expertise