“Virtual High School” Trends and Effectiveness Examined in New Book by SRI International Researchers

MENLO PARK, California – December 16, 2002 – What is it like to teach an online course? Do students learn effectively from online courses? Why have a dozen states started their own virtual high schools? How will this new trend in education change the way teaching and learning is done?

A new book written by researchers at leading independent research institute SRI International answers these questions and more about the “virtual high school,” a quickly growing educational trend with implications for the future of education.

Published by Teachers College Press, The Virtual High School: Teaching Generation V is the first authoritative account of how online high schools affect both teachers and students. The book presents critical information for educators and policymakers interested in creating, adapting, and learning how to use these new schools effectively. Both strengths and weaknesses of online learning are presented.

The book offers insights gained by SRI researchers over the past five years and draws on a large research study they conducted via surveys, focus groups, classroom observations, and interviews with superintendents, principals, teachers, and students, as well as with leaders in 10 virtual high schools. The pioneering efforts of the Hudson Public Schools-Concord Consortium Virtual High School are profiled prominently.

Authors of The Virtual High School are Andrew Zucker, Ed.D., associate director of SRI’s Center for Education Policy, and Robert Kozma, Ph.D., principal scientist in SRI’s Center for Technology in Learning, with Louise Yarnall, research social scientist in SRI’s Center for Technology in Learning, and Camille Marder, research social scientist in SRI’s Center for Education and Human Services.

The book’s foreword is by Chris Dede from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dede characterizes the book as “a definitive study of an important emerging phenomenon … The analysis of the model provided in this book is invaluable for anyone seeking to develop virtual learning experiences at any developmental level, in any context.”

More information about the book is found at http://store.tcpress.com/0807742864.shtml#723 .

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International ( http://www.sri.com ) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 55 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.