States

Online-Education Consortium Created for States

By Andrew Trotter — November 07, 2001 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To help states share the powerful online educational tools that some are developing, 14 states have joined together to form the U.S. Open e-Learning Consortium.

Participants expressed hope that their collaboration will extend to many aspects of online education, including assessment, technical standards, software features, administrative functions, and methods of cataloging information.

“Any time you can get multiple states together and parlay their expertise and experience to create new opportunities educationally, that’s advantageous,” said Philip E. Geiger, the executive director of the Arizona School Facilities Board, which oversees a statewide online education project.

In addition to Arizona, the states in the consortium are Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Carolina.

Good Things to Share

The group’s first project will be creating a model of an online system that lets states share with students and teachers test questions that are linked to state standards. States would approve what test questions could be released, said Greg Nadeau, the director of the consortium, which is run by the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium in Portland, Ore.

With such a system, Mr. Nadeau said, test questions written in Massachusetts for high school mathematics, for instance, could be used by students and teachers in Hawaii as practice questions—and vice versa.

Luring state officials to the project is the potential for quickly adopting online delivery systems crafted by at least a half-dozen states, Mr. Nadeau said.

Massachusetts, for instance, has a statewide system of online resources for districts, schools, teachers, and students, called the Virtual Education Space, which Mr. Nadeau helped design in his previous job as chief technology officer for the Massachusetts Department of Education. VES includes collections of learning resources and specialized “workspaces” on the Web that allow users to keep calendars, present information, and communicate with one another.

In October, VES added a Web site that provides a round-the-clock tutorial for 11th graders preparing for the December retake of the state’s math and English assessment.

In Arizona, state education officials have created a “Students First” online service. The state has contracted with technology companies to deliver a free collection of 252 educational and business software titles to every student and teacher in the state who has a home or school computer, Mr. Geiger said.

School districts may buy online access to an additional 7,000 software applications at a state-negotiated price, he added. The system, expected to reach every Arizona school by next spring, allows users to store data online for up to 13 years.

Digital Confusion

Because of inconsistencies between those and other state systems, though, “none of these projects are easily transferable to other states,” Mr. Nadeau said.

One of the biggest problems is inconsistency in terminology.

“A digital support system” in one state is a “lesson plan exchange” in another, Mr. Nadeau said, joking that it’s similar to how “a hoagie in New Jersey is a steak-and-cheese in Philly and a submarine in Boston.”

In other cases, states need to adopt the same technical standards for certain elements of their networks, such as the way they transfer records from one system to another.

Some participants cautioned that a consortium like this one, without secure funding and engaged in an exploratory project, may not last for long if it does not win new support.

But they said the basic idea is sound.

Arthur D. Sheekey, the coordinator for learning technologies at the Washington-based Council of Chief State School Officers, which is participating in the project, said the consortium was “a new and risky venture that may fail.”

But ultimately, he said, it appears to provide a map for other states to follow.

“Once the states have their [online] infrastructure in place, they’re going to need to develop these kind of collaborative relationships,” he said.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the November 07, 2001 edition of Education Week as Online-Education Consortium Created for States

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States Liberals Win Hotly Contested School Board Races in Backlash to Conservative Control
A Democrat who championed teacher pay raises was also reelected Kentucky's governor and Democrats won legislative majorities in Virginia.
6 min read
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 7, 2023. At right is his wife Britainy Beshear.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an election night rally after he was elected to a second term in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 7, 2023. At right is his wife Britainy Beshear.
Timothy D. Easley/AP
States Why Governors Are Exerting More Control Over Schools
Ohio has become the latest state to award the governor more control over schools. But the change has run into legal challenges.
7 min read
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks about his plans for the coming year during an interview at the Governor's Residence in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 13, 2019.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine speaks about his plans for the coming year during an interview at the Governor's Residence in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 13, 2019. An overhaul that gives the governor more power over state education policy has run into legal obstacles.
John Minchillo/AP
States Opinion Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer Has a Message for Teachers: Move to a State That Has Your Back
There are two competing visions for public education playing out across the country, writes Gretchen Whitmer. Here’s a vision for supporting teachers.
Gretchen Whitmer
3 min read
Illustration of a happy vector school building and a bright blue Michigan State Map
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week
States State Laws Restricting Curriculum, Pronoun Use Cause Confusion and Chaos in Schools
Educators say state laws that limit teaching about race, gender identity, and sexuality are vague, with little help from state departments.
8 min read
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference to sign several bills related to public education and increases in teacher pay, in Miami, on May 9, 2023.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference to sign several bills related to public education and increases in teacher pay, in Miami, on May 9, 2023.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP