Brenda Gilman, Librarian at Shorewood High School, spends most of her time trying to get 1,800 kids to become skilled library researchers. But, if it takes more than four clicks to find what they need, Gilman’s students tire of the hunt and settle for what’s on the first ten hits of a Google search. Both she and Ballard High School Librarian Debbie Arthur lament this electronic path of least resistance. Yet, their Seattle-area schools rank very high in student usage of DLC library resources. We took time to learn what they do to overcome the overuse of mainstream search engines.

A playful learning process

Gilman knows that to be taken seriously by any teenager, you must occasionally prove that you know something they don’t. She wins them over to DLC resources by making it fun, fast and credible.

“When I model it,” she says, “I use an example that works like a dream.” She and a student will sit down to research a topic on adjacent computers. Within no time, she’s found the answer through DLC sources while her student is still weeding out irrelevant references on a mainstream search engine. She describes the DLC as the “invisible web” that isn’t available to everyone. Speedy exclusivity is often the hook that gets the student invested. “I try very hard to get them to put DLC in their toolbar because then it is as fast as Google or Wikipedia.”

In addition to her one-on-one game plan to create skilled researchers, Gilman visits all ninth grade science classes to help with a current events component. “I went in for 20 minutes in each class and pitched Today’s Science. The kids loved that resource, especially when searching by date,” she says.

Gilman is currently formulating a game around the idea of key word searches, the backbone of all good research and something that is often misunderstood. She loves that Facts on File and SIRS incorporate related subject categories or “key words” at the bottom of their searches. While this is a work in progress, Gilman knows that she gets more from her students when “it is fun and they are motivated.”

A DLC scavenger hunt for freshman

“There are some kids that I see using DLC first, they get it, and they use it,” says Arthur, “but for most of the kids, it has to be made clear to them that it’s expected of them.”

Each September, Arthur hosts an online scavenger hunt for incoming Ballard freshman, many of whom are shy and slightly overwhelmed. She uses humor and mystery to make the orientation engaging and memorable. Arthur jokes, “I get one shot at them for 45 minutes and so they sit there and go What did she say? Who is this crazy woman? They look like deer in headlights.”

Arthur’s scavenger hunt may raise eyebrows with Ballard’s freshman, but this orientation is important because it triggers their usage later. Within this game, her students are given a list of questions and are told that the answers lie within the library databases of the DLC.

She asks very specific questions: “I tell them to go to DLC and do a search in the orange box. Go to Grolier and tell me where Collin Powell was born. Now, go to SIRS and tell me how many magazine articles came up around Collin Powell. Then I send them to netTrekker d.i. You have to make it real world, more interactive.”

One orientation may not quell the urge of some students to use mainstream search engines, but Arthur believes it sets the tone for the next four years. She reinforces that along the way. Later on when they are working on a project, she will say, "‘Remember Digital Learning Commons."

Best results come when resources are embedded

In creating “smart researchers” who “create better products for academic achievement,” Arthur enlists the aid of classroom teachers, encouraging them to embed DLC resources into their assignments.

A recent spike in usage of the DLC at Ballard was tied to a debate project that is assigned to most of ninth and tenth grade classes. Students chose a debate topic of their choice and were directed by their teachers to go to SIRS Pro & Con Issues or the Facts on File Issues & Controversies resources. Arthur recognizes that if a teacher finds a source that gets good results from the kids, they are more apt to include it in an assignment.

Over at Shorewood, Gilman couldn’t agree more. A district-wide mandate for technology training enabled Gilman to introduce the DLC and pitch it to some of the power hitters in her school. “When you build it into the assignments, it is the best training of how to use these resources, both for the teachers and the students,” she says, “We are fortunate to have an outstanding social studies department where they do a lot of grade-level teaming, so most freshmen have used the DLC.”

The ultimate winners

“My whole goal is that when students leave Ballard, they understand that all databases have information that you can’t get from the free internet,” says Arthur.

Gilman encourages her Shorewood students to look at the long term benefits of using DLC resources. She believes that savvy teens leave high school and are able to seek digital information no matter where they find themselves—in jobs, in colleges, at the local library—and that is her mission. Her students are comfortable with library databases and can have fun in the process of fact finding, whether they are doing research for a vacation or writing a thesis.

That maturity and sense of personal ownership of their work takes time. Recently, a junior came up to her and said “You know, you made us do all that stuff and I’m actually starting to use it now.” For Gilman—and her student—it was a well-earned victory.

How do parents and students respond when the results of a student's Learning Style Inventory (LSI) are shared with them? Parents: "You really nailed it." Students: "Whoa!"

What's a Learning Style Inventory (LSI)? It's a Bridges tool offered through the Digital Learning Commons. The LSI asks students questions to determine how they best learn and results in data that helps teachers tailor their teaching to individual students' needs.

At Insight School of Washington, every student takes the LSI as part of orientation, including special education students. Anne Teresa Urquhart, the Special Education Coordinator at Insight, shared the above quotes with the DLC. She goes over LSI results with each student and his or her parents as part of the student's IEP (Individual Education Program).

LSI an eye opener

"When I go over the LSI, the parents and kids look at me in shock and awe. It's an eye opener," Urquhart says. "The LSI also helps me understand how to meet the student’s learning needs and to give them pointers on how they can help themselves learn the material."

Urquhart offers the following examples:

• Tactile students can run their finger under the text to aid learning.
• Kinesthetic students benefit from full mobility.
• Some ADHD students work better in dim lighting and get distracted by bright lights.

Quiet library environment or group work?

Urquhart says that when she worked in brick-and-mortar schools, her students were always asking to go to the library to work. She never really knew if they wanted to go for the quiet or to chitchat with friends.

"When you have this kind of information from the LSI, you can sort your class," Urquhart says. For example, students who benefit from quiet can go to the library to work on a project while students who do well in groups can stay in the classroom to collaborate.

Who motivates your students?

Urquhart says of the LSI: "I think it's pretty cool. Especially things like scores in persistence, motivation, and responsibility."

What motivates a student: parents or teachers? Urquhart says, "If it's parents, then it's important for the teacher to have a good relationship with that student's parents. If it's teachers, then a teacher knows that building a positive relationship is important for the student's success. If it's neither the parent nor the teacher, then the teacher needs to find intrinsic motivations to help the student learn."

The LSI also helps teachers determine how much information a student needs to move forward. Urquhart explains: "There are some kids who if you give them an assignment they'll figure out what they need to do on their own. There are others who if they don't have enough information, they'll just freeze up and procrastinate. So the Bridges LSI will also tell you that: how much detail and how much structure individual students need."

What time of day does a student learn best?

"Whether students are a morning, afternoon, or evening person comes across strongly in the LSI too," Urquhart says. For students who are afternoon people, for example, Urquhart suggests they work with their counselor to schedule their toughest subject for the afternoon and their easiest subject for the morning.

Online students, like Insight students, can use this information to decide when to work on which subject during the day, since they can do their coursework as early, or as late, as they want.

"There's a wealth of information in the Learning Styles. It's beneficial to everyone: counselors can use it, teachers can use it," Urquhart says. "If you have students that you need to put on a learning plan because of No Child Left Behind, there's a lot of good information there that you can include in that learning plan that can help both the students and parents at home."

Getting up to speed on the LSI

Urquhart recommends that administrators train teachers to use the LSI with real students. She suggests that teachers choose five students representing the full spectrum—from students who are really struggling at the low end to students who are doing really well at the high end.

Once those five students have taken the LSI, teachers should go over the results together. "It's much easier to see how the LSI works if you use it initially with students you've worked with for a few months. The LSI sheds light on things you may not have thought about and validates other things."

Urquhart adds in closing: "It's like 'whoa' not only for the students but for the teachers too."

Provide training to a middle/high school serving nine students in a small village in a remote part of the state? No problem. In the DLC's eyes, all schools deserve the same level of support no matter where they're located or how many students they serve.

That's why one of our staff members, Michael VanHenley, recently traveled to Chelan and took a sea plane to Lucerne, and then a community bus to Holden Village School to work with Dave Sather, who teaches nine students in Grades 7–12.

"This visit really illustrated how quickly a school could expand educational opportunities for their students. All of a sudden this extremely remote school had access to online courses, curriculum, and research tools," VanHenley says. "I think these students have a great thing going, living in a small self-sufficient community...I have no doubt that they will gain some unique perspectives as well as a great education."

Differentiating and supplementing instruction

"Having Michael come up was helpful, if not crucial, to better understand everything that was of use for me as a teacher," Sather says.

The training covered the DLC's library resources as well as the breadth and depth of Apex Learning ClassTools. As a result of the training, Sather better understands how to use DLC tools to both differentiate and supplement his instruction. And ClassTools makes it easier for Sather to monitor students' individual progress.

Sather is responsible for teaching all of the subjects with the occasional help from "village experts," who teach lessons on topics such as poetry, Spanish, and carpentry. Sather says that "the DLC is very much another teacher on site."

Tested and validated online resources

"I like the DLC because it has everything there—tested and validated. There is nothing worse than Googling something, or spending time writing lessons, and hoping it will fit for your students and where they are at academically," Sather says.

Sather explains: "I don't have time to research a lesson on, let's say, mitosis for three different reading groups. The DLC allows me to easily—on one website—come up with those lessons designed for those specific students."

Students benefit from flexibility

At Holden Village School, flexibility is important for a number of reasons. For one, students are working at different levels. For example, three of the students are taking AP English while the others are learning certain topics for the first time.

"The DLC allows those older students to dig deeper into a subject without going through a 'basic lesson' for the younger students," Sather says. "And students enjoy the flexibility of when they can do the work and the rigor it presents."

Holden Village students are in many ways learning in an ideal setting. They say that one of the benefits of working in a small classroom is that their teacher knows where they are at individually and can adjust lessons to their needs.

We at the DLC are pleased to be able to help teachers like Dave Sather use our tools to do just that.

"The DLC has given us the ability to offer a wider curriculum, which is especially helpful in broadening opportunities for our kids," says Angie Gage, Lake Quinault High School's Online Ed Mentor/Registrar.

"We don't have the teaching staff to cover every area, and a lot of our kids are looking for electives and there are great electives available online," Gage explains. Students are taking everything from art to criminal law to AP English.

Online courses mean more choices

"I know online courses are here to stay...They offer a small district like ours a wider variety of choices to really encourage the kids and make it about learning and not just putting in your time so you can go to college to do what you really want to do."

Gage explains that although teachers would love to be able to offer more options, such as AP classes, they just don't have the extra time. Since some colleges require high school students to take AP classes, online courses are a good solution for a small school district, and, as Gage points out, a wonderful way for students to get a sense of what college will be like.

Registration system streamlines administration

Prior to joining the DLC, Gage says that she and the principal had to do their own administration of online courses. "It was a bit of a nightmare. It required a lot of work on our part. When the DLC became an option, it streamlined our whole process."

The DLC's online registration system means that Gage only has to deal with one point of entry rather than having to access each provider's system. She can also check in on students' grades through the same system. "My record keeping, thanks to the DLC, is very simple."

Gage also provides the principal and parents with weekly progress reports for each student taking an online course.

Students gain valuable organizational skills

"Half of the battle with online classes is learning how to organize yourself," Gage says. "It's a really wonderful skill. Every kid should take an online class just to learn how to do that."

If a student starts to fall behind in an online class, he or she has to attend Lake Quinault's Saturday School. Students are given two weeks to bring their grades back up. Gage is happy to report that they don't see many failures in the online program.

"If we didn't have the DLC, our program wouldn't be as successful as it is. Getting kids registered and started on time is so crucial to success. And this is so easily accomplished now with the DLC."

"If we're going to purchase online courses and resources like library search engines and WOIS, it makes sense to go through the DLC because they've already done the legwork to find relevant, easy-to-use, quality resources. And the DLC saves us money," says Steve Quick, principal of Oroville Junior/Senior High School.

Oroville rejoined the Digital Learning Commons for the 2007-08 school year, which will be its second year as a member-school.

Giving staff more resources to choose from

To introduce staff to DLC resources this past fall, Quick facilitated short presentations followed by hands-on time at staff meetings. Although teachers are sometimes reluctant to try new resources, once they realize that the DLC doesn't take anything away from them but instead gives them more resources to choose from, they are more open to exploring.

Some teachers are using SIRS Top 10 Leading Issues with students who are working on research projects. SIRS, one of the DLC's library databases, offers a number of helpful tools for students doing research. "SIRS walks students through the steps," Quick says.

Quality counts in online courses

When Quick joined Oroville as principal, students were enrolled in online courses through providers that he didn't feel offered the quality of the providers the DLC works with. So this past fall, students began taking their online courses through the DLC. "The courses were cheaper too," Quick adds.

Oroville isn't able to offer Advanced Placement, so online AP courses are popular at the school. Students have a class period built into their schedules for their DLC courses, and Quick monitors their progress through the reports sent by the providers.

Quick says he also pushes the DLC with parents by including information in the parent newsletters. "The DLC has lots of great resources," Quick says, "for teachers, students, and parents.

After embarking on a major technology integration initiative, Shoreline School District was in the market for online educational resources and joined the DLC in spring 2006 because of the wealth of resources and support available.

"We see the DLC as a great portal for us," says Aimee Miner, a Technology Integration Specialist with Shoreline. "The other plus is the incredible professional development support we've received from the DLC."

School support is a big part of DLC membership

The DLC helps schools improve student achievement with online resources. To that end, it offers a number of school support opportunities, including on-site training and follow-up consultations. While the goal of training is to help schools make the most of the resources, a side benefit is professional development: educators learn how to better integrate educational technology into the classroom.

The DLC provided an on-site staff training for Shorelines tech specialists and librarians in fall 2006. Since this initial training, there have been follow-up consultations as needed.

Miner says, "Tech Integration Specialists now know the resources available from the DLC and how to use them. If we ever have questions, we just pick up the phone…The DLC's customer service is Nordstrom-type quality."

Teachers use resources that suit their needs

After being trained by the DLC, Shoreline's tech specialists started training teachers, focusing on DLC resources that best support a particular classroom curriculum.

Jane O'Brien, who is also a Technology Integration Specialist with Shoreline, says that the DLC's library is the most used section of the website. "It's a great alternative to Google. For example, netTrekker zeroes in on websites geared toward grade levels, and it's a safe place for kids to search."

Another plus with the library databases, O'Brien has found, is that teachers can search netTrekker, SIRS, and Grolier for resources by Lexile level. "Searching by Lexile level is really helpful, especially for secondary students, such as ELL learners, that are at a lower reading level."

In addition to library databases, teachers are also actively using Apex Learning ClassTools, online curricula that allows them to individualize learning in the classroom. Shoreline teachers are using everything from Biology to French to AP Calculus.

The DLC's digital tools are also popular. Portfolio allows students to showcase their work, including digital files. WebQ has been used to solicit feedback from students and parents about classes and other programs. And GoPost allows students to discuss and critique each other's work. "GoPost is really interactive and gets kids involved in discussions who wouldn't normally participate," O'Brien says.

"Some of the DLC's tools are really easy to use and others take a little time to set up. But just like with any other new tool, if you don't get the professional development support you're going to put it away...It's only our first year using the DLC, but we feel like we've been successful."

"We're a small place, and for us online resources are really important," says Barbara Kline, principal of Orcas Island High School. After a technology bond passed on the island, the school started looking into the types of online resources available and joined the DLC for the 2005-06 school year.

"Maile came up after we joined and did some trainings that were fantastic. Even though the students and teachers were kind of burned out since it was the end of the year, they got really excited about the Digital Learning Commons," Kline says. (Maile is Assistant Director of School Support and Partnerships at the DLC.)

In between on-site trainings provided by the DLC, Kline and her staff facilitated presentations of DLC resources at staff meetings while teachers followed along on their laptops. In addition, English and social studies staff met in groups to look at DLC resources in depth, since students in these classes have to write research papers and prepare for debates.

Creative use of the DLC's portfolio tool

Orcas's music teacher, who, Kline says, "has embraced technology to the Nth degree," is using the DLC's portfolio tool in a unique way. Students record their practice sessions and upload the files to their portfolios. This allows the music teacher to listen to the recordings on her own, away from distractions. Afterwards, she sits down with students individually to give them feedback, often replaying sections of their recordings as they talk.

"I think students get much more into perfecting their work, because they're recording it individually and the music teacher has more energy and time to focus on their recordings…[Portfolio] has done a lot…for improving the overall quality of the performance of her group. It's a very interesting use of the resource."

While students are quick to embrace new technology, they aren't so quick to embrace new search engines. "It's in their vocabulary, 'Google it,'" Kline says. "Kids are impatient, so it takes training and retraining and giving them class time."

Retraining students to do smart searching

To ensure that students take advantage of the DLC's library resources, which serve up relevant -- and safe-- resources, the resources are built into lesson plans. In the beginning, Kline went into the classrooms and worked side-by-side with teachers, showing students how to make the most of resources like netTrekker and Corbis. And she continues to visit classrooms, to remind students and teachers.

"Sometimes you need to be the extra teacher, because people are sometimes reluctant to use new tools…They have to use them over and over again until they become part of their normal repertoire."

Kline believes that leadership is "absolutely vital" when it comes to weaving the DLC into a school's fabric. "You're the person who knows everything…I mean, I don't know how to teach chemistry very well, but I do know what this teacher asked last Thursday and what this one's doing on Tuesday, so I can help them to make those connections."

DLC resources help teachers meet the needs of every student

Some of the teachers are now using Apex Learning's ClassTools, online curricula available through the DLC, with students who are behind in their coursework and with students who have a difficult time focusing or functioning in a group.

Students work on ClassTools on a laptop in the classroom while the teacher delivers the lesson to the rest of the class. "These are students who are happy working one-on-one on the computer, and they are doing much better than they were doing before," Klein says.

Students are also using ClassTools to earn high school credits in Orcas's Oasis High School. Oasis serves homeschooling families and students who aren't on track to earn a diploma through the traditional high school.

Kline adds: "I think that the Digital Learning Commons is a real gift, and I really appreciate that it's out there."

"Our middle school and high school teachers are enjoying the ease with which they can use the DLC…[and] are amazed at how valuable it is for their planning as well as for their students," says Glenda Merwine, Director of Student Learning for the Coupeville School District on Whidbey Island.

The schools, which joined for the first time this past fall, have jumped right in and are taking advantage of the DLC's online courses, digital library resources, and portfolio tool as well as Apex Learning ClassTools online curricula. Tom Eller, a high school teacher, is using Math ClassTools with a group of remedial math students.

Individualizing learning for remedial math students

Eller says that since students are able to work at their own pace with Math ClassTools, there is no pressure to keep up with their peers. "As a teacher I am able to help students at the absolute level they need, not moving them along as a class," Eller explains.

Eller likes the ease with which he is able to monitor students' individual progress through the ClassTools online platform. The Math ClassTools diagnostics report shows students' scores for each math concept they need to master at a given level.

"I don't have to call them out in front of other students. I can just call them to my desk…This allows the student and me to have a rich discussion to master those concepts before they move forward…I can then have the students do the review for that chapter, rework the lessons…or create my own lesson for them if necessary. Once the students have reviewed those concepts, I then give them the test for a retake to check for understanding. This is a real win-win for both the students and teacher," Eller says.

"I truly believe, for the most part, [students] enjoy being in this class. They are more relaxed, not pressured to hurry and learn today's concept before they get behind…If these students were in our Algebra I class, I believe they would not be successful, or as successful, as they now are in ClassTools."

Parting advice for teachers working with remedial math students

Eller encourages teachers new to the DLC to "get online and use [Math ClassTools] for struggling math students. Any level, elementary, middle, or high school. This is a very unique way for students to master concepts."

Washington State, home to many a technology company, is also active in the field of digital learning. But while competition is the name of the game for technology companies, collaboration is a more apt descriptor for technology in education.

Many of our state's online course providers are schools themselves, rooted within their school districts. Internet Academy (IA) and Spokane Virtual Learning (SVL), two such schools, are also two of the DLC's online course providers. Through partnerships between virtual schools, brick-and-mortar schools, school districts, and digital learning providers, students now have access to more educational opportunities than ever before.

Digital learning offers additional options to teachers and students

IA, Washington's first virtual school, is in the Federal Way School District and has been offering online courses for a decade. IA has been a DLC course provider since 2003, and this past fall it joined the DLC as member-school. Via the DLC, IA teachers access online teaching resources to incorporate into their online courses and students access digital library resources to use to complete their online coursework.

Although IA is new to the DLC as a member-school, students and teachers are already taking full advantage of the resources, due, in part, to the work that has been done between the DLC and IA and between teachers themselves within the school.

The DLC worked closely with a small group of leaders at the school to give an overview of the resources. Then teachers from the staff development committee dove into each resource and facilitated an in-depth orientation to the DLC's teaching and library resources during two full professional development days.

"I really can't believe that it's taken me this long to realize our program also needed to be a customer of the DLC," Ron Mayberry, IA's principal, says. "We've been a vendor from the start, and you know it just amazes me, 'Why didn't we give the tools to our students?' But now that we have, and as long as the DLC is able to offer a product that's affordable for us, we're always going to be a partner as a customer and hopefully as a vendor too."

Mayberry says that digital learning is all about providing options for students that need them, for example, students involved in sports, traveling with parents, or looking for courses their school doesn't offer. Mayberry adds: "I hope it doesn't stop at online learning as far as educators finding ways to give students options, because there's all kinds of combinations of these things, from online to regular classrooms. And I think that's what the DLC really helps leverage, a blended program that does some of both."

Online educational resources help prepare students for the 21st century

Elisabeth Silver, Spokane Virtual Learning's facilitator, points out that since SVL and IA have created their own coursework to align with Washington State's EALRs (Essential Academic Learning Requirements), these virtual schools are a big asset for brick-and-mortar schools in Washington. SVL, part of the Spokane School District, opened its doors in fall 2005 and joined the DLC as a course provider this past fall.

Silver echoes and adds to Mayberry's sentiments about online learning: "It's about a choice, an option, about giving students, and their parents, choices of how and when and where they learn…We're preparing students for the 21st century learning model."

Silver, who also works at the Enrichment Cooperative in the Spokane School District, stresses the importance of collaboration, too. She has found that just because a student generally does well in classes and is an independent learner, doesn't mean that he or she will automatically excel in the online learning environment.

"It still takes the parent, the educator, and mentor at the site to all work together collaboratively with that child and facilitate that learning for the child to succeed," Silver explains. "Students still need help with discipline and being accountable for completing tasks…And what a wonderful lesson to learn before our high school students go on to college where they will have to have that discipline."

Digital learning is an innovative, collaborative, creative way of giving students in Washington State access to an endless array of educational opportunities to help them succeed in the 21st century.

"The DLC has become a lifesaver for us," says Bruce Vilders, coordinator of the Home School Partnership Program in the Sedro-Woolley School District. Vilders explains that there is a large contingent of homeschooled students at the elementary level but that these numbers decrease at the high school level.

When students begin to take algebra, geometry, and other advanced classes, many parents have a difficult time keeping up. Now that students in the Home School Partnership Program (HSPP) have access to Apex Learning ClassTools via the DLC, they are able to take advanced classes and their parents are able to continue to oversee their children's learning without being responsible for the content.

"The DLC takes the heat off parents and allows their children to take rigorous classes that are aligned with the GLEs and WASL," Vilders says. "And that allows those students to stay in our program, and for a school district, that's a good thing. We don't want our students dropping out or going someplace else…so this really has been a lifesaver for us."

Peer-to-peer training on DLC resources

Vilders, an HSPP instructor, and parents participated in an initial training with the DLC. Then some parents took the lead and are now training other parents. Vilders and one of his exceptional students, who has taken the lead on ClassTools, will offer a workshop next semester to students who are just joining HSPP. "I think that having a peer teach them to use these tools is going to be really well received by our older students."

In addition to ClassTools course materials, Beyond Books, another Apex Learning product offered through the DLC, is also very popular.

"Beyond Books is aimed at parents that have traditionally created their own classes. I have a couple of parents that absolutely love Beyond Books, because it allows them the freedom that they've always had with their children's education."

DLC resource a one-stop shop for parents

One of the parents, who is interested in U.S. history, is putting together several classes for her son using Beyond Books. "Beyond Books allows parents to focus in on an area and gather all the resources, almost like one-stop shopping," Vilders says. "And to have that versus what homeschool programs can traditionally offer—'Here's a textbook, here's a workbook, do the report, regurgitate the questions at the end of the chapter'—allows parents to be much more creative and cast their net much wider for the resources they need."

Vilders recently met with a parent and student who were just about to purchase their first computer to take advantage of DLC resources. The parent said that she had been hearing so much about the resources from other parents that she was finally taking the plunge into the 21st century. "That really showed us what a sea change this is for some of these families…Giving them DLC resources makes all the difference in the world. It has created a much higher quality program than we've ever had before."

From the very first, when Columbia High School started offering online courses via the DLC, staff created an online class period.

"Everyone felt strongly that the key to success was to have a period built into the schedule, and I think this has been confirmed over and over again by our student success rate," says Marian Udelhofen, an instructional aide at Columbia who also serves as DLC registrar and site coordinator.

Columbia High School, in the White Salmon School District, has expanded its course offerings through the DLC.

Online class period supports success

With online classes, the first four weeks are critical—and set the stage for success. Students are not only learning new subject matter but also learning to navigate through the course's online platform.

"I think students go into the online experience thinking it's going to be a breeze but initially feel overwhelmed by it all instead, and I think it really helps having somebody there to assist them and help them establish good online class practices," Udelhofen says. "Once they're set in the right direction, I find that most kids run with it."

Udelhofen also regularly communicates with the students' online instructors to let them know when a student has been absent or if something is going on in the student's life that may be affecting his or her work. "It gives the online teachers a tremendous insight into what is going on, because they're not on site; they don't see the absences or hear the excuses, which often are valid," Udelhofen explains. "I don't think high school students have learned to be great advocates for themselves yet."

Udelhofen also reminds students that they need to relay that information to their teachers themselves. "I think that without my emphasizing the importance of communicating details, students have a tendency to just assume the teacher knows everything."

Students follow their passions

Students generally have to have fifth period available in order to register for an online class. When students ask about online classes, Udelhofen first gives them what she calls her heart-to-heart speech: "You need to be self-motivated, willing to take responsibility for your learning, and have good time-management skills or it's an expensive lesson to learn you're not.”

"I think this is part of the whole online process that is so great for kids to experience, to really take responsibility for their own learning and class management…I emphasize things like that, not to scare them away, but almost," she says, laughing. Udelhofen also checks in with a few of the student's teachers and the counselor, and if all of that indicates that a student is a good candidate, he or she is eligible to sign up for an online class.

Students at Columbia usually register for electives. "It's almost always a passion for something we don't offer here, since we're a small school…Psychology, animal zoology, careers in motion…everything under the sun. And that really surprised me, how broad the spectrum is. But it always comes down to a personal passion that the kids want to pursue."

Udelhofen believes that these electives give students a foundation to build on once they get to college and that students benefit from all the skills they learn in the online environment. "It's really just a double-positive experience…I think online learning is worth the investment."

"What's really exciting is giving kids an opportunity to take something that they wouldn't have otherwise had an opportunity to take. I'm so happy to be a part of that."

"The DLC's suite of digital tools has had the greatest impact on my teaching practice in the sixteen years I've been teaching," Tim Renz, a biology teacher at Foster Senior High School, proclaims.

"I think I'm doing a better job of teaching. Portfolio, especially, has given me an opportunity to ask for more from my students, which means that I have to teach them better…It's really forced me to improve my practice so that students are prepared to be able to meet the standards that I've set for them." Renz regularly uses Portfolio, WebQ, and EPost*, three of the five digital tools available through the DLC.

From composition notebooks to electronic portfolios

Students used to write up their labs in composition notebooks and receive written feedback from Renz after a series of labs. "If I had the notebook, we couldn't do another lab," Renz explains. But now that his classes use Portfolio, Renz can give them timely feedback and students can revise their work up until the time it is due. Portfolio allows students to create and organize electronic copies of their work that their teachers and peers can easily access.

Renz started using Portfolio when the DLC first launched, as part of a digital tools pilot. "I sort of threw together a template, but when I saw the quality of the lab work, which was so much better than their handwritten work, I decided Portfolio was worth putting more time into."

Renz explains that students are comfortable using the computer and tend to be more verbose when typing than when handwriting, like himself. Portfolio has also allowed him to extend class time. Lab work is often due on a Sunday night, after a Wednesday finish. "They can put in the time that they want to get to that level that they're expecting from themselves," Renz says.

Individualizing learning and increasing performance

"When I'm grading a kid's portfolio, my class size is one," Renz says. Even though all of the students are working on the same lab, they are not necessarily working at the same level. Renz is able to adjust his teaching for students who want to go further and give extra help to those that are lagging behind.

Since students receive feedback from Renz on a regular basis, during class he is freed up to work closely with individual students and groups of students and to tailor his teaching to their needs. "This interaction has been great," Renz says. "I think they're learning more." Renz also finds that his students are working harder. "For conclusions, before I would get paragraphs. Now I get a couple of pages. They're really striving to do their best work."

Student success beyond the classroom

Renz happily reports that one of his student's work was picked up by an international annotated bibliography that focuses on a specific type of virus that she had done some work on. "It's pretty cool for a fifteen-year-old sophomore to have her work cited in this type of a publication." Another one of Renz's students, who was originally turned down by WSU, got in on an appeal after presenting his portfolio of work. And students who have gone on to the UW take their portfolios with them. (Since Portfolio is hosted by the UW.)

Portfolio also provides an alternative for students who don't fit the stereotypical mold. Renz had a second-semester sophomore, diagnosed with ADD, who hadn't passed a class other than his music class when he enrolled in Renz's biology class. The student was fairly antisocial and often reacted negatively to his classmates. "In my class he was able to get totally focused in on the computer and doing his work. He put on some headphones and sort of tuned out the rest of the class and would interact with his computer…and ended up actually passing my class…the rest of his teachers were amazed."

The student went on to graduate on time. Renz says: "He really turned himself around, and part of it was probably maturity, and part of it was probably the way my class was set up…It really gave him a sense that he could accomplish work and be academically focused. He wasn't a straight A student…but he worked his tail off to get to the point where he could graduate on time."

Not an add-on but a value-add

"For me, Portfolio wasn't an add-on. It allowed me to do something I was already doing, only do it better," Renz says. "On the same lab the other biology teachers were doing with paper and pencil, I was using the tools, and we were able to compare student work. It's not that I'm a better teacher; it's that I'm using a different tool. It's like trying to drill a hole with a screwdriver. You know it works, but it's a lot harder."

By now all three biology teachers are using the Portfolio tool with their classes and to collaborate with each other on creating new labs. Renz is also starting to get other teachers at Foster on board. "I'm not necessarily trying to push the DLC. I'm trying to push better teaching," Renz explains. "And I think better teaching is happening through the DLC."

* EPost has transformed into GoPost.

This summer, North Kitsap High School (NKHS) used the DLC's Math ClassTools^® with students in their Summer WASL Prep Program for Math.

Math teachers Bill Hobaugh and Mike Daling worked with students four hours a day, four days a week, for five weeks. The students' time was divided into two two-hour blocks: Math ClassTools and OSPI Math Modules.

Of the Math ClassTools, Hobaugh and Daling used Math Fundamentals, Algebra, and Geometry, focusing on the units and lessons that correlated to the standards measured on the 10th Grade WASL.

This year, 200 tenth graders at NKHS did not pass the WASL; 61 of these signed up to retake the math portion in August; and 19 of them attended the summer program (15 of the 19 took the August math WASL).

When the WASL remediation program started, students took the Math ClassTools diagnostic tests. "That really showed where their weaknesses were," Hobaugh says. He and Daling then used the ClassTools management system, which created individual learning plans so that students could focus on the skills they needed to learn. At the end of each unit, students took diagnostic tests to see how they were doing.

"We could see their scores instantly," Hobaugh says. "I thought that was kind of powerful. It breaks it down into categories. We could tell students, 'The only problem you had was right here. Just work on this.' And if they had questions, we'd go over it with them."

Hobaugh and Daling found that the various Math ClassTools "worked beautifully," specifically because these resources:

• Are versatile and flexible so they easily adjust to the needs of the students and the format of a class or program.
• Appeal to both students who need to review as well as those who need remediation.
• Work well for students who want to do extra math review and go beyond WASL preparation topics.
• Can be used for homework to extend and support classroom instruction.

Hobaugh plans to continue to use Math ClassTools with his students during the school year, and to share these resources with parents, since they're easy to use and parents are always asking how they can help students at home. Daling will use Math ClassTools with both his support and Algebra 2 classes.

"I didn't use ClassTools a lot last year. I thought: I've got to get into the book and get going. Then after spending two or three days with it this summer, it was so easy I wish I had used it," Hobaugh says. "I thought ClassTools was a lot better than some of the books that we use. It uses everyday language so the explanations are really clear."

Lynden High School regularly falls into the top 10 schools with the heaviest use of DLC resources. We caught up with Lynden's principal, Jeff Baglio, toward the end of the 2005-06 school year to talk to him about the story behind the numbers.

Baglio offers the following advice to administrators who are working to increase their school's use of DLC resources:

1. Set the expectation that technology be built into lessons.
2. Provide staff with digital resources. "That's where the DLC comes in."
3. Offer a number of professional development opportunities.

"If I'm going to insist that teachers use technology in their lessons, then they have to have the technology to use and know how to use it," Baglio explains.

Training through the DLC

Lynden has used a wide array of DLC resources, including library databases, college and career planning tools, teaching resources, digital tools, and online courses.

At the beginning of the school year, the DLC led an all-staff training at Lynden to introduce educators to the resources. This was followed up with another training in which educators explored the resources that were most relevant to the work they do.

In addition, ninth- and tenth-grade students received training to learn how to use the resources. Lynden also scheduled DLC trainers to work with students on specific resources, such as college and career planning tools.

Students and staff find relevant resources

Baglio says that what has been most valuable about being a DLC member-school is having access to an "umbrella of resources that are all in one place." Students are able to find relevant resources without being overwhelmed or sidetracked by the tens of thousands of choices they'd get if they went through a general search engine.

Baglio adds, "Students still want to Google. It's just part of their nature. But now teachers can say, 'We're not gonna go there.' "

Baglio says that teachers benefit too. "It frees up time for them as well. Instead of getting inundated with choices and spending a lot of time trying to figure out what's best, teachers can find resources that are more specific to what they're looking for."

Looking for alternative ways to fund online courses in your school? Consider looking to your community for help. On Orcas Island, The Funhouse Discovery Center, a nonprofit community center, established the Online Learning Program, which supports Orcas Island High School students taking online classes through the DLC.

Here's how the program works: Students go to The Funhouse for their online class period where they check in with Catherine Laflin, who fills the roles of DLC Registrar and Teacher/Mentor. She oversees the students' progress and acts as a liaison between online teachers, the local high school, and the students' parents. The Funhouse has taken on the tasks of funding the students' course fees and providing the salary for Laflin's position. But perhaps what is most unique about this program is that Laflin matches each student with a local mentor.

"This partnership between the high school, The Funhouse, and the community as a whole has proved to be very strong," Laflin comments.

Students matched with local professionals in the field—a recipe for success

Laflin matches students with professionals in the community who have expertise in the subject students are studying. "Kids in the high school are getting to that stage where they want exposure to something real…to find out what that world is like and how the classes they are taking might relate to the world outside of school," Laflin explains. "Furthermore, this helps bridge the gap between the cyberworld, which can at times be a lonely place, and the students' everyday interactions."

This year, a group of students taking a scriptwriting class met regularly with a local screenwriter; a student taking a zoology class worked with a field vet; a group of students taking Japanese learned the art of the tea ceremony; a student studying German met with native German speakers; and a student learning digital music composition and arrangement met with a professional audio engineer.

The mentor aspect of the program does three things: (1) invests community members in the local youths' education, (2) helps foster student appreciation of adults in their community, and (3) creates a larger context for learning for both groups.

Laflin credits this interaction between the local community and online students for the program's successful course completion rate. "We are lucky to have a community not only willing to give their time, but also comprised of such talent and variety."

Support structure and accountability ensures student success

As Registrar, Laflin promotes the program within the school, registers students for courses, and makes sure all the paperwork is in order.

Before students are registered, they sign an agreement outlining their responsibilities as an online student and parents sign an agreement that they will reimburse The Funhouse for course fees in the event that a student doesn't finish a course. Both agreements ensure that students take their online classes seriously.

As Teacher/Mentor, Laflin helps students with coursework, monitors their progress, communicates with the online instructors and parents, and helps students set goals to successfully complete their classes. She also runs the island-based mentor side of the program.

Online courses widen the course selection at school and provide connections for students that otherwise wouldn't exist

Orcas Island High School is a small rural school with less than 200 students in attendance, so class offerings are limited. The main goal of The Funhouse's Online Learning Program is to provide opportunities that don't already exist.

"We're serving the edges of the bell curve mostly, the students that want accelerated classes and AP classes that we just don't have the funding for, or students who are struggling along and need a change or an alternative from what's offered in school," Laflin says. "I view [online courses] as keeping those kids on both ends in school, providing options for pursuing personal goals and helping them get into college."

When The Funhouse surveyed participating students after the first semester, they said that they really valued the opportunity to pursue personal goals rather than just the core curriculum.

Laflin explains: "We have 400 students total in K through 12, and that can get really small for the kids once they enter high school. With online courses, students say 'Wow, here's something different and I can converse online with students from all over.' It widens their community, which in turn enriches the community that's here."