The national Digital Learning Council says “Michigan is leading the nation in transforming education for the digital age.”
The Digital Learning Council’s mission is to define the policies that will integrate current and future technological innovations into public education. Its national campaign, Digital Learning Now!, advocates for policies that will create a high-quality online learning environment to better prepare students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and careers.
Digital Learning Now! created the nation’s first-ever digital learning report card which assessed each state’s alignment to 72 metrics that were developed on the 10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning.
Michigan’s report card claimed that “Michigan was the first state in the nation to require students to take an ‘online learning experience’ to earn a high school diploma and its state virtual school (Michigan Virtual for Students) is one of the largest in the country. Michigan is advancing legislation this fall to expand digital learning.”
“At Michigan Virtual for Students, we’re proud of our role in bringing online courses to Michigan students,” said Jamey Fitzpatrick, President & CEO of Michigan Virtual, the parent company of Michigan Virtual for Students. “Through Michigan Virtual, students can take a variety of courses and learn any place there is a computer and an Internet connection. We are a statewide resource for all schools to help prepare our children for a lifetime of integrating technology into their work and their lives.”
Of the 10 Elements, Michigan scored highest in the areas of (1) student access, (2) barriers to access and (3) personalized learning.
The report says that “access to a comprehensive catalog of online courses means a student in rural Indiana or inner city Detroit can learn Mandarin Chinese, forensic science or college-level calculus – regardless of whether their school offers these courses in a classroom.”
Michigan Virtual for Students offers public and non-public school students the opportunity to supplement their high school curriculum with courses that aren’t offered at their local school, like Advanced Placement courses and seven world languages, and to make up or get ahead in credits during the school year and in the summer.
About Michigan Virtual
Michigan Virtual is a private, nonprofit Michigan corporation established by the State of Michigan in 1998 to serve as a champion for online learning. It is the parent organization of the Michigan Virtual for Students and Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.
About Digital Learning Now!
Digital Learning Now! is a national campaign to advance policies that will create a high-quality digital learning environment to better prepare students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and careers. The Digital Learning Council was convened in 2010 to define the policies that will integrate current and future technological innovations into public education. The Digital Learning Council united a diverse group of more than 100 leaders from education, government, philanthropy, business, technology, and think tanks to develop the roadmap of reform for local, state and federal lawmakers and policymakers.
