Internet Learning Volume 7, Number 1 • 2018/2019 | Page 21

Internet Learning Journal
will ultimately end up working
in completely new job types that
don’t yet exist. (p. 3)
To prepare 21 st century learners
for the global market and improve
learning, teachers can make use of readily
available technological resources.
Learning management systems (LMSs)
provide platforms through which teachers
can deliver all or parts of their curriculum
and resources via the Internet.
Two such platforms utilized by school
districts at no cost are Moodle, which
has been used by schools for more
than a decade, and Google Classroom,
which has been available since 2014
(Google, 2017; The Moodle Project,
2017). During the 2013–2014 school
year, 16 states had blended learning
schools that enrolled more than 26,000
K-12 students (Miron & Gulosino,
2016). Even schools that do not offer
virtual or blended learning courses are
using online resources to supplement
instruction, such as by replacing printed
textbooks with eBooks. The Georgia
Department of Education, for example,
has been providing free, interactive,
online textbooks for middle and high
school courses since the fall of 2014
(Cardoza, 2014). To further encourage
the implementation of online learning,
the Georgia Department of Education
expanded its definition of learning resources
as “instructional materials and
content to include but not limited to
systematically designed material in any
medium, including digital instructional
materials and content,” effective September
2016 (GA DOE, 2016b, §1c).
This follows state legislation that:
local boards of education are
strongly encouraged on and after
July 1, 2020 to ... (1) Purchase all
instructional materials and content
in digital or electronic format;
and ... (2) Provide a laptop,
tablet, or other wireless electronic
device to each of its students
in grades three and higher or
allow students to provide their
own for use as the principal
source of reading or accessing
instructional materials and content.
(Georgia General Assembly,
2015–2016, SB 89 § 20-2-1015a)
This aligns to Ross’s (2015) assertion
that “many digital learning
materials completely overhaul how
classes, from pre-k to grad school, are
conducted; how students are tested on
knowledge; and how teachers fit into
the picture” (para. 5). Federal and state
mandates, research, and experts increasingly
call for integrating technology
into teacher education courses so
that teachers are better prepared to use
technology in K-12 classrooms.
However, this does not usually
translate to instruction about the positive
impact of utilizing LMSs and video-based
instruction in courses focused
on subject-specific teaching methods.
An avenue for authentic preservice
and inservice teacher observation and
practicum hours is the online public
K-12 classroom. But field experiences
in virtual schools are not commonplace.
The way teachers are typically prepared
in educator preparation programs
across the country tends to remain the
same: with a focus on face-to-face in-
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