Story Photos
 Allison Powell, a 1994 Mark Morris graduate and vice president of the North American Council for Online Learning, sees in the future as a more 'blended approach' of online and face-to-face learning. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
|
Longview native touts online learning
Sunday, December 30, 2007 5:06 AM PST
Printable version
E-mail this articleThanks to quickly evolving access to online education, teenage mothers can stay in school and still spend time at home caring for children.
Students falling behind can graduate on-time.
Rural students whose small high schools may not offer advanced classes can enroll in through the Internet.
1994 Mark Morris graduate Allison Powell is a pioneer making these types of educational opportunities available.
In October, she became vice president of the North American Council for Online Learning, a nonprofit organization championing the expansion of online education nationwide.
Membership in the council has grown from 200 to 3,000 since 2004, and "online programs had over 900,000 enrollment in K-12" last year, said Powell, who develops programs for schools and promotes the advantages of online learning to state legislators.
Powell, 31, got involved in online learning through her interests in education and computers, and her energy is no surprise to her former teachers at Mark Morris.
Powell showed leadership skills as the activities coordinator with the Associated Student Body at Mark Morris High School, said Michael Poindexter, ASB faculty advisor at Mark Morris.
"She was one of those student leaders who gets into office in order to do something for every kid in the student body, not just her friends or the senior class," Poindexter said. "She always had the big picture in mind."
Powell's dad sparked her interest in computers, she said, and she's always loved to work with children. She finished Eastern Washington University with a double major in math and reading education.
She started teaching in Las Vegas. "They needed teachers and it doesn't rain there," explains Powell, who likes warm weather.
While teaching in Las Vegas, she earned a master's degree in educational technology through Leslie University.In 1998, she started working with the online program in her school district in the Las Vegas area.
It started small, Powell remembers with a smile, with only three students taking advanced placement courses. "We had to bribe them," she said.
As of last year the program had grown to 7,200 part-time and about 250 full-time students. In about five years with the district, Powell taught online, coordinated distance learning and trained teachers.
In 2004 Powell enrolled in a doctoral program at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. Through the program she got an internship with the North American Council for Online Learning, then she started working full time there in October.
During her career, Powell has witnessed the explosion in online learning. Now only a few states don't have online programs, and she expects that to change soon.
Despite the rapid increase in online learning nationwide, some critics question the quality and social opportunities in online education.
Some educators and lawmakers "think its just quick correspondence, sitting in front of a computer," Powell said. "Once they understand it they are supportive."
Online learning can draw shy students "out of their shells," she said. It can provide access to a greater variety of teachers and classes, especially in rural areas. It also stretches human resources, like in the rapidly growing Las Vegas area, Powell said.
As a doctoral student, Powell's gotten glimpses of the future of online learning. Students may play in "virtual education arcades" or take three-dimensional virtual fields trips to outer space.
After spending the last 10 years in sunny locations in Nevada and California, though, Powell is moving to Virginia to be closer to her colleagues on the council.
She's excited abut She's a little apprehensive. "It's so cold there."
Powell's success, "makes me smile," said Poindexter, the ASB advisor. "She's always been willing to tackle big things."
Past Month's Most Commented Stories