Nontraditional methods of instructional delivery at the postsecondary level, such as Technology based distance education course offerings, have been a topic of considerable attention and debate. To date, however, no nationally representative study has examined technology based distance education availability, course offerings, and enrollments in the nation?s elementary and secondary schools. To address this gap, the Office of Educational Technology in the U.S. Department of Education requested the "Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students" survey to collect and analyze nationally representative data on technology-based distance education in public elementary and secondary school districts. This survey was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) using the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS). FRSS is designed to administer short, focused, issue-oriented surveys that place minimal burden on respondents and have a quick turnaround from data collection to reporting. Questionnaires for the survey were mailed in fall 2003 to a representative sample of 2,305 public school districts in the 50 states and District of Columbia. The sample was selected from the 2001? 02 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) "Local Education Agency Universe Survey" file, which was the most current file available at the time of selection. Data have been weighted to yield national estimates. Detailed information about the survey methodology is provided in appendix A, and the questionnaire can be found in appendix B. The findings are presented in five sections: (1) distance education courses for public school students; (2) technologies used for delivering distance education courses; (3) entities delivering distance education courses; (4) reasons for having distance education courses; and (5) future expansion of distance education courses. Includes 23 tables and 4 figures.

This report presents information about technology-based distance education in public elementary and secondary schools in the 2004-05 school year and changes from the 2002-03 school year. The discussion is divided into chapters that reflect the major topics addressed by the questionnaire. Chapter 2 describes the prevalence of technology-based distance education courses in public school districts and public schools. Chapter 3 discusses technology-based distance education course enrollments at various instructional levels. It also presents completion status of course enrollments taken via technology-based distance education in 2004-05, as well as districts' plans to expand technology-based distance education offerings in the future. Chapter 4 presents information about the entities that deliver technology-based distance education courses to students and reports about technology-based distance education course delivery by districts to students who are not regularly enrolled in the district. Chapter 5 reports on the prevalence of AP and college-level courses delivered via technology-based distance education and presents the types of entities that deliver these AP and college-level courses to students. Chapter 6 outlines technologies that are used for delivering distance education courses. Chapter 7 presents a closer look at courses delivered online, including information on districts' provision or payment for the infrastructure needed to access online courses from home. Chapter 8 presents longitudinal analysis of the data, including changes in prevalence of technology-based distance education courses and in technologies that are used for course delivery. Chapter 9 summarizes the findings and provides conclusions from the study. A detailed discussion of the survey methodology and tables of standard errors for all data presented in this report are included as technical appendixes (appendixes A and B). The 2002-03 and 2004-05 FRSS questionnaires are presented in appendix C. (Contains 53 tables and 4 figures.).

This report examines technology-based distance education availability, course offerings, & enrollments in the nation's elementary & secondary schools. It provides baseline data, gathered for the 2002-03 12-month school year, on the prevalence of technology-based distance education courses across the nation, as well as estimated enrollments of public elementary & secondary school students in these distance education course. It also identifies the types of technologies most commonly used for delivering distance education courses. The survey also provide information on districts' reasons for having distance education courses & factors districts report that prevent their expansion of distance education course offerings.

Co-Published with the Microsoft Corporation Online, Blended and Distance Education in Schools provides students enrolled in Education Technology, Educational Administration and related Masters and PhD programs with expert opinions and insights on the practice and policy in K-12 online, blended and distance education, online and blended programs, including curriculum, instruction, technology and management aspects. It describes the status and trends of the field, provides illustrative program examples, explores the issues and challenges that programs face and highlights ongoing research in key areas related to program effectiveness. Topics discussed:* The current status of K-12 online, distance and blended learning in the U.S.* Policy, funding, and management issues in relation to program implementation* Research on effective programs within governmental jurisdiction and various program types* Global case studies that represent the variety of ways programs are being successfully implemented * A synthesis of key findings and lessons learned, and local and global visions for the future of K-12 distance and online learningThis text is highly appropriate for students enrolled in Educational Technology, Educational Administration and related Masters and PhD programs. An online companion resource provides pedagogical features that enhance text use in a classroom setting.