Here, we attempt to answer who could be the prospective audience for a fully online SDL school. To clarify, the "audience" would be the potential students, and the school would have to offer a legitimate certification (i.e. elementary graduation, high school dogwood, or post secondary degree).

Before you browse through the content on this page, please share your initial thoughts in the google form below of who you believe would benefit from online SDL schools.

The Results:

For our class, the most popular choice for an ideal student in a potential fully online SDL school was post secondary students, followed by adult/continuing education students, then gifted secondary students. Post secondary was also high for our classmates' second choice of an ideal student.

When asked to explain your reason for your first choice of audience for an online SDL school, there were some common responses. Our class often mentioned how older students were more motivated, had already developed some SDL skills, were more disciplined, and enjoyed independence. Interestingly, one classmate suggested younger students due to them being more flexible in learning an SDL system, and not already dependent on traditional schooling. While another suggested younger students due to the importance of learning SDL at a younger age.

Nevertheless, the overarching theme was older students due to motivation.

Although fully online self directed schools are not really "a thing," there are plenty of courses, programs and certificates that can be completed online through self directed studies. Much research has taken place on these courses, programs and certificates, and perhaps they can give some insight to a potential audience for fully online SDL schools.

Our opinion

We have come to believe that online SDL schools could work for any age and educational level. Motivation can occur at any age, digital platforms can be appropriate for any level of learning, the correct amount of teacher support/feedback can exist, and appropriate skills can be scaffolded in at the start of online learning (i.e. encouraging ETEC 500 to be taken at the start of the MET program).

However, there seems to be more research towards secondary and adult online SDL that makes us believe there is more of a market for a school with this target audience. Why is there more research for this crowd? With the lower ages, "self-directed" often appeared close to "instructor guided." For instance, a younger student may be given a choice to choose and explore a topic from a setlist created by the teacher. We did not find much evidence of how these types of activities would be aided in an online SDL environment. Comparably, the tools listed on the "what's happening currently" page are popular and more geared towards secondary and adult learners (although some are debatable). A potential online SDL school could introduce these tools to secondary or adult students, and it would be reasonable to expect the students to explore and develop an understanding on their own. In other words, we see more SDL tools geared towards older crowds, thus we see a market for an online SDL school for them.

Something to think about...

Does a course in our program serve as an example of how an online SDL school could be?

ETEC 580: Directed Study / Problems in Education is an elective course online (obviously) where one can decide on a research topic. Although the members in this A2 group have not taken the course, it appears to check a lot of the boxes. With the approval of a faculty advisor, you set your topic, course outcomes, schedule, and assessment plan.

Please answer at least one of the two questions. We encourage you to respond to a classmate's comment if you have something valuable to add. Post your response in our course WordPress website here

1. If you have taken ETEC 580, please share your experience. Did the course foster motivation, assist in controlling academic stress, provide a good balance between guidance and student autonomy and lead to deep learning?

2. What are your thoughts on a Masters of Education program being completely online and self-directed?

The Results:

Only two of our classmates had taken ETEC 580, and they both made reference to the amount of prep work required. This includes setting deadlines, gathering resources, and making project proposals. Since they got to choose their topic, it assisted in keeping them motivated. However, this would be a challenging task for ten courses/a fully masters program.

For a Masters of Education program to be completely online, some of our classmates suggested how it might be too challenging as a lot of additional work would be required by the student. Motivation was mentioned a couple times. Many referenced how they enjoyed the general layout of the current MET program. This includes not being 100% self directed, but rather flexible with some assignments. It also allows students to manage their time (as it is online and you can work at your own pace). In general, a fully online SDL Masters of Education Program could work for some people, but for many (including much of our classmates) they prefer a structure similar to the MET program.