Career Planning with Careerforward: Exploring Student Perceptions and Experiences in An Online Career Preparation Course

Michael K. Barbour*, Minakshi Lahiri**, Sacip Toker***, Kelly Unger Harrison****
* Director, Doctoral Studies, Isabelle Farrington College of Education, Sacred Heart University, Connecticut, USA.
** Instructional Technology Specialist, Irvin D. Reid Honors College, Wayne State University, Michigan, USA.
*** Assistant Professor, Department of Digital Game Design, School of Cinematic Arts, Ipek University, Ankara, Turkey.
**** Senior Learning and Development Specialist, Global Information Technology Team, Ford Motor Company, USA.
Periodicity:December - February'2016
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.11.3.4785

Abstract

In April 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education and Michigan Legislatures adopted a rigorous package of high school graduation requirements, one of which made Michigan the first state that incorporated an online learning graduation requirement into the K-12 curriculum. All Michigan's students entering high school during 2008-2009 school year were required to complete online learning during their course of high school studies in order to graduate. Michigan Virtual School helped the schools in Michigan to fulfill this requirement by developing a 20-hour online learning course called “Career Forward”. In December 2008, the Michigan Virtual University provided the National Repository of Online Courses access to the CareerForward course content, allowing students from anywhere in the United States, the ability to access CareerForward free of charge. This evaluation study was conducted to provide Michigan Virtual School with information to improve the design and delivery of the Career Forward course, in order to improve the learning experiences of the future students and to improve the overall efficiency of the course. Analysis of data from this research indicated that, CareerForward in its current format had very little impact on student attitude towards career planning. Recommendations for changes in design and delivery options of the course for future offerings are suggested in order to make the course more effective and to meet its objectives.

Keywords

K-12 Online Learning, Virtual Schooling, Cyber Schooling, Graduation Requirement, Online Course, Career Education.

How to Cite this Article?

Barbour, M.,Lahiri, M., Toker, S., and Harrison, K. U. (2016). Career Planning With Career forward: Exploring Student Perceptions and Experiences In An Online Career Preparation Course. i-manager's Journal on School Educational Technology, 11(3), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.11.3.4785

References

[1]. Barbour, M. K. (2010). “Researching K-12 online learning: What do we know and what should we examine?” Distance Learning, Vol. 7(2), pp. 7-12.
[2]. Barbour, M. K. (2009). Evaluation Report for the Michigan Virtual School on CareerForward. Lansing, MI: Michigan Virtual University.
[3]. Barbour, M. K., & Reeves, T. C. (2009). “The reality of virtual schools: A review of the literature”. Computers and Education, Vol. 52(2), pp. 402–416.
[4]. Cavanaugh, C., Barbour, M. K., & Clark, T. (2009). “Research and practice in K-12 online learning: A review of literature”. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 10(1). Retrieved from http://www. irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/607
[5]. Clark, T. (2001). “Virtual schools: status and trends. Phoenix, AZ: West Ed/Distance Learning Resource Network”. Retrieved from http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/ virtualschools.pdf
[6]. Department of Education (2006). Michigan Merit Curriculum Guidelines: Online Experience. Lansing, MI: Government of Michigan.
[7]. Fulton, K. (2002). Guide to Online High School Courses. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/technology/images/02online courses.pdf
[8]. Government of Michigan. (2007). “News Release- Innovative online career development course for HS students is launched: CareerForward meets new state online learning requirement and gives students early exposure to career planning and entrepreneurship”. Lansing, MI: Author. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/ 20070316090630/http://www.mivhs.org/upload_2/cfwd_la unch.pdf
[9]. Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2005). “Design research: A socially responsible approach to instructional technology research in higher education”. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Vol. 16(2), pp. 96-115.
[10]. Ruona, W. E. A. (2005). “Analyzing Qualitative Data”. In R. A. Swanson & E. F. Holdton III (Eds), Research in Organizations: Foundations and Methods of Inquiry, pp. 233-263. San Francisco, CA, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Pdf 35 35 200 20
Online 35 35 200 15
Pdf & Online 35 35 400 25

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.