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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

Table of Contents
Introduction...3 The Challenge4 Current Life Skills Training.5 An Online Alternative...7 Blended Learning..8 Training Plans...9 Conclusion.10 About Smart Horizons.11 References.12

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

Introduction
There is a debate in the U.S. over how to ready youth in our at-risk population for adulthood. There is no question that training programs can drastically assist them in meeting the challenges of independence. However, many youth within the at-risk population either do not enroll or do not participate long enough to benefit from such programs. This can be due to the difficulty of accessing services, particularly in rural areas, or the lack of transportation to get to such training. Additionally, there are many at-risk youth who are single parents and have the added challenge of daycare, since many transitional living programs are not able to offer childcare services. Municipalities and non-profit training providers are all suffering from budget cut backs limiting the number of caseworkers or instructors available for life skills training. Yet this training must be provided to transition these youth into adulthood successfully. Mounting evidence indicates that these at-risk youth are simply not coping well with the transition into adulthood. For example, an estimated 50% of foster youth a group always in the at-risk category, end up homeless once they age out of the foster care system. Many at-risk youth present a challenge to the social services system. Often they are runaways that have escaped abusive family environments, or they have been removed from their families to avoid physical and/or sexual abuse. Many young runaways lack the education or age requirements to hold jobs. Therefore, they are forced to beg or to turn to prostitution for survival. Many at-risk youth suffer from drug and alcohol addictions, as well as mental health issues. Without adequate life skills and adult role models these youth have difficulty adjusting on their own and end up unemployed and potentially living a life of poverty. These factors then contribute to juvenile delinquency that can ultimately lead to incarceration. An estimated 25% of foster youth will end up incarcerated. Thirty to forty percent of at-risk youth growing up in poor urban areas will be arrested by their eighteenth birthday. Each of those youth that commit repeat offenses will dramatically increase their potential for arrest. Those that have committed five or six offenses have a 90% chance of being incarcerated. Each time a juvenile offender is incarcerated, they fall further behind in their education and skills development. This process continually feeds upon itself: Offenders that are released without the critical skills that could provide them with a job turn to crime to support themselves.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

The Challenge
When it comes to transitional living programs for at-risk youth, there is no one size fits all solution. A combination of programs ranging from substance abuse rehabilitation, vocational job skills, independent living skills training, mentoring, and counseling is often needed. Additionally, educational programs have to take into account possible learning disabilities, lower reading comprehension levels, and different learning styles of the students. When one includes possible emotional and behavioral issues, a traditional classroom approach can present more challenges than benefits. Often programs for at-risk youth neglect the subtle differences between education and training. Training is about the application of techniques and skills sets. It involves activities that lead to pre-determined measureable outcomes. For example, learning to balance a check book is a training outcome. Education on the other hand is about knowledge and developing the intellect. An educational program teaches a student to think and lead themselves. An educational program therefore is designed to create a lifelong learner and independent thinker. For at-risk youth, both education and training are needed for success in life. Such youth need critical skills to find employment, as well as education to promote independence, success and intellectual development. Most traditional programs for the at-risk population are directed towards a younger audience with little consideration for the needs of those in the 19-25 age groups. Research on brain development indicates that the process of becoming an adult lasts well beyond the teen years and extends into the mid-twenties. The emerging adulthood stage of development must be met with adequate training and education that is significantly different than how a younger school aged child develops. Education and training must be planned to develop critical skills sets and knowledge. However, these young adults need information and skills to be provided in a way that allows them to drive their own direction in life. Additionally, learning must be repeated and reinforced multiple times in order for knowledge to be obtained. As youth age, they need greater autonomy to practice the roles and responsibilities that come with adulthood. During early adulthood the youth develop a sense of identity and emotional and psychological independence, and they learn to manage sexuality, impulse control, and behavior. During this time period, it is essential that these youth learn from experience and mistakes to gain greater self-regulation, confidence, and resiliency.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

Current Life Skills Training

Six interrelated factors have been identified as crucial in transitioning young people into functional adults: family support, education and training, employment, opportunities to contribute to ones community, adequate health care, mental health care, and supportive relationships. Each factor requires repetitive reinforcement in the individual over a longer period of time than previously thought. The transition to adulthood may not happen until age 25 or even into their early thirties for the at-risk population. Programs that meet the unique needs of young adults to help them adjust to a life of self-sufficiency are a long term solution that benefits not just the individual but society at large. Self-paced programs reinforced with group instruction, mentoring, and one-on-one skills development can be critical to transitioning young people into adulthood. The public school system, non-profit groups, and various government agencies work hard to educate the at-risk population. Their goals are all similar: to increase the number of at-risk youth who have obtained high school diplomas and post secondary degrees or certificates. Additionally, these programs attempt to get youth between the ages of 16-24 employed and involved in stable interpersonal relationships in order to help them avoid participating in risky behaviors. However, an estimated 44% of foster youth end up dropping out of school. Less than 16% will go on to obtain a vocational degree, and only 1.8% of this population typically completes a college degree. For the juvenile offender population the situation is even worse. Currently all states are required to provide education to the juvenile offender population while they are detained. These educational programs vary from state to state and offer a minimum level of course offerings. Nearly half of juvenile offenders do not return to school once released from a detention facility. Of those that do return to school, two-thirds to three quarters will drop out within twelve months of being released. In an effort to resolve these troubling statistics, the U.S. Congress passed the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) in 1999 to help youth transition out of the foster care system and achieve self-sufficiency. This program, however, did not address youth who had turned 18 and aged out of the foster care system. In 2002, the Educational and Training Vouchers Program (ETV) was established to provide support for individuals who had aged out of the foster care system and who met specific guidelines for education and training needs. This program made available up to $5,000 per year for each youth to attain post secondary education and training.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

As a requirement, the states must track the progress of these youth in transition. A National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) was created to track the independent living services provided to these youth and assess the outcomes of these training programs. Some of the outcomes measured include the ability of youth to achieve a high school diploma or employment and their success avoiding dependency, homelessness, incarceration, and other high risk behaviors. One of the major obstacles to tracking at-risk youth is their constant mobility. A child entering the system is often moved from one foster home to the next and sometimes will move from one municipality to another. Each move is not only a life adjustment for the child, it may mean a transition to a different school system, different caseworker, different training programs, and perhaps even different methods of tracking outcomes. In most jurisdictions little coordination occurs between the public school system, the nonprofits, and social services departments. It is often difficult for information to be shared between these entities due to privacy issues and legal constraints. The added problem of high mobility of these youth adds to the complexity in sharing information from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, often a youth who moves has to start over from scratch in their life skills training. This assumes that the youth is even interested in pursuing such training or even in staying in school. Often the youth gives up on the system and drops out.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

An Online Alternative
With the increase in availability of electronic and mobile technology, as well as broadband internet access, the days of print textbooks are limited. The ability to provide rich multimedia online content for students is an exciting new alternative. Online learning provides portability: regardless of placement or changes in housing, youth in transition can access a learning portal with any computer and an internet connection, 24/7. This connection could occur at home, at school, at a public library, or even from their tablet or mobile device with a wireless connection. A good online educational program will be housed within a learning management system to track student records, progress, and transcripts no matter where that child is located. The learning management system will show if the student has completed certain courses and how they are progressing. User privileges can be established by the learning provider, so that the childs records can be accessed with login permissions. If the child moves to a new municipality or state, complete access can be granted to the new caseworker. This creates a seamless transfer of records without unnecessary delay. The juvenile court system and court appointed advocates can use these transcripts as proof that the youth has completed all required training to emancipate out of the system. For foster children who have already aged out of the system but who are receiving educational training vouchers, they are required to provide copies of transcripts, grades, and schedules each quarter. This process is made much simpler with a learning management system, which can easily provide this documentation. Online learning that is objectives driven allows knowledge to be broken down in small manageable chunks. The student can take one lesson at a time and digest this learning at his or her own pace. Gone are the days when a student was required to sit in the classroom for hours at a time. Instead, training can be readily accessible 24/7. Each learning objective can be developed into a 20-30 minute learning module that can be quickly consumed by the learner with testing assessments at the end for a knowledge check. This training can also be repeated as often as necessary for the student to fully understand the topic of instruction. This provides the necessary repetition and redundancy often required for the at-risk population and for those students who have learning disabilities. Tweet This White Paper

The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

The number of students who participate in online learning has increased 20% every year since 2002. This represents a total of 22 million students in the U.S. who have taken at least one online course. At the current projected growth rate, an estimated 50% of all Americans will be enrolled in online learning programs by 2019. Institutions surveyed from across the country indicate that 63% believe online learning is a critical part of their long term strategy. Even traditional brick and mortar public schools are creating online curriculum. For those organizations that provide traditional classroom instruction to their clients, they can cast a wider net by offering the same or similar instruction over the web, thus reaching an audience they may never have had the opportunity to approach. This is particularly true of youth programs in rural areas where the audience is less likely to travel great distances to access classroom instruction. Additionally, the use of online learning coupled with social media platforms can provide on-demand interactive training capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional stand-up classroom instruction.

Blended Learning
A U.S. Department of Education study demonstrated that students can potentially attain higher learning achievement with online training. However, such programs do not completely eliminate the need for traditional stand-up instruction. In fact, the U.S. Department of Educations study indicated that when stand-up training is combined with online learning, students benefit even more. This combined approach is called Blended Learning. For municipalities that have seen cuts in their training budget, online learning can reduce the number of required instructors or better allocate resources within their existing programs. This allows caseworkers to focus their time on critical skills development and problem resolution while simultaneously providing them with a better tool for tracking student progress. A good learning management tool can upload traditional course materials such as workbooks, assessments, or PowerPoint presentations. This allows for the online training to be coordinated with classroom instruction. Blending traditional stand-up instruction with online learning is based on the notion that learning is not a one-time event but a repetitive process. Students need to receive information more than once, and in more than one medium, in order to turn that information into knowledge. Online learning allows the student to review lessons multiple times at their own pace. This medium provides rich content including graphics, text, video, and audio therefore improving the learning experience. This improves retention and student achievement. Blended learning combines the enhanced capabilities of online content with the socialization and personal mentoring of face-to-face instruction. This represents an entirely new pedagogical approach.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

Evidence from research indicates that online learning can be completed by students in half the time as traditional classroom instruction. Thus, training costs can be reduced by not having to run multiple classroom sessions. The blended learning approach does not eliminate classroom instruction, but instead refocuses the classroom for critical skills building and problem resolution. Studies indicate that achievement of learning outcomes improved by 10% or more when a blended learning approach was implemented. For the at-risk population who may have learning disabilities, a self-paced program that works in unison with mentoring and classroom instruction is a much more successful strategy.

Training Plans
There are many reasons why typical life skills training can fail to deliver results for at-risk youth. Many such youth are disconnected from services because they have dropped out of school or resist such help. Often these youth are disengaged from government and communitybased training programs. Many youth do not participate in programs long enough to benefit from such training. Often youth who have been in and out of the system have an innate distrust and cynicism of programs and government agencies. Sometimes the application process and enrollment procedures can be intimidating requiring information on family income and expenses they may not have access to. An online learning program can be an important tool in a successful delivery continuum of life skills training. This continuum includes four phases: informal, formal, supervised practice, and aftercare. Online learning can occur at each of these phases in the continuum; however, it is most effective when combined with a formal curriculum based on the needs assessment of the youth. A good online learning program will take into consideration the leading assessments used by social services departments. This assessment provides categories of knowledge that are tested for each child. The result of the assessment determines what measurable outcomes will be the focus of that childs development plan. A training curriculum can then be developed based on what the assessment indicates are the youths weaknesses. A tremendous benefit of online learning programs is the ability to create a customized curriculum thereby individualizing instruction for the youth. For example, instructors can pick and choose what lessons they want the student to take based on the assessment results. The learning management system then provides those lessons to the student and can give them access to additional training la carte if they so choose.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

A learning management system allows a case manager or training coordinator to track student progress and determine if additional one-on-one skills development or problem resolution is required. Youth can then be assessed again at the end of a training cycle to determine measurable results. A web-based solution allows the training plan to be coordinated with local school officials, different caseworkers, non-profit support groups, or guardians responsible for the youths development. For example, some online learning programs offer both Independent Living Skills and Credit Recovery Programs so that at-risk students can catch up on course work needed to graduate with a diploma while simultaneously receiving critical life skills training. For those youth who have already dropped out of school, an online high school can provide them with an actual diploma, which can be obtained in a more convenient manner. This is particularly helpful if the student is working to support themselves, which is the ultimate goal.

Conclusion
Online programs have been proven to demonstrate an increase in learning achievement, an increase in course completion, an improvement in standardized test scores, and a rise in graduation rates across the country. Improving methods for meeting the educational needs of at-risk students, while simultaneously providing critical life skills can solve student absences and truancy problems, as well as other classroom behavioral issues. A self-paced curriculum and individualized instruction can help organizations cast a wider net to reach out to students who have not had success in traditional classroom environments or do not have access to such training. To prepare students for a 21st century workforce they need skill sets that require them to gather information, analyze data, curate that information, communicate it effectively, and act on their acquired knowledge. Online learning helps them accomplish these goals.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

About Smart Horizons

Smart Horizons Independent Living Skills program is an interactive multimedia program delivered as Web-based training. The program is designed to support those who are seeking to provide Independent Living Skills training to youth and adults in transition. The lessons are accessed online in a variety of formats including video, interactive courseware, and PDF documents. To take a course demo click here. Smart Horizons also offers a Transitional Life Skills Program for adults in transition. For more information contact Smart Horizons at 855-777-8032 or on the web at www.mytrainingnow.com Smart Horizons, a subsidiary of Advanced Systems Technology (AST), is an online training provider based in Pensacola, Florida, that offers courseware development by experienced instructional designers, customized programs, learning management services, and superior media design. Smart Horizons/Advanced Systems Technology was founded in 1984 and has grown to include more than 400 professionals at over 20 locations across the U.S. Lifetime Training Solutions is a division of Smart Horizons focused on providing life skills training and vocational job training to youth and adults in transition. Lifetime Training Solutions offers online courseware for a variety of career certifications, professional skills development, life skills, and independent living instruction. Designated as an authorized provider by the International Association for Continuing Education & Training (IACET), Smart Horizons offers Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for its programs that qualify under IACET guidelines. The company provides a wide range of training services, including content development and hosting, product delivery, student enrollment, student support, and record keeping.

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The Benefits of Online Learning for At-Risk Youth

References
Archambault, Leanna et al, Research Committee Issues Brief: An Exploration of At-Risk Learners and Online Education, North American Council for Online Learning Casey, Pamela and Keilitz, Ingo., Estimating the Prevalence of Learning Disabled and Mentally Retarded Juvenile Offenders: A Meta-Analysis, in Understanding troubled and troubling youth 82-101 Ivry, Robert and Fred Doolittle, Improving the Economic and Life Outcomes of At-Risk Youth, MDRC 2003 P. Dean, M. Stahl, D. Sylvester, & J. Peat, Effectiveness of combined delivery modalities for distance learning and resident learning, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, July/August 2001. Sara v. Jarvis and Robert M. Robertson, Transitional Living Programs for Homeless Adolescents, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993 Steurer, Stephen J. Ph. D., Education Reduces Crime: A Three State Recidivism Study, Correctional Education Association, Lanham, MD The Adolescent Brain: New Research and Its Implications for young People Transitioning from Foster Care, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, 2011 U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2008 Selected Findings Watson, John and Butch Gemin, Evergreen Consulting Associates, Socialization in Online Programs, North American Council for Online Learning, September 2008 Watson, John, Evergreen Consulting Associates, Blending Learning: The Convergence of Online and Face-to-Face Education, North American Council for Online Learning

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