Digital Learning Snapshot 2022 released

As we are heading into the main DLAC days in Atlanta and online next week, we are thrilled to announce the release of the 2022 Digital Learning Snapshot.

The Snapshot both informs and is informed by our work with the DLC and DLAC, and as such readers who are joining us in Atlanta will see some key Snapshot themes reflected in the conference. Here we give a few main points.

1. Emergency remote learning vs well planned online/hybrid learning

We have talked about emergency remote learning, or crisis schooling, many times during the course of the pandemic. In the Snapshot we summarize these issues with this graphic:

2. Taking back “hybrid learning”

Hybrid learning in particular has gotten a bad name during the pandemic. In the Snapshot, we are taking back the term, using “hybrid learning” to describe combining onsite and online learning in ways that can be incredibly powerful for students, building around this graphic:

3. Growth of online student enrollments

In our last Snapshot (pre-pandemic), we reported that 32 states allowed statewide online schools, and collectively they enrolled about 375,000 students, in school year 2018–19. Those numbers were flat for the year ending in 2019–20, and then grew by 75% in school year 2020–21, to 656,000 student enrollments, as hundreds of thousands of students left their prior district of enrollment and moved to online schools. The map below shows the 35 states that will allow statewide online schools as of school year 2022–23, and the statewide enrollment numbers in school year 2020–21.

And more!

We can’t replicate a 25 page report in a blog post, so will end by mentioning that we also cover policy updates, State Virtual School numbers, and “Five Steps to Success” for new online schools and programs.

Finally, keep in mind that the Snapshot builds on the state profiles on the DLC site. The profiles provide the background data and information that we roll up into national assessments and summaries.

We thank our state affiliates and all DLC members who have contributed information, ideas, and reviews!