Virtual Digital Discussion Series
How can you tell if your students are truly learning in a virtual environment? During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and districts accelerated their use of remote and blended instruction. However, adding more virtual lessons does not automatically mean students are learning more or retaining knowledge better. In this episode of the Learning Counsel’s Back to (e)School Tactics discussions, national eLearning experts examine practical methods for measuring the health and effectiveness of your virtual learning program, from attendance and engagement to analytics and curriculum alignment.
LeiLani Cauthen, CEO and Publisher at the Learning Counsel, observes that the edtech ecosystem is rapidly evolving: “Everything you use—websites, portals, catalog systems, paywalls, social-media portfolios, and pre-testing—are changing now. Data warehouses, middleware, and campus management systems all play a role, as does a broad range of content from simple apps to full courseware and eBook repositories. One missing piece is the routing and caretaking of those pieces around a personalized pathway for each student. In traditional schools routing happens physically—students move from class to class or are assigned to a teacher. In virtual settings that routing must be managed differently. We’re seeing examples like overlapping Zoom meetings, a flood of emails to parents, and scheduling chaos. That doesn’t help learning.”
Bryan Seymour, Director of Instructional Learning, Pickerington Local School District (Ohio), emphasizes the importance of intentional purchasing and evaluation. “You can have the best metrics available, but if you don’t select the right tools to begin with, analytics won’t save you. We adopted a structured process years ago to vet every piece of software and digital content annually. In Pickerington, our technology and curriculum teams work very closely. That partnership, plus an EdTech rubric developed with Dr. Kristie Sailors, gives us a rapid cycle to determine whether a program fits instructional needs. After a product passes initial screening, we involve teachers, principals, and tech staff in committees and ask targeted questions to confirm it truly works for our students and educators.”
Ryan Gravette, Director of Information and Technology at the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance, describes analytics across three practical layers: access, activity, and achievement. “At the access layer we look at availability and whether students can reach content. The activity layer tracks interactions—what is being clicked, time on task, and navigation patterns. The achievement layer ties activity to outcomes: are students mastering standards and demonstrating proficiency? Collecting data without a clear plan for action makes it largely useless. The value of analytics comes from connecting measures at each layer to specific instructional responses and interventions.”
Will Goodman, Director of District Programs, Idaho Digital Learning Alliance, highlights policy and practical challenges around attendance and funding. “We partner with districts and charters to provide supplemental online courses. In Idaho, funding is tied to average daily attendance (ADA), and historically districts counted seat time—students physically present in a classroom. That model complicates distance learning, where seat time is not an accurate indicator of learning. We’ve been supporting districts in using administrative codes to allow attendance to be counted based on course completion and progress. If a student is actively completing coursework and making progress, that can be treated as attendance for funding and accountability purposes. This shift helps districts support students who remain remote or need supplemental online options.”
Taken together, these expert perspectives point to a set of priorities for any school or district seeking to improve virtual learning effectiveness:
- Adopt a clear procurement and evaluation process for edtech so tools meet pedagogical goals before wide deployment.
- Measure across access, activity, and achievement layers to connect usage data to student outcomes.
- Coordinate curriculum and technology teams to ensure integrations and workflows support teaching rather than creating extra work for families and staff.
- Revisit attendance and funding policies to allow districts to recognize progress and coursework completion as meaningful indicators of engagement in distance learning.
- Use rubrics and teacher-led review committees to validate that digital programs produce real learning gains before scaling.
These approaches help educators, administrators, and policymakers move beyond counting screen time toward assessing genuine learning, retention, and progress. By combining thoughtful procurement, layered analytics, aligned curriculum-technology collaboration, and policy adjustments for attendance, districts can create healthier, more effective eLearning programs that serve students equitably.
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Watch national eLearning experts discuss practical ways to evaluate and strengthen virtual learning programs. Learn new techniques you can apply in your own school or district to measure engagement, achievement, and the overall health of your eLearning offerings.
