history OF iDAHO oNLINE DRIVER EDUCATION
In 2005 I created the very first true online driver education course in America - for Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA), the largest online school in Idaho at the time. There were other online slideshows and test-prep websites, but no full courses with a live instructor.
In 2006 the Idaho State Department of Education asked me to travel the state to introduce and explain this new concept (online driver education) to hundreds of public and private driving instructors. I can tell you that in 2006 not very many driver ed. teachers or school owners were thrilled to hear there was an online option coming to town. Some people were openly hostile about it. Private driving schools worried that it would put them out of business. Public instructors worried they wouldn't get any classroom hours. Neither was, or has been the case. Instead, online classes are an added option for students who otherwise would not be able to take the course or who want to play sports or do other activities at the same time. Many students live many miles from their school, so the convenience of taking the class online has been huge.
In 2007 the Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction offered me the position of Director of Idaho Driver Education at the State Department of Education and, while reluctant to give up my technology classroom in the Boise School District, I accepted the job. For five years I managed a three million dollar budget, licensed and trained all Idaho instructors, investigated compliance issues, and served as Idaho Traffic Safety Commissioner and as Chairman of the Idaho Driver Education Steering Committee. I was also fortunate to work with several national groups, including AAA and NHTSA to help improve American driver education. For the first few years, private driving schools were also under my management, and though I tried to include and help them, there was a rift between public and private driver education and they eventually moved to the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licensing, where most businesses are licensed and managed.
In 2009 I was excited to make it more convenient for new driver education instructors to get licensed by creating and teaching a new online college course through Northwest Nazarene University. For the first time, new instructors could take the course without having to travel to Boise every weekend for many months. With this course I trained and helped many of the current private driving school owners and instructors get licensed! During my five years in this position I passed a rule that prevents individuals with more than one D.U.I. or a crime against a child from teaching driver education. I was also very active in the effort to make texting and driving against the law (though it's still not a perfect law). I am also proud that I wrote new curriculum that no longer required expensive, outdated textbooks, or a thick binder of lesson plans. This curriculum is still used by most public and private driver education programs in Idaho.
Online driver ed. has been around since 1997, the same year I began teaching driver ed. It was called web traffic school dot com and later changed its name to driver ed dot com. Idaho private driving schools approved the use of this website in October of 2011 to count as the 30 required classroom hours to earn an Idaho driver's license. Since this website was launched they have taught over 11,000,000 students, usually at $99 each. Most Idaho private driving schools began offering it as an option or completely shut down their classroom and used it exclusively. While successful, this website does not have an instructor, does not use Idaho laws or curriculum, and does not evaluate knowledge in a variety of ways like true online "courses" do.
In 2012 I felt that I was just managing a program that was running itself quite well so returned to my classroom full time. I wanted to be back teaching.
In 2017 I was sad to learn that IDLA decided to not update the online driver ed. course I created in 2005 and to use a national, non-Idaho course created by the AAA insurance company instead. So I began writing new curriculum and in 2018 completed this course and obtained my Idaho private driving instructor's license (license# DBI-561). In May of 2018 the Idaho Online Driver Education course was approved as an option for Idaho private driving schools and soon afterwards students began signing up!
The real benefits of this online course are that it includes Idaho-specific laws and information and I am available by text, call, or email every day to answer parent or students' questions. I am here to help students feel ready to begin their driving lessons and to help them understand the permit and driver licensing process. No other online course does any of these things. None. In addition, driving schools get regular updates on grades and attitude from their students so have the ability to schedule drives around student progress.
If this all sounds like the perfect solution for your driver education needs, as a driving school or student, click HERE or visit the "Sign Up!" link for more detailed information. I teach every student myself, charge much less per student, and work as a private contractor. If you are a student, just tell your driving school that you want to take the class online from Mr. Johns at Idaho Online Driver Education!
In 2006 the Idaho State Department of Education asked me to travel the state to introduce and explain this new concept (online driver education) to hundreds of public and private driving instructors. I can tell you that in 2006 not very many driver ed. teachers or school owners were thrilled to hear there was an online option coming to town. Some people were openly hostile about it. Private driving schools worried that it would put them out of business. Public instructors worried they wouldn't get any classroom hours. Neither was, or has been the case. Instead, online classes are an added option for students who otherwise would not be able to take the course or who want to play sports or do other activities at the same time. Many students live many miles from their school, so the convenience of taking the class online has been huge.
In 2007 the Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction offered me the position of Director of Idaho Driver Education at the State Department of Education and, while reluctant to give up my technology classroom in the Boise School District, I accepted the job. For five years I managed a three million dollar budget, licensed and trained all Idaho instructors, investigated compliance issues, and served as Idaho Traffic Safety Commissioner and as Chairman of the Idaho Driver Education Steering Committee. I was also fortunate to work with several national groups, including AAA and NHTSA to help improve American driver education. For the first few years, private driving schools were also under my management, and though I tried to include and help them, there was a rift between public and private driver education and they eventually moved to the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licensing, where most businesses are licensed and managed.
In 2009 I was excited to make it more convenient for new driver education instructors to get licensed by creating and teaching a new online college course through Northwest Nazarene University. For the first time, new instructors could take the course without having to travel to Boise every weekend for many months. With this course I trained and helped many of the current private driving school owners and instructors get licensed! During my five years in this position I passed a rule that prevents individuals with more than one D.U.I. or a crime against a child from teaching driver education. I was also very active in the effort to make texting and driving against the law (though it's still not a perfect law). I am also proud that I wrote new curriculum that no longer required expensive, outdated textbooks, or a thick binder of lesson plans. This curriculum is still used by most public and private driver education programs in Idaho.
Online driver ed. has been around since 1997, the same year I began teaching driver ed. It was called web traffic school dot com and later changed its name to driver ed dot com. Idaho private driving schools approved the use of this website in October of 2011 to count as the 30 required classroom hours to earn an Idaho driver's license. Since this website was launched they have taught over 11,000,000 students, usually at $99 each. Most Idaho private driving schools began offering it as an option or completely shut down their classroom and used it exclusively. While successful, this website does not have an instructor, does not use Idaho laws or curriculum, and does not evaluate knowledge in a variety of ways like true online "courses" do.
In 2012 I felt that I was just managing a program that was running itself quite well so returned to my classroom full time. I wanted to be back teaching.
In 2017 I was sad to learn that IDLA decided to not update the online driver ed. course I created in 2005 and to use a national, non-Idaho course created by the AAA insurance company instead. So I began writing new curriculum and in 2018 completed this course and obtained my Idaho private driving instructor's license (license# DBI-561). In May of 2018 the Idaho Online Driver Education course was approved as an option for Idaho private driving schools and soon afterwards students began signing up!
The real benefits of this online course are that it includes Idaho-specific laws and information and I am available by text, call, or email every day to answer parent or students' questions. I am here to help students feel ready to begin their driving lessons and to help them understand the permit and driver licensing process. No other online course does any of these things. None. In addition, driving schools get regular updates on grades and attitude from their students so have the ability to schedule drives around student progress.
If this all sounds like the perfect solution for your driver education needs, as a driving school or student, click HERE or visit the "Sign Up!" link for more detailed information. I teach every student myself, charge much less per student, and work as a private contractor. If you are a student, just tell your driving school that you want to take the class online from Mr. Johns at Idaho Online Driver Education!