Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and I must admit, it looks pretty impressive. Lots of classes, both introductory and advanced level. I could only imagine how more efficient this style of teaching is considering one teacher could teach thousands of students. These schools could easily be scaled up to student demands since there is no need to build classrooms, schools so on so forth. Also I am sure the operating costs for an online high school are significantly lower than traditional high schools. Right now it seems like these schools are optional. Students can take one class or a few. With school budgets getting cut this seems like an easy solution to cut costs. If would start off as being optional to students, then have it where it is mandatory that all students take at least one online class and move up from there.
If the student is 100% online then I am sure there will be some sort of volunteer requirement so students get social interaction.
Personally I think this is going to be the future of education. People are going to be expected to learn more and more, faster and faster. Traditional education simply cannot do that. If you need to learn some topic or new software you will need to learn it quickly and accurately. 16 week courses simply aren't going to cut it.
AMEN. It is the future of education. That's why I teach online as well as face to face. I want to be ready!! And by the way, my online job allows me only 3 total classes, with a max of about 30 students each, so there is that personal interaction.
One thing that is a wrench in the spokes for on-line high schools is the various states with mandated exit tests, MD being one. The on-line course has to be sanctioned by MD Dept. of Education as having a curriculum normed with the High School Assessments required for graduation.
The other thing, and some make light of this but is the most critical piece, is that not all students are able to handle an on-line class. It takes self-discipline, time management skills and the ability to work on your own without face to face interaction. I speak from the perspective being both an on-line instructor and in school on-line facilitator.
If you were a parent would you want to leave for work and leave your 9th Grade High School children at home all day in front of a computer in an online High School? Would you expect they would stay engaged and keep out of trouble? Or would you rather have them in a formal school interacting with their teachers and coaches and fellow students getting involved in clubs, sports and civic activities?
How about working part-time and then doing their classes (even in the evening when parents are home). My oldest would happily do online schooling instead of standard HS. She isn't into sports, not interested in clubs, doesn't care for most of the other students in her grade level... what she is interested in is her education. Which makes her intolerant of all the giggly time-wasting that goes on in most high schools. We have looked into online schooling, but weren't confident of the GED vs. diploma from an accredited school argument.
If you were a parent would you want to leave for work and leave your 9th Grade High School children at home all day in front of a computer in an online High School? Would you expect they would stay engaged and keep out of trouble? Or would you rather have them in a formal school interacting with their teachers and coaches and fellow students getting involved in clubs, sports and civic activities?
Well in the online HS it would be insanely easy to see the progress your son/daughter was doing. Its all online so the parents would have access to their student's progress. If I saw my son/daughter was getting poor grades on their exams you sure bet I would sit down with them and set their priorities straight.
Also trust me, your son/daughter can get in WAY more trouble in real high school. Not sure how aware you are about the gang problems, drug epidemic, and teen-pregnancy? When your son/daughter it at home you know what is going on. When they go to school, only god knows what goes on.
Likewise, if online high school went mainstream you would see LOTS more community related activities going on. For example there would be more community football leagues, baseball leagues, volunteer organizations and so on to replace the loss of socialization found in a traditional high school.
Quote:
AMEN. It is the future of education. That's why I teach online as well as face to face. I want to be ready!! And by the way, my online job allows me only 3 total classes, with a max of about 30 students each, so there is that personal interaction.
true but I am sure class sizes would definitely increase since an online class would be easier to teach. You just add support staff to help out. However, as education gets more efficient students are going to be expected to learn more and more, faster and faster.
An online high school in Minnesota made the news last night on KSTP TV ( Minneapolis)
It was stated the high school was issuing diplomas for students who didn't meet Minnesota's graduation requirement.
Minnesota Dept of Education started investigating and the head guy at the school resigned.
A state legislator stated the school was given warning to improve or shut down, but she stated she doubts they will be able to meet state requirements.
She also stated Minnesota taxpayers got ripped off as state money did go to this online high school.
The idea of online high school is just a nightmare. Besides the fact that most are a joke and don't actually teach anything, we do not need to be churning out kids who are even MORE inept at social interaction and can only communicate with other human beings through a computer screen. It is bad enough as it is. What is going to happen to these kids when they get to a real college classroom (if they ever do)? Are they going to text message their professor a question while they are sitting in class? Are they going to be able to participate in discussion and actually get anything out of their education? Will they be able to function in a world with other people or will they have to take a desk job where they never need to talk to anyone face-to-face?
Yes, high school can be a traumatic experience, but we all went through it. It is part of growing up and learning how to deal with people in the real world who aren't always nice to you. You won't be doing your child a favor by sending them out into the world without the ability to cope with that. Everyone has to grow up sometime.
Location: Moved to Gladstone, MO in June 2022 and back to Minnesota in September 2022
2,072 posts, read 5,062,861 times
Reputation: 886
I actually have experience with online high school, so I can give a better perspective then a lot of the people here who have never even taken a sample online course.
I did an online high school junior year which was last year. This year I am a senior and am back in regular high school, I don't care for online at all(and it has NOTHING to do with socializing and sports and homecoming and prom and all that stuff) and I don't reccommend it. At the school I was at, the only time you have to go somewhere is to take a standardized test, and well the graduation ceremony too. Other then that, nope you don't go anywhere or regular school at all. The teachers don't teach, you take mostly multiple choice assignments and write essays, the teachers correct essays and answer questions you have, but you basically just read and play a few interactive activities. Tests are mainly multiple choice questions and sometimes they have a few questions you'll have to write a short answer for, though I never had to write anymore then a paragraph usually. You can contact teachers by an instant message, email, or phone. I basically didn't learn really anything, and I missed being in a classroom with a teacher, and I missed listening to teachers give lectures, etc. For tests, if you open any windows up or anything it'll kick you out of the test and you won't be able to re enter and you flunk it. I was also someone who worked at my online courses A LOT and I finished one semester over a month early, so im not some stupid kid who never did my work and ended up flunking if thats what you're thinking. Sure having a month off is nice, but well in the real world you're just not going to get big vacations like that... I also had a student achievement cordinator call me who is suppose to motivate you, they call occasionally, and just say the same thing, basically they always told me I was doing a great job and to keep up the good work and if you have any questions feel free to call or email me. Thats pretty much it.
The good thing is, the school lends you a laptop until you graduate or you transfer to a different school, well my school did. Again, this varies by school.
Also, this is my experience with the school I was at. I'm sure online schools vary greatly and some may have teachers giving online lectures, etc.
But I am happy being back in a regular high school, and I am very glad I transferred out of the online school. I have also heard of insight schools and iqacademy and k12.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac
An online high school in Minnesota made the news last night on KSTP TV ( Minneapolis)
It was stated the high school was issuing diplomas for students who didn't meet Minnesota's graduation requirement.
Minnesota Dept of Education started investigating and the head guy at the school resigned.
A state legislator stated the school was given warning to improve or shut down, but she stated she doubts they will be able to meet state requirements.
She also stated Minnesota taxpayers got ripped off as state money did go to this online high school.
Also, Interesting fact about Bluesky, when it started, there was a Minnesota law that said students had to spend at least 2 hours in a regular school, but since bluesky was already 100% online, the law was repealed. So no, atleast in minnesota, kids can do online 100% and never have to go anywhere besides taking a standardized test basically, no community service or nothing is required. It only says it on Wikipedia, but I swore it used to say it on their website somewhere. Maybe it still does and I just can't find it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlueSky_Charter_School
Last edited by Radical_Car; 09-27-2010 at 12:02 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
