Distance Education and Virtual Schools

Distance Education classes are growing in popularity in high schools now and are not just confined to college courses. This growth can cause many problems as well as encourage students to take more virtual classes.

One of the websites I visited was Insight Schools, the sight has a page called Our Focus in which they outline some of their goals and what their website could be used for. One of the advantages of virtual schools are that they are a good resource for home schooled kids. The sites provide a lot of different courses that home schooled students might not be able to get from traditional home schooling methods. Another advantage of virtual schools is that they provide students who can not handle large classrooms and large groups of people a means to educate themselves in the safety of their own home so they feel comfortable. The virtual schools also provide classes for students who are to busy with their athletics and other extra activities to complete their high school education while they pursue their other goals. Virtual schools can also be good for students who have injured themselves and can not attend regular classes because of their disability. Some students may also not have the means of transportation to get to their schools, and the district might not provide the student with public transportation, and these virtual schools can provide the students with the means to continue educating themselves.

The disadvantages of these virtual schools is that the teacher-student interface and relationship is through a computer screen, the teacher does not really get to know their students. Also, some students may not have access to computers to take the classes online and their schools may not be providing their students with computers or computer access during the school day. Another disadvantage of virtual schools is that technology fails, so you may miss a lesson or week because your computer or your teachers computer may be broken or the internet is not working. They may seem like technical disadvantages, but they are still present and are a problem. There is also a lot of student responsibility that students may not be willing to take on because they think they have it easy as online classes do not provide constant contact with their teacher. There is also no student-student interaction or sense of belonging within the school or the community, no personal involvement in the classroom or in the school as a whole.

The key skills teachers have to have in order to teach in virtual schools is extensive knowledge of how to use the technology needed to teach their subject. Teachers also need to have good time management skills as well as be flexible to make time to tutor individual students who struggle in their class. In 2-3 years I will not be using virtual schools in my career because I want to be in the classroom with my students so that I can build relationships with them and impact their life face to face, not through a computer. I think that if a student wants to try taking a virtual class and it works for them then they should continue with other classes, but I also think that it is very important for students to still take classes on the high school campus so students can learn good communication and social skills. Virtual schools can be great for some students but can also be damaging to the traditional way of teaching and to students who need the high school atmosphere to learn how to interact with other people and with the world.