Yet through a “Virtual High School” program run in Mission, Gilleard is one of nine high school students that take advantage of an expanded curriculum on the Internet.

“One of the things you want to do is broaden the horizons for students with different educational experiences and the sky is the limit,” St. Ignatius Superintendent Gerry Nolan said. “Not too many kids in Montana are taking oceanography.”

Ranging from Latin to Constitutional law, the classes offered are wide-ranging and varied, giving students options far beyond what the St. Ignatius school district can offer.

“We do a really good job of what we do,” Nolan said. “We have great teachers, we have really fine courses, and all this does is expand opportunities which I think is what every school tries to do.”
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Most of those who enroll in these online high school courses are home schooled students. Students are also made up of young athletes who are often ‘on the road’ competing, students who are ill and unable to be in the school premises, and students who failed in traditional school and have to catch up.

Now, you might be considering sending your kids to the online school. Keep in mind that the online courses must be up to par with the state’s educational standards. If they are not, then you should forget about it and choose another class or course.

If this information isn’t provided, be sure to ask, along with any questions you have about specifically what the course does to fulfill state standards. If the company isn’t able to answer these questions easily and satisfactorily, that’s a red flag and you should look elsewhere.

Each online school has its advantages and disadvantages that you have to consider. When choosing the one you will apply at, you must see to it that you will be able to make the best of its advantages and to nullify its disadvantages. In an online school, the social growth of the pupil has the tendency to be stifled due to isolation, and is not trained to relate to people outside of his own circle.

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The Pros And Cons Of Studying In An Online School by Jane Wilson

From  The Tech Edition

But they’ll do it all without ever leaving their Chesapeake High School classroom–they will be using a three-dimensional Virtual Learning Environment developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with the university’s Center for Technology Education.

A coalition that also included Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the University of Baltimore is deploying the environment, which was modeled after a state-of-the-art, 3-D visualization facility at APL that was used for projects by the Department of Defense and NASA. The Virtual Learning Environment is the first of its kind in the nation, said Baltimore County Superintendent Joe Hairston.

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Virtual 3D lab aims to stimulate learning by Maya T. Prabhu

From eSchoolNews.com

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified over 1,000 empirical studies of online learning. Of these, 46 met the high bar for quality that was required for the studies to be included in the analysis. The meta analysis showed that “blended” instruction – combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction – had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

“This new report reinforces that effective teachers need to incorporate digital content into everyday classes and consider open-source learning management systems, which have proven cost effective in school districts and colleges nationwide,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We must take advantage of this historic opportunity to use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to bring broadband access and online learning to more communities.

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U.S. Department of Education Study Finds that Good Teaching can be Enhanced with New Technology

From Ed.gov

What’s more, a majority of school principals, 58 percent, say the online classes currently offered in their districts are primarily for teachers; just 31 percent say the classes are primarily for students. Additionally, while a third of teachers have taken an online course for professional development–a 57-percent increase from 2007–only 3 percent of teachers say they’ve taught a class online, a number that has not changed in three years. Just 13 percent of teachers say they’re interested in teaching online, a considerable mismatch with the growing student desire to learn online.

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Study: Students want more online learning ; Funding shortages, lack of teacher preparation mean schools offer less online learning than students desire, this research suggests
From eSchoolNews.com