Virtual Schooling Part II

After reading the articles for this weeks assignments, it seems like most of my assumptions about virtual schooling were correct. It seems that I missed out on a couple of things, however. First, I didn't mention anything about funding. It seems like most schools are self-funded, but some virtual schools do come out of school districts. The virtual school funding just vary by state laws and parents would have to look up information and whether or not tuition is involved.

Another issue is regulation. States do not really regulate curriculum of virtual schools, so it's really up to the parents and students to make sure students have the right amount of math credits, science credits, etc. if they wish to apply to college. Some school districts may have their virtual schools align to their school districts, but again this varies to whether or not the school district is funding the virtual school (and even if they are, some tuition still may be involved) and whether or not the state requires certain standards (in most cases, it seems like they do not). Although virtual schooling is a great option, parents and students will have to do their research together. Virtual schools do offer a wide arrange of courses, and it's really a matter of research and especially when children get to the high school level, making sure they are taking appropriate prep courses to get into the college of their choice.

Virtual Schooling

I know that virtual schooling can be an alternative to students who feel that they are more accelerated than current options available to them. It can also be used to supplement courses they are taking in addition to a face-to-face setting. Virtual School is also an option for students who prefer to learn at home(home schooling) for various reasons (such as athletic or professional commitments to allow for flex scheduling) academic, personal or health reasons (such as they are independent learners, their health prevents them from being in the classrooms). I also know that in some private schools, some students take online courses as an option in addition to their current course loads to double up or to seek other course options to learn with students around the world, but they will count toward a certain elective credit.

Virtual School has various looks. Some virtual schools have some face-to-face time with an actual teacher (via Skype or other means.) Some have online courses with chapters, broken down into lessons and sections, just like an actual classroom does in order to meet state requirements. Virtual Schooling can be done in the student's home. Some virtual schooling can be done in a classroom setting as well.

A variety of courses are offered (English, Math, History, Science, Reading, Vocabulary,College Prep,) as long as it meets the state minimum requirements. Some students at the high school level are most likely attempting to get into college, so they will most likely look at college requirements to see what courses they would need to get into certain colleges.