The article I read talked about how almost 300,000 high schoolers are attending online classes. (And that was estimated in 2002-2003!) Many take an online class to obtain access to classes their school may not offer, to gain more knowledge for college, or accommodate to a jammed schedule. Virtual schools and classes make available a whole new world of courses. For unique college electives to high school advanced placement classes, it challenges students to work independently and helps them portray time management and efficiency. Some advantages for using online classes are; the flexibility of courses, the easy access to teachers through email, the teacher can use live instruction to lecture, the course material can be given in many electronic formats, and the ease of not traveling a far distance to a classroom.
I have taken a total of three online classes in college so far and I absolutely love them! I do not live on campus so it makes it so much easier to not have to travel up to FGCU every time my class meets. It lightens up the amount of traveling making me feel more at ease and less stressed about driving 40 min to school every day. I love the fact that the teachers can be emailed and respond quickly for any problem. I also like that I can work on projects or class work at any time, not just a certain hour every week.
I think it would be great to know how Online Virtual Classrooms affect younger students such as middle schoolers or higher elementary. My brother is a sixth grader and he uses the computer for school work all the time. I think under the teacher’s supervision, having young students take quizzes on the computer or use Virtual Fieldtrips would help them learn how to use a Virtual Classroom in the future.
Article:
http://www.edutopia.org/high-school-dot-com
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3 comments:
Great article. I actually read this article while searching for one to use, and decided to use mine instead. I also have taken a total of two online classes now here in college and agree that they are wonderful. I was forced to take my first because I'm a swimmer for the FGCU team and the classes fall in the time of practice. It is a great way to work around schedules. I love that the teacher is accessible at any time via e-mail and responds quickly.
I think it is great for teachers to introduce students to the computer at a young age, through quizzes and such as you suggested. This will prepare them for future, more intense work.
I completly agree with you. From my experience as well, I have had a great time in the virtual classroom world. I live off campus myself and having to travel to and from school to home is a real pain. Especially with gas prices so high, I know that taking at least one virtual class has saved me alot of money. It has been a great way for me to have extra time for work and my own personal things. I would also love to see how the middle school aged children would react to virtual classrooms. I wonder if they would take it serios or not.
I too have taken online classes. I think this is my 7th at FGCU. They are very helpful to me, because I am a stay at home mom. I think being able to work at my own pace is great and sooo much more helpful than going to a classroom. I have experienced taking online classes as a young student as well. I took advanced classes through out middle school and then in high school. The only way that the online classes worked at the middle school level was to keep a set schedule where everything was due at a certain time on a certain day, as if we were in class. It wasn't as free as ANGEL classes, but I think that younger children who plan on using a virtual classroom need a lot of structure! I know I did!
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