The concept of virtual high school sits at the intersection of three major trends: Online learning awareness and increasing knowledge about how to deliver it; the national high school reform dialogue; and the school choice movement.

“When those things come together, virtual high school become a clear option that addresses all three movements,” said Priscilla Norton, Ph.D., education professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Norton also directs The Online Academy, a George Mason collaborative that's been offering online high school classes since 2003.

Significant Challenges Exist

The first challenge is at the systemic level -- accommodating multiple learning pathways in the existing public school system. The current system includes such components as attendance, funding, as well as course choices and times.

The second challenge is quality. While the Internet might lend itself to certain methods, those methods may not be what students need.

“It's very easy to throw up worksheets and put them online and have kids do multiple choice exercises and correct their answers,” Norton said. “But that's not necessarily good learning.”

It isn't easy to create high-quality online experiences that reflect best practices about how we know and learn, explained Norton. High-tech solutions -- such as video, audio, and sophisticated Web presentation -- aren't necessarily the answers.

“The focus needs to remain on the quality of the learning experience -- not flashy presentation,” Norton said.

The goal needs to be authentic problem solving. In geometry, for example, while students might understand types of angles, that's a far cry from using that information to design a safe amusement park roller coaster.

The third challenge is budget; money is also a factor. It's a myth that online education is cheaper than face-to-face, and trying to maintain low costs can compromise quality, she said.

The fourth challenge is teacher preparation. Much of what constitutes good teaching applies to multiple delivery environments but online learning requires particular skills, Norton said. Students also need to understand that learning is different online.

“There is more responsibility on their shoulders for meeting deadlines and moving a course forward,” Norton said. And their relationships with teachers change. Students have to initiate dialogues, learn to ask questions, and be specific about what they don't understand.

Despite the challenges, Norton is confident that teachers and students can meet the challenges inherent in virtual high school and that the growing phenomenon is a boon to education.

“My general stance is that it's extraordinarily positive,” she said.

 

Virtual High School: A Student's View

Jared Smith, a 17-year old senior and varsity basketball player, has only good things to say about his first Virtual High School class, Math You Can Use in College. A student at Cape May County Technical School in Cape May Court House, at the southern tip of New Jersey, Jared has found the cyberspace classroom to be ideal. 

“I like the freedom to work independently at my own pace and not being slowed down by my other classmates,” he said. “I think it's a really great way to challenge yourself as an individual, and not have the teacher over your shoulder making sure you're doing your work.”

Jared will take a second online class, Introduction to Computers, in January. He plans to study computer engineering in college next fall and he thinks online classes will help him make that adjustment.

“I think it's also a great way to prepare for college, when your parents won't be there making sure you're doing everything,” he said.

Jared likes that students can access the classroom and do work whenever they want from wherever there's a computer available. The instructor is very helpful and responds within 24 hours to any question plus, there's no textbook to carry around, Jared added. The course content is a wide variety of math: pre-calculus, algebra 2, geometry, and trigonometry. 

“It's very complex while still being within the range of a normal high school student," said Jared. "It's pretty much what you'll see your first year in college, whatever your major is.”

His mother, a teacher's aide at Jared's school, had some reservations when she first heard of the online math course.

“At first I was a little skeptical," she said. "My original thought was that it was the old-fashioned 'distance learning'. I really had no idea what he was going to be doing.”

As she looked into it, she saw that he would be doing math similar to what his sister is doing as a college sophomore. Now she's sold on it and believes it's a big advantage for him to be able to work independently.

Smith said her son doesn't say much about his other classes, but he does mention Math You Can Use in College.

“This is the only class he really talks about because he really enjoys it,” she said.

 

Part 2 on "Virtual High School" is here.

 

Sheila Riley is a San Francisco-based freelance journalist. She is also an experienced online editor and ESL curriculum developer, and teaches ESL at City College of San Francisco.

 

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